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Top 5 Spice up the holidays with Shakespearean ballet, classic theatre, Latin love
“Hard Bodies” “Twelve Angry Men” “On Your Feet”
WHEN: Dec. 3-Jan. 22 WHERE: Society of the Four Arts, 100 Four Arts Plaza, Palm Beach COST: $10 CONTACT: 561/655-7226, fourarts.org This sculpture exhibition showcases 33 works, mostly from this century, by 16 Japanese artists who explore lacquer in novel ways. This lustrous coating, which is most commonly associated with ornamental bowls and boxes, is a polymer distilled from the sap of a particular tree. For an artistic material, lacquer is unusually precious; a single tree produces only a half-cup of lacquer per year. And lacquer artists who apply it to their sculptures often spend six months to a year on a single work; such is the delicacy and duration of the finishing process. Each piece is a resplendent labor of love, an inherent testament to the discipline and the rigor of countless hours of shaping, slathering and shining raw material into forms both familiar and imaginative—from whimsical figurative sculptures to abstract monoliths, and often inlaid with gold, silver or mother-of-pearl.
WHEN: Dec. 9-24 WHERE: Palm Beach Dramaworks, 201 Clematis St., West Palm Beach COST: $84 CONTACT: 561/514-4042, palmbeachdramaworks.org The one “classic”—i.e., a play not written in the 21st century—in Dramaworks’ 2022/2023 season may end up being its most timely and potent selection; such is the enduring insight and compassion of Reginald Rose’s 1954 TV drama turned stage play. You probably know the story: Twelve jurors—traditionally all white—are tasked with deciding the guilt or innocence of a Black youth accused of murder. Only one juror is unconvinced of the child’s guilt, and he’ll spend the play’s duration attempting to sway his colleagues, in turn exposing their inherent biases. Henry Fonda, perennial voice of calm and reason, famously starred in the awardwinning original film adaptation, and the play is often revived on Broadway with sterling results. Nearly 70 years after it was written, “Twelve Angry Men” remains both a crackling piece of stagecraft and a paean to how our judicial system is supposed to work.
WHEN: Nov. 15-20 WHERE: Kravis Center, 701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach COST: $31-$78 CONTACT: 561/832-7469, kravis.org Gloria and Emilio Estefan may be the closest people Miami has to royalty. Cuban-born and Miami-bred, they personify the American dream: fleeing Communist oppression, forging a legacy in the city’s burgeoning Latin pop scene, and winning 26 Grammys between them. So it’s wholly appropriate that just a couple of counties north, “On Your Feet!,” the zesty and heartfelt musical based on their vertiginous life, has been slated for a return engagement at the Kravis Center as a highlight of its new Kravis On Broadway season. The tunes the Estefans immortalized, including “Conga,” “The Rhythm is Gonna Get You” and “Get on Your Feet,” complement a narrative that addresses their uphill battle in an Anglo-centric music industry as well as the car accident that nearly ended Gloria’s career. With the creators of “Kinky Boots” and “Jersey Boys” behind the scenes, this power couple’s story is in good hands … er, feet.
November/December 2022
John Mulaney: “From Scratch”
WHEN: Dec. 3 WHERE: iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre, 601-7 Sansburys Way, West Palm Beach COST: $39 and up CONTACT: 561/795-8883, westpalmbeachamphitheatre.com It’s fair to say that comedian John Mulaney had a rough go of the pandemic. He’s spoken openly about his divorce, as well as his struggles with alcohol and drug abuse that he sought treatment for last year. Now, freshly sober and having recently welcomed into the world his first child with actress Olivia Munn, Mulaney is touring with new material drawn from overcoming a year of deeply personal hardships. While Mulaney’s past comedy tours featured material ranging from the absurd to the acerbic, “From Scratch” is a candid dive into his personal life and struggles, offering a glimpse past the naive, bright-eyed charm to which audiences have grown accustomed and seeing a side of him that is more vulnerable and intimate. At its heart, “From Scratch” is a new beginning forged from the rubble of grief.
