The Norton celebrates a Beatles landmark, Summer Shorts premieres a Lin-Manuel Miranda musical, and Florida Classical Ballet dances three masterworks. Plus, Trevor Noah, Joe Jackson, Burt Reynolds and more in your week ahead.
WEDNESDAY
What: Joe Jackson
Where: Parker Playhouse, 707 N.E. Eighth St., Fort Lauderdale
When: 8 p.m.
Cost: $37.50-$67.50
Contact: 954/462-0222, browardcenter.org
One of the more singular acts of the British New Wave movement, this impeccably dressed and sonically chameleonic singer-songwriter is famous for Elvis Costello-like barn-burners, baroque pop earworms, and jaunty swing music alike. He even dabbled with classical music, albeit to a more diminished audience, in the ‘90s. At this “encore” tour of his 2015 album “Fast Forward,” Jackson will play hits dating back to his classic 1979 debut “Look Sharp” on through to the conceptual ambition of “Fast Forward,” whose 16 cuts are inspired by four beloved cities: New York, Amsterdam, Berlin and New Orleans. A sprinkling of surprising, ever-changing covers will complement Jackson’s own eclectic material.
THURSDAY
What: Art After Dark: Sound and Vision
Where: Norton Museum of Art, 1451 S. Olive Ave., West Palm Beach
When: 5 to 9 p.m.
Cost: Free
Contact: 561/832-5196, norton.org
It’s been 50 years this week since the U.S. release of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” the favorite Beatles album among art nerds, recording aficionados and lovers of all things weird. Across complex tracks such as “Within You Without You,” “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite” and “A Day in the Life,” the Beatles expanded their pop sensibilities to include vaudeville, avant-garde and Indian music, among others, knowing they wouldn’t have to perform the songs live. Half a century later, however, the possibilities for dynamism and range in live music have caught up with the endless capacities of the recording studio, and voila! Tribute acts like South Florida’s Across the Universe are more than happy to perform compositions from this iconic album. Catch them at 7:30 at this week’s Art After Dark at the Norton, but you can arrive by 5:30 for Spotlight Talks on four art works, and by 6:30 for an Artist Talk from South Korea’s Yeondoo Jung, whose installation “Documentary Nostalgia” is on display now at the Norton.
What: An Evening With Burt Reynolds
Where: Eissey Campus Theatre, 11051 Campus Drive, Palm Beach Gardens
When: 7:30 p.m.
Cost: $45-$75
Contact: 561/207-5900, legendsradio.com
Palm Beach County art royalty doesn’t get more regal than Burt Reynolds, the now-octogenarian actor whose Burt Reynolds Dinner Theatre established northern Palm Beach as a cultural destination. Candid and self-deprecating, Reynolds recently told an interviewer than he’s probably made “50 good movies and 50 bad ones,” but his most iconic parts, in the likes of “Smokey and the Bandit,” “Deliverance” and “Boogie Nights,” have a permanent place in our mass consciousness. Still a working actor—his quasi-autobiographical new film “Dog Years” is currently playing the festival circuit—Reynolds will field questions from the audience at this intimate gathering, which will benefit the Burt Reynolds Institute for Film & Theatre. Deep-pocketed fans can pay $500 for a front-row seat and meet & greet.
What: Opening night of Summer Shorts
Where: 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami
When: 7:30 p.m. Cost: $39-$54
Contact: 305/949-6722, arshtcenter.org
South Floridians waiting (im)patiently for their chance to finally see “Hamilton,” as part of the Broward Center’s 2018-2019 season, can enjoy some tapas by Lin-Manuel Miranda starting this weekend at the Arsht Center’s annual Summer Shorts festival of acclaimed short plays. Miranda’s micro-musical “21 Chump Street,” written prior to his success with “Hamilton,” and set in Boca no less, is the main draw at this always-popular collection of eight-to-15-minute works. The seven other plays, which lean heavily in the comedy direction, address topics ranging from Internet trolls and storefront psychics to Girl Scout cookies and the art world. Paul Tei, Jessica Farr, David Nail and new Artistic Director Margaret M. Ledford will lead a multifaceted cast of eight through the wacky and poignant material. Summer Shorts runs through July 2.
FRIDAY
What: Opening day of “Colossal”
Where: Lake Worth Playhouse’s Stonzek Theatre, 709 Lake Ave., Lake Worth
When: 2 and 6 p.m.
Cost: $6-$9
Contact: 561/296-9382, lakeworthplayhouse.org
This peculiar sci-fi comedy is just the sort of inventive idea that could breathe new life into both genres. At first, “Colossal” seems like a conventional domestic dramedy about a wayward, bender-prone New Yorker (Anne Hathaway) whose comically endearing bad habits have cost her a job and relationship. No sooner do we establish a tone and texture to “Colossal” does the story toss us a car-crushing, building-incinerating curveball, in the form of a giant monster terrorizing Seoul, South Korea. How are these twin narratives related? See the film and find out, or start by watching the crazy trailer.
SATURDAY
What: Trevor Noah
Where: Kravis Center, 701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach
When: 8 p.m.
Cost: $39.50-$100
Contact: 561/832-7469, kravis.org
In 2015, a largely unknown comedian named Trevor Noah was appointed to the most plum job in political humor: host of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show.” Noah is not Jon Stewart—in some ways, he’s a better presence, less prone to tiresome camera mugging—but his star has risen nearly as high in two short years. He recently debuted his third standup special for Netflix, and his award-nominated 2016 memoir Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood introduced a global readership to his alternately hilarious and shocking childhood in apartheid South Africa: The guy who now dates a supermodel and rakes politicians over fires for a living once subsisted on caterpillars for nutrition, and was thrown out of a speeding taxi by gangsters. Noah’s boundary-pushing standup reflects hard, inconvenient realities, which helps explain the title of a documentary about his formative years: “You Laugh But it’s True.”
SATURDAY AND SUNDAY
What: Florida Classical Ballet Company Spring Gala
Where: Pompano Beach Cultural Center, 50 W. Atlantic Blvd., Pompano Beach
When: 8 p.m. Saturday, 5 p.m. Sunday
Cost: $35
Contact: 954/839-9578, ccpompano.org
South Florida’s newest performing arts venue is not wasting any time in bringing exciting cultural programming to underserved Pompano Beach denizens. One of its resident companies, Florida Classical Ballet specializes in the fusion of Cuban dance technique with American styles, thanks to the vision of ballet mistress, choreographer and company founder Magaly Suarez. This weekend’s spring gala is great opportunity to discover this dynamic company, whose program features classics and newer works alike. Attendees will experience the dramatic Act II dance of “Swan Lake,” the grand pas de deux from “Don Quixote,” and the exotic “La Bayadere” suite, all featuring choreography by the legendary Marius Petipa. Jorge Garcia’s Cuban divertissement “Majismo” and Edwaard Liang’s 2009 “Wunderland,” featuring a Philip Glass score, round out the program.
