Lynn’s theatre students showcase their talents, Mounts hosts a Plant-a-Palooza, and the Morikami gets dolled up for spring. Plus, Social Distortion and more in your week ahead.
THURSDAY AND FRIDAY
What: Lynn Celebration of the Arts
When: 7:30 p.m.
Where: Wold Performing Arts Center at Lynn University, 3601 N. Military Trail, Boca Raton
Cost: $35-$50
Contact: 561/237-9000, lynn.edu
It’s that time again, when Lynn University’s most talented performing-arts MFAs showcase what they’ve learned this academic year—in the grandest fashion possible. In a production often indistinguishable from a professional theatrical revue, the students, with occasional assists from their professors, will mount an eclectic program consisting of scenes from musicals, dance numbers choreographed to classic and contemporary pop hits, and classical concert recitals, complete with first-rate costumes, lighting and sound. We don’t know exactly what’s on tap at this weekend’s Celebration, which makes it all the more enticing. Only a few tickets remain for Friday’s performance, which is preceded by a 5 p.m. indoor-outdoor party with live music, food and drink from local vendors, and a visual-arts gallery of work by Lynn students.
SATURDAY
What: Opening day of “Musha-Ningyō: Avatars of the Samurai Spirit”
When: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Where: Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens, 4000 Morikami Park Road, Delray Beach
Cost: $10-$16 museum admission
Contact: 561/495-0233, morikami.org
Sometimes a doll is more than just a doll, and least of all a plaything: It’s a symbol for spiritual transcendence, self-development and self-sacrifice. Such is the rich history of the musha-ningyō, which translates to “warrior dolls,” a practice that flourished in Japan during the Edo period (1603-1868), with its correlating rise in the warrior class. During annual events like the Boy’s Day Festival (now known as the more inclusive Children’s Day, a national holiday in Japan), these samurai-outfitted dolls would be displayed as totems against evil spirits and as signifiers of such warrior traits as courage and loyalty. More than 50 such musha-ningyō dolls, curated from the private collection of noted historian Alan Scott Pate, are on display in this Morikami exhibition, representing both historic and legendary figures in Japanese culture. Some are realistic in nature, and others seem as fantastical as the creatures in “Guardians of the Galaxy,” including the monster-slayer Minamoto Yorimasu and the shaman/dream interpreter Empress Jingū. The exhibition runs through Oct. 6.
What: Social Distortion and Bad Religion
When: 6 p.m.
Where: Revolution Live, 100 S.W. Third Ave., Fort Lauderdale
Cost: $52.50-$60
Contact: 954/449-1025, jointherevolution.net
Two of California’s most prominent punk-rock exports of the past 40 years will share the more capacious outdoor stage at Revolution Live for a double bill that’s likely to bring out the mohawks, hair dye, safety pins and anarchy patches—and plenty of memories of punk’s second-wave ascendency in popular music culture. Social Distortion, fronted by the charismatic Mike Ness, has found an unlikely sweet spot between punk’s high-volume aggression and country music’s homespun sincerity, memorably covering Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire” and helping to pioneer the hybrid genre “cowpunk.” Bad Religion have embraced a more speed-oriented skate-punk sound tempered by tight harmonies and fiercely intellectual, often contrarian lyrics. Call their styles what you will; at the end of the day, this promises to be one of the best rock ‘n’ roll shows this season.
SATURDAY AND SUNDAY
What: Plant-a-Palooza
When: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday
Where: Mounts Botanical Garden, 531 N. Military Trail, West Palm Beach
Cost: $13-$20
Contact: 561/233-1757, mounts.org
Spring is the ideal time for many flowering plants, including lilacs, hyacinths and daffodils, as well as great Florida summer crops like sweet corn, peppers and cucumbers. You may find many of these—and a whole lot more—at this two-day extravaganza at Mounts, where more than 70 growers and vendors will offer their living wares, from ornamentals, succulents and cacti to exotic orchids, butterfly plants and bonsai, plus garden accessories. There will be food and dessert trucks on-site, along with scheduled discussions included with the price of admission, including “South Florida Roses 101: A Beginner’s Crash Course” at 11 a.m. Saturday, and “Nature Inside: Houseplants Made Easy” at the same time Sunday. And, of course, visitors may wander any of Mounts’ 25 distinct garden areas.
SUNDAY
What: Noah Haidu | Buster Williams | Lenny White — Celebrates Keith Jarrett’s Standards Trio
When: 7 p.m.
Where: Arts Garage, 94 N.E. Second Ave., Delray Beach
Cost: $40-$45
Contact: 561/450-6357, artsgarage.org
Pianist Keith Jarrett was well-established as an inventive composer, both in small jazz groups and in uncompromising solo concerts, when he decided to go against the grain, and back in time: In 1983, with an ace rhythm section of bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Jack DeJohnette, he formed the Standards Trio, which revisited chestnuts from the American songbook with a new, improvisatory élan. The trio’s unrehearsed, exploratory versions of “If I Should Lose You,” “All The Things You Are,” its explosive 15-minute rendition of “God Bless the Child” and others sounded like none before them, renewing interest in tunes that had collected dust during the freeform and fusion movements of ‘70s jazz. The Standards Trio retired in 2014, but these three first-rate improvisers are picking up the mantle. The youngest, Noah Haidu (interviewed last week here on bocamag.com), will lead two legends from the piano: Drummer Lenny White, formerly of Chick Corea’s Return to Forever group; and bassist Buster Williams, an eclectic artist whose collaborators have included Miles Davis, Wynton Marsalis and Herbie Hancock.
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