Beatles on the Beach gets the blues in Mizner, nobody puts Baby in the corner in Delray, and an Alicia Keys musical opens in Broward. Plus, Pat Metheny and more in your week ahead.
TUESDAY
What: Opening night of “Hell’s Kitchen”
When: 7:30 p.m.
Where: Broward Center, 201 S.W. Fifth Ave., Fort Lauderdale
Cost: $60.48-$181.50
Contact: 954/462-0222, browardcenter.org
Alicia Keys penned the music and lyrics for this acclaimed jukebox musical—considered by many to be a pinnacle of the genre—that draws from her upbringing in the titular Manhattan neighborhood. Ali, the 17-year-old at the center of the show, struggles with a combative relationship with her mother, her budding sexuality, institutional racism and the terminal illness of a mentor, all while pursuing her passion for the piano. With its streetwise sets, costumes, onstage percussion and memorable music—some written for the show, and others, like “Girl on Fire” and “Fallin’,” taken from Keys’ chart-topping archive—“Hell’s Kitchen” would win two Tonys in 2024. It makes its South Florida touring debut this month, running through March 22.
THURSDAY
What: “Dirty Dancing LIVE in Concert”
When: 6 p.m.
Where: Old School Square Amphitheater, 51 N. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach
Cost: $32.39-$266.25
Contact: events.delrayoldschoolsquare.com
The legacy of “Dirty Dancing” has long surpassed its modest intentions as an autobiographical drama based on screenwriter Eleanor Bergstein’s dancing lessons at a Catskill Mountains resort in the early 1960s. Shot for $4.5 million, the 1987 film grossed $214 million, its fame only increasing after its theatrical run. It became the first film to sell a million copies on video, and its soundtrack is as legendary as the movie—introducing not just the Oscar-winning “(I’ve Had) the Time of My Life” but “She’s Like the Wind,” “Hungry Eyes” and “Yes,” all of which charted on Billboard. As fans anticipate the movie’s 40th anniversary next year, this immersive stage production will present its soaring music and carnal choreography in three dimensions. With the movie projecting on a giant screen at Old School Square Amphitheater, a live band will perform the songs, while professional dancers will reenact the sultry movements in sync with the action. Audiences are encouraged to sway in their seats, and following the screening, the live entertainers will lead a 25-minute encore dance party.
THURSDAY AND FRIDAY
What: Pat Metheny
When: 7:30 p.m.
Where: The Parker, 707 N.E. Eighth St., Fort Lauderdale
Cost: $82-$270
Contact: 954/462-0222, browardcenter.org
Pat Metheny has stayed humble. In a 2018 interview with the National Endowment for the Arts, the guitar god described the “balance of mixing a lot of written material with deeply challenging improvisational material” as “an area I’m still working on.” The labor continues all spring as the 71-year-old jazz titan brings his latest quartet, Side-Eye III+, on an extensive U.S. tour. Fresh off a pair of spartan solo releases in 2023 and 2024, Metheny’s return to the classic quartet format is anything but a retreat into familiar structures. Always forward-thinking—from his embryonic beginnings as a member of vibraphonist Gary Burton’s lyrical quintet, to his collaborations with mavericks like Ornette Coleman, to his embrace of a machine-generated orchestra on 2010’s “Orchestrion” project—Metheny’s music hums with vitality and beauty, freedom and swing. Side-Eye III+ sees him touring with emerging jazz stars Chris Fishman (piano), Joe Dyson (drums) and Jermaine Paul (bass).
THURSDAY TO SUNDAY
What: Beatles on the Beach
When: Start times vary
Where: Mizner Park Amphitheater, 590 Plaza Real, Boca Raton, and surrounding venues
Cost: $39.50-$248
Contact: beatlesonthebeach.com
Moving from its former digs in nearby Delray Beach, this Fab Four-centered concert and confab makes its way to Boca Raton for the first time, and with an American cultural icon at the top of the bill. As the Saturday night headliner, Morgan Freeman will introduce his Symphonic Blues Experience, a recently established venture from the Academy Award-winning actor. Top-shelf blues musicians will perform highlights from the genre, from its raw foundations in the Mississippi Delta through its electric incarnations and the birth of rock ‘n’ roll, aided by high-def video projections and the sweeping orchestral arrangements of a live symphony. Friday’s headliner, Paul McCartney tribute artist Tony Kishman, will bring back his own orchestral-pop hybrid, “Live & Let Die: A Symphonic Tribute to Paul McCartney.” Other special guests and performers including Greg Bissonette, drummer from Ringo Starr’s All Starr Band; experts and hosts from SiriusXM’s Beatles Channel; The Peakles, a Beatles tribute from Portugal; and more. Visit the festival’s website for the complete schedule. Read our interview with Morgan Freeman here.
FRIDAY TO SUNDAY
What: GroundUp Music Festival
When: Starts at 6 p.m. Friday, 2:35 p.m. Saturday and 1:35 p.m. Sunday
Where: Miami Beach Bandshell, 7275 Collins Ave., Miami Beach
Cost: $109 and up
Cost: groundupmusicfestival.com
Describing itself as “artist-centric, attendee-focused, and proudly genre-defying,” this intimate annual musical gathering celebrates its 10th anniversary in the Magic City this week. As in past years, its lineup is, indeed, among the most eclectic of all festivals in the southeast, featuring not just live performances—often in collab-heavy configurations not seen anywhere else—but workshops and master classes with the A-list musicians. Festival founders and space-jazz cult heroes Snarky Puppy will perform all three nights, alongside hip-hop/jazz/electronic wunderkind Flying Lotus, Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Rickie Lee Jones, R&B icon Patrice Rushen, guitarist and ambient jazz giant Julian Lage, hypnotic vocalist and composer Arooj Aftab, and more. Friday’s performance is a foundation benefit concert complete with a full dinner, while reduced-price “Late Night Jams” conclude Saturday and Sunday’s shows starting at 11 p.m. each night at Lakou, 207 N.E. 59th St., Miami.
For more of Boca magazine’s arts and entertainment coverage, click here.
