A solo theater piece re-creates “It’s a Wonderful Life” in 75 minutes, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra resurrects Christmas spirits, and Bret Baier keynotes the YMCA’s Prayer Breakfast. Plus, The Beach Boys, The Jingle Ball, “Avenue Q” and more in your week ahead.
WEDNESDAY
What: YMCA of the Palm Beaches’ Annual Prayer Breakfast
Where: The Breakers, 1 S. County Road, Palm Beach
When: 7:45 a.m.
Cost: $100, or $250 for VIP meet-and-greet tickets
Contact: 561/968-9622, ymcapalmbeaches.org
One of YMCA of the Palm Beaches’ most-beloved fundraisers, the Prayer Breakfast returns for its eighth annual morning of inspiration and community connection. Always able to attract first-rate keynote speakers, this year’s breakfast will feature a presentation by Fox News’ Chief Political Anchor Bret Baier, one of the cable news network’s least ideological voices in prime time. He will provide insights into the strange and expectation-defying election of 2016 and, perhaps more importantly for the YMCA’s message of prayer and positivity, will discuss his latest book “Special Heart: One Family’s Journey of Faith, Hope, Courage and Love,” a touching account of his son’s transformative battle with heart disease.
THURSDAY
What: Avi Bash book signing
Where: Murder on the Beach, 273 Pineapple Grove Way, Delray Beach
When: 7 p.m.
Cost: Free
Contact: 561/279-7790, murderonthebeach.com
Appealing to devotees of local history and true crime alike, mob historian Avi Bash’s new book, “Organized Crime in Miami,” explores the city’s rich history as a Mafia escape—a place where gangsters who built their empires elsewhere wintered, convalesced, partied and rebuilt their legacies. Al Capone is only the most famous example of the mobster-in-Miami-exile, but others flocked here, too—not just for the temperate weather but for the lax law enforcement and other factors. Bash’s book explores all of the ingredients that made Miami a mob Mecca dating back to the first quarter of the 20th century, supplementing his research with previously unpublished and rarely circulated photographs originating from police files, private family albums and newspaper archives.
What: The Beach Boys: Holidays & Hits
Where: Arsht Center, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami
When: 8 p.m.
Cost: $59.50-$89.50
Contact: 305/949-6722, arshtcenter.org
“The Beach Boys Christmas,” from 1964, is one of the great holiday albums of its era, in which clever original songs like “The Man With All the Toys” and “Little Saint Nick” joined standards like “White Christmas” and “Frosty the Snowman,” all performed with the rollicking surf rhythms and four-part harmonies of the Boys’ iconic style. The Mike Love-fronted version of the band will play many of these seasonal favorites, along with non-holiday sing-alongs, in a yuletide gift for your ears.
FRIDAY
What: Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Where: BB&T Center, 1 Panther Parkway, Sunrise
When: 3:30 and 8 p.m.
Cost: $30-$70
Contact: 954/835-8000, thebbtcenter.com
Rock music—the epic, thunderous, grandiose rock music that only makes sense in pyrotechnic-friendly arenas—is a tradition that would seem at odds with holiday music, with its bouncy earworms and choral harmonies. But Trans-Siberian Orchestra has staked its career on merging the two forms on high-concept, elaborately conceived Christmas albums. For this tour, the group will revisit its narrative score for “The Ghosts of Christmas Eve,” a 1999 TV movie that will project on giant screens behind the band.
What: “This Wonderful Life”
SONY DSC
Where: Kravis Center, 701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach
When: 7:30 p.m.
Cost: $39
Contact: 561/832-7469, kravis.org
Chameleonic actor Jeremy Kendall doesn’t need a $3 million budget and a cast of 50 to bring “It’s a Wonderful Life” to … life. His elastic body and his spectrum-spanning voice are enough, in this one-man re-creation of the uplifting holiday film. Kendall plays more than 32 characters, from George Bailey and Clarence the Angel to Mary and Zuzu, regularly breaking the fourth wall to comment on the action. It’s a 75-minute whirlwind that feels considerably leaner than Frank Capra’s 130-minute movie, updating its pace while retaining its deceptively simple message about the impact of life’s little things.
FRIDAY TO SUNDAY
What: “Avenue Q”
Where: Crest Theatre at Old School Square, 51 N. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach
When: 8 p.m. Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday
Cost: $42-$52
Contact: 561/243-7922, oldschoolsquare.org
“Avenue Q,” Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx’s hilarious, R-rated marionette musical with heart, