Boca after

BY JOHN THOMASON

e still remember the Onion headline from March 2021, the kind that took us a minute to realize it was satire: “Boca Raton Declares State Of Emergency After Person Spotted Outside Past 8 P.M.”

The report went on: “Fielding dozens of calls about a chaotic scene ..., Boca Raton officials declared a state of emergency Tuesday as numerous sources reported seeing a person standing outside after 8 p.m. ‘The city of Boca Raton is being put on high alert after a mob of one took to the streets tonight for a casual stroll after sundown,’ said mayor Scott Singer, adding that the man recklessly gather- ing on the sidewalk after dark appeared to have no concern or remorse for the commotion he was causing.”

The implication, of course, is that Boca is a nightlife desert, a lifeless husk after sundown, the city that always sleeps. It’s a reputation we’ve been battling for decades, but only recently have we had enough ammunition to truly combat it. As we discovered when researching this article, from raucous live music venues to moonlit parks, from an upscale dance club to a communal drum circle, Boca Raton has an after-dark attraction every night of the week. Read on to discover why that Onion piece is so much fake news.

Drum It Out

Boca Raton’s Michael Teller remembers the day, about a decade ago, when his wife, Claire, bought him a djembe drum for his birthday. As Teller recalls,“it sat in the corner of the family room for several months until I took it out and played it. I went to a drum circle, with four people, that I saw online. They showed me how to play djembe a little bit. I said, ‘I like this.’”

It’s a humble origin story for the man who currently organizes and leads at least three drum circles a week in the Palm Beaches, including a circle most Saturday nights at Sanborn Square. Performing in front of a pop-up peace flag, Teller starts each rhythm on his set of dundun drums— West African cylindrical drums with rawhide skins that provide for expert range and precision. His fellow-musicians try to follow along, or perhaps go in their own direction. Some bring other forms of percussion, such as washboards and tambourines, and some play wind instruments like flutes and didgeridoos.

Boca’s drum circle is generally more mellow than the Wednesday night drum circle at Delray’s Old School Square, a raucous tradition that can attract up to 250 visitors drumming, dancing or just enjoying the positive vibes. These days, the circles have become communities, where drummers and dancers meet future loved ones, or help them grieve losses.“Everybody is connecting with each other in a way they don’t typically connect with people they don’t know that well,” Teller says.“It’s mentally and physically healthy, in a certain moderation that fits your lifestyle.”

And the number of participants is only increasing.“It’s relatively easy, at a basic level, to play the drum, and it’s easy to play together,”Teller adds.“It’s fun, and basically free, it’s open, it’s outside, and there’s nothing like rhythm.”

IT’S CURTAINS FOR YOU

Technically, theatergoing isn’t an exclusively nighttime activity. But I’ve attended enough matinees to notice a difference: The atmosphere tends to be more energized after nightfall, and the audiences more attentive (i.e. less inclined to indulge in their 3 p.m. nap during the show—you know who you are). Here’s what a few of Boca’s regional theaters have planned for February.

THEATRE LAB AT FAU: “Last Night in Inwood” Jan. 28-Feb. 12 after a nearly 80-year-old matriarch spontaneously announces to her spouse of 50 years that she wants a divorce. Neil Simonesque laughs, and some surprisingly dark plot turns, ensue.

FAU’s professional new-play incubator presents this world premiere from New York playwright Alix Sobler, a modern-day spin, perhaps, on Sartre’s “No Exit.”When a disaster in Manhattan prompts its citizenry to seek higher ground, protagonist Danny’s one-bedroom high-rise becomes the only survival option for her family and friends. But they have to survive each other before they can wait out the apocalypse.