A mad scientist returns to the family business at The Wick, art and music combine at the Boca Museum, and a Japanese cinema classic screens on 16mm film. Plus, Patti Smith and more in your week ahead.
THURSDAY
What: Opening night of “Young Frankenstein”
When: 7:30 p.m.
Where: The Wick Theatre, 7901 N. Federal Highway, Boca Raton
Cost: $136.50
Contact: 561/995-2333, thewick.org
Mel Brooks has called his 1974 feature Young Frankenstein his finest movie by far—a bold statement for a filmography rich in comedy classics. Brooks thinks so highly of the film, a parody of Universal Pictures’ monster movies of the early 1930s, that he adapted it into this 2007 Broadway musical, co-writing the book and penning the lyrics while hewing closely to his original Oscar-nominated film script. Frederick Frankenstein, the grandson of Mary Shelley’s Victor Frankenstein, endeavors to lead a reputable scientific life far removed from his legacy of destructive God-playing. But after inheriting Victor’s Transylvanian castle, he finds himself ensnared in the “family business,” to reference one of the musical’s song titles. Favorite characters and moments from the film, including its iconic “Puttin’ on the Ritz” song-and-dance number, are reprised alongside 20 new tunes, just in time for spooky season. It runs through Nov. 1.
FRIDAY
What: “Modernisms in Motion”
When: 6:30 to 9 p.m.
Where: Boca Raton Museum of Art, 501 Plaza Real, Boca Raton
Cost: $150
Contact: app.arts-people.com
As a 20th century movement, modernism—the rejection of conventional forms in favor of pioneering experimentation and rule-breaking—impacted myriad disciplines, from literature and architecture to visual art and music. The latter two, when paired with a chef-driven three-course meal, are the twin focuses of “Modernism in Motion,” a collaboration between The Symphonia and Boca Raton Museum of Art. The evening begins with passed hors d’oeuvres and an aperitif in the museum’s Ohnell Sculpture Garden, then moves into the galleries for a docent-led tour of “Modernisms: Art from the Manes Collection,” complemented by live music from Symphonia musicians. Forty minutes later, the seated dinner begins in the museum’s Grand Hall, complete with modernism-inspired dishes, paired wines, and more live music throughout the culinary experience. I’ve seen previews of the dishes—including a deconstructed Buffalo mozzarella salad, a seared wagyu cube with accompaniments, and a lemon curd coconut dessert—and they look as artistic as the works on the walls.
What: Screening of Rashomon in 16mm
When: 6:30 p.m.
Where: Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens, 400 Morikami Park Road, Delray Beach
Cost: Free with registration
Contact: 561/495-0233, morikami.org/event/film-rashomon
Truth is slippery, and depends very much on the person divulging it, in the masterful Rashomon, a 1950 classic from Japan’s Akira Kurosawa, and the first film from its country to achieve major success abroad. In Kurosawa’s adaptation of a 1920s short story, a samurai is killed under mysterious circumstances; at the trial, various witnesses, from the samurai’s wife to a bandit to a woodcutter to a psychic medium, all offer differing testimonies that speak more to their motives and desires than to an unvarnished authenticity. A mightily complex narrative gambit upon its initial release, Rashomon has since entered our cultural lexicon, with the “Rashomon effect” serving as shorthand for the unreliability of witnesses. See the film in a rare archival 16mm print at this special screening at Morikami’s theater, in conjunction with Miami-Dade Public Library’s Division of Special Collections & Archives.
What: An Evening of Songs and Stories with Patti Smith
When: 7 p.m.
Where: Arsht Center’s Ziff Ballet Opera House, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami
Cost: $40.02
Contact: 305/949-6722, arshtcenter.org
Singer, songwriter, vocalist, guitarist, memoirist, poet, playwright, activist, actor—Patti Smith’s titles are so vast and sundry that a single business card cannot contain them. Though not born in the state, this quintessential 20th century New Yorker has had an indelible impact on the arts for nearly 60 years, from helping conceive the nascent punk rock movement with her landmark 1975 debut LP Horses to her best-selling memoirs of the 2010s and 2020s. She’s touring behind her latest book, the acclaimed Bread of Angels: A Memoir, which tracks from her teenage years in the shadow of World War II through the artistic inspirations that shaped her, the birth of her children, and the immeasurable losses that mark time. At this enhanced book tour, Smith will read passages from Bread of Angels and perform a handful of solo acoustic songs that relate to the stories being told, from originals such as “Power to the People” and “Wing” to covers such as Dylan’s “Highway 61 Revisited.” Each ticket includes a copy of Bread of Angels.
SUNDAY
What: Postmodern Jukebox
When: 8 p.m.
Where: Pompano Beach Amphitheater, 1801 N.E. Sixth St., Pompano Beach
Cost: $46-$178
Contact: 561/223-7231, pompanobeacharts.org
The Postmodern Jukebox YouTube rabbit hole is a difficult one from which to crawl out of, because, to paraphrase an old ad campaign, you can’t watch just one. It might start with the band’s roof-raising soul interpretation of U2’s “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”, but 30 minutes later, you’re still perusing the group’s infinite catalog of popular songs executed in vintage styles—like Van Halen’s “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘bout Love” in the style of a ‘60s girl group, or Owl City’s “Fireflies” rendered as a velvety bossa nova, or the Smiths’ “There is a Light That Never Goes Out” played as a classic outlaw-country romper. I’m not the only one to be mesmerized by their creativity; founder and pianist Scott Bradlee’s loose-knit collective has accrued more than 2.3 billion YouTube views. The group’s current tour is cheekily titled “The Future is Vintage.”
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