Miami City Ballet: “Romeo and Juliet”
WHEN: Nov. 11-13 WHERE: Kravis Center, 701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach COST: TBA CONTACT: 561/832-7469, kravis.org An unimpeachable source material, a sweeping and iconic score, and innovative choreography from a modernist master: Miami City Ballet’s adventuresome season premiere has all the ingredients for a sterling night of performing arts. The composer is Sergei Prokofiev, who infused every moment with the convulsive drama and sprightly pageantry it deserves. The choreographer is South Africa’s late John Cranko, who imbued the story with intimate rendezvous and spectacular set pieces alike, among them a harvest festival that turns contentious as the show’s warring factions deploy produce as weapons, and a pas de deux with its title characters dancing in the moonlight. Much of the ballet’s power, of course, goes all the way back to Shakespeare, whose timeless and transcendent tragedy continues to expand and rend hearts.
John Mulaney
November/December 2022
A HARRY TRUMAN PLAY, COMEDY FROM LEWIS BLACK, AND A BUBLE NEW YEAR’S EVE
NOW-NOV. 13: “JERSEY BOYS” at Maltz Jupiter Theatre, 1001 E. Indiantown Road, Jupiter; various show times; tickets TBA; 561/575-2223, jupitertheatre.org. One of the foundational productions in the era of the jukebox musical, this four-time Tony winner charts the historic rise of Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons through two decades of the vocal group’s indelible hits, including “Sherry” and “Walk Like a Man.”
NOW-JAN. 22: REGINALD CUNNINGHAM: “BLACK PEARLS” at Boca Raton Museum of Art, 501 Plaza Real, Boca Raton; $10-$12 museum admission; 561/392-2500, bocamuseum.org. Washington, D.C.-based photographer and activist Cunningham traveled to Pearl City, Boca Raton’s first settled district, to honor the majority-Black residents of this historic community. “Black Pearls” highlights these contributions, including 10 to 20 large-scale photographs and collected oral histories in audio form.
NOW-JAN. 15: “JOSEPH STELLA: VISIONARY NATURE” at Norton Museum of Art, 1450 S. Dixie Highway, West Palm Beach; $15-$18 museum admission; 561/832-5196, norton.org. Fusing natural settings with a spiritually transcendent sense of surrealism, painter Stella’s bold interpretations of flora and fauna were places where the quotidian and the magical shared bucolic real estate, and where familiar imagery took on an aching beauty. His legacy, as this touring exhibition indicates, is ripe for rediscovery. NOW-FEB. 3: “A PERSONAL VIEW ON HIGH FASHION & STREET STYLE: PHOTOGRAPHY FROM THE NICOLA ERNI COLLECTION, 1930S TO NOW” at Norton Museum of Art, 1450 S. Dixie Highway, West Palm Beach; $15-$18 museum admission; 561/832-5196, norton.org. Making its museum debut, this collection from devoted enthusiast Nicola Erni includes more than 300 works documenting the intersection of fashion and street photography, by artists such as Irving Penn, Cecil Beaton, Richard Avedon and more.
NOV. 1-6: D.C.’S REFLECTING FOOLS at Kravis Center, 701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach; various show times; $45; 561/8327469, kravis.org. The pandemic may have made a casualty out of the beloved political satirists the Capitol Steps, but this new collective, founded by some of the performers and a co-writer from the Capitol Steps, keeps alive the group’s nonpartisan political humor in a divided time. Expect to hear song parodies inspired by recent headlines, impressions of top politicos and more. NOV. 4-20: “THE THIN PLACE” at Boca Stage, 3333 N. Federal Highway, Boca Raton; various show times; $40-$50; 561/447-8829, bocastage.net. In celebrated playwright Lucas Hnath’s supernatural drama, a self-described psychic, medium and spiritualist forms a friendship with a younger client who fervently believes in portals connecting the physical and spirit worlds—a dynamic that comes to a head in the show’s spooky and nerve-wracking final act.
NOV. 5: SVETLANA & THE NEW YORK COLLECTIVE at Arts Garage, 94 N.E. Second Ave., Delray Beach; 8 p.m.; $45-$45; 561/450-6457, artsgarage. org. Sultry and sophisticated Russianborn vocalist Svetlana leads her classic jazz band the New York Collective through a program called “Swing Makes You Sing,” in which she reinterprets 20th century standards from the golden age of swing, as well as modern tunes reimagined in a swinging style.
NOV. 9-13: “WIESENTHAL” at Delray Beach Playhouse, 950 N.W. Ninth St., Delray Beach; various show times; $45; 561/2721281, delraybeachplayhouse.com. In this one-man play, writer and actor Tom Dugan embodies Holocaust survivor and preeminent Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal, whose heroic efforts brought more than 1,100 Nazi war criminals to justice. Moving and surprisingly humorous, the touring production returns to the Playhouse by popular demand. NOV. 11-12: TITO PUENTE JR. at Arts Garage, 94 N.E. Second Ave., Delray Beach; 8 p.m.; $50-$55; 561/450-6457, artsgarage.org. The son of legendary mambo musician Tito Puente—and a South Florida resident—carries on his father’s legacy through his music and repertoire. The Billboard Music Award winner’s latest album, Got Mambo?, features a bevy of guest stars singing alongside Puente’s exuberant and precise Latin percussion rhythms.
NOV. 19-20: “GIVE ‘EM HELL, HARRY” at Delray Beach Playhouse, 950 N.W. Ninth St., Delray Beach; 7:30 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday; $45; 561/272-1281, delraybeachplayhouse. com. Samuel Gallu’s crackling one-man play charts the life and times of President Harry Truman, from his childhood to his pivotal Missouri judgeship to his monumental two terms as president. Actor Clifton Truman Daniel, Truman’s grandson, plays the title character, marking the first time a president has been portrayed by a direct descendent.
NOV. 23: “DIRTY DANCING IN CONCERT” at Kravis Center, 701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach; 7:30 p.m.; $35-$95; 561/832-7469, kravis.org. In this unique fusion of film and performing arts, a live band and a talented group of “dirty” dancers will perform in front of a digitally remastered screening of the movie. The live entertainers will continue the fun with a post-movie concert in which audience interaction is encouraged.
NOV. 26: “ONE NIGHT OF QUEEN” at Kravis Center, 701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach; 8 p.m.; $25-$90; 561/832-7469, kravis.org. Singer-songwriter Gary Mullen marries Freddie Mercury’s range, pitch and onstage flamboyance with an already uncanny resemblance to the late rock icon. The result is the closest thing we’re likely to get to a Queen concert circa 1985, with all the hits turning up in the two-hour concert.
DEC. 2-4: “CALENDAR GIRLS” at Lake Worth Playhouse, 713 Lake Ave., Lake Worth Beach; 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday; $38; 561/586-6410, lakeworthplayhouse.org. Set in a small village in the United Kingdom, playwright Tim Firth’s touching and offbeat comedy follows a widow who decides to raise money in her late husband’s honor by inviting women from his hospital to pose nude for an “alternative” calendar. When the story goes viral, the attention strains the relationship between the widow and her best friend. DEC. 2-11: “VILLAINOUS COMPANY” at Delray Beach Playhouse, 950 N.W. Ninth St., Delray Beach; various show times; $42; 561/272-1281, delraybeachplayhouse.com. In this serpentine mystery by Victor L. Cahn, a shopper abandons her purchase of an expensive clock at the store, only for the shop’s clerk to show up moments later with the piece of merchandise—and the strong suspicion that the buyer is a thief. This sets in motion a Hitchcockian study in lies and deception powered by a compelling all-female cast.
DEC. 5-6: THE VICTORY DOLLS HOLIDAY SHOW at Delray Beach Playhouse, 950 N.W. Ninth St., Delray Beach; 12:30 p.m.; $49; 561/272-1281, delraybeachplayhouse.com. A collective of top South Florida actresses performs glorious, Andrews Sisters-style harmonies, this time with a holiday twist. Expect to hear “White Christmas,” “Let it Snow” and other seasonal favorites alongside the Victory Dolls’ familiar WWII-period anthems.
DEC. 9: LEWIS BLACK: “OFF THE RAILS” at Kravis Center, 701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach; 8 p.m.; $35-$100; 561/832-7469, kravis.org. Rage, rage against the dying of the light. And against everything else, really. It’s the emotion that has propelled Lewis Black’s comedy career since his ascension on “The Daily Show” in the mid-’90s; he even played “Anger” in Pixar’s “Inside Out.” Luckily, the news cycle continues to supply the artfully outraged comic with an inexhaustible supply of new material. DEC. 10: OTIS CADILLAC AND THE EL DORADOS at Arts Garage, 94 N.E. Second Ave., Delray Beach; 8 p.m.; $45-$50; 561/450-6457, artsgarage. org. Nonagenarian roots-rocker Cadillac performs classic R&B and vintage rock ‘n’ roll, emulating musical revues of the ‘50s and ‘60s with assistance from his 11-piece band, the El Dorados, and his female vocal quartet, the Sublime Seville Sisters.
DEC. 11: “BELLE” SCREENING at Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens, 4000 Morikami Park Road, Delray Beach; 11 a.m. or 2 p.m.; $5; 561/495-0233, morikami. org. Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Mamoru Hosada’s 2021 animated feature follows shy high schooler Suzu, who finds fame and community as a virtual singer within the massive online world known as “U.” When one of her concerts is disrupted by a mysterious creature, her attempts to find the beast cause her real and digital worlds to blur.
DEC. 16: DICK LOWENTHAL’S BIG BAND at Arts Garage, 94 N.E. Second Ave., Delray Beach; 8 p.m.; $50-$55; 561/4506457, artsgarage.org. This eclectic program from Lowenthal, bandleader and founder of the Jazz Program at the Manhattan School of Music, will feature arrangements from such big-band staples as Buddy Rich, Benny Goodman and Duke Ellington for a genre-hopping slate of Broadway, blues, jazz and holiday favorites, with vocalist Lisanne Lyons singing selections from the Great American Songbook.
DEC. 18: ANTHONY RODIA: “THE ROAD RAGE TOUR” at Delray Beach Playhouse, 950 N.W. Ninth St., Delray Beach; 5:30 and 8 p.m.; $69.50-$89.50; 561/272-1281, delraybeachplayhouse.com. Italian-American comedian Rodia left a lucrative career in auto finance in 2019 to explore his first love of standup full-time. He has since built a formidable track record for his cutting and observational humor on marriage, parenthood and human psychology, recording 86 weekly videos during the pandemic and attracting 22 million YouTube views. DEC. 18: GIANNI ORGAN TRIO: “GOT THE HOLIDAY SOUL” at Arts Garage, 94 N.E. Second Ave., Delray Beach; 7 p.m.; $50-$55; 561/450-6457, artsgarage.org. Dr. Gianni Bianchini, a virtuoso of the Hammond B3 organ, is one of the most sought-after players of his iconic instrument, having shared stages with Arturo Sandoval, Warren Wolf, Joshua Redman and other jazz luminaries. On this tour, his trio plays a set of bluesy and “funkified” covers of seasonal classics.
DEC. 28-30: GEORGE BALANCHINE’S “THE NUTCRACKER” at Kravis Center, 701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach; various show times; tickets TBA; 561/832-7469, kravis.org. Miami City Ballet will once again present George Balanchine’s iconic take on Tchaikovsky’s timeless ballet, with its dancing snowflakes, sugar plum fairies and heroic toy soldiers, casting a wintry spell over the lukewarm Florida holidays.
DEC. 30-JAN. 1: “FEELIN’ GOOD: A MICHAEL BUBLE TRIBUTE” at Delray Beach Playhouse, 950 N.W. Ninth St., Delray Beach; 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday; $45-$125; 561/272-1281, delraybeachplayhouse.com. Bolstered by a talented band and backup dancers, actor and singer Rome Saladino performs hits popularized by the 21st century crooner Buble, along with compositions he has performed in many Broadway musicals, including “A Chorus Line” and “West Side Story.”
Delray Beach has an unlimited supply of sun, sand, shopping and entertainment just steps away from the surf. You’ll never run out of things to do in our charming Village by the Sea. TODAY’S MOMENTS ARE TOMORROW’S MEMORIES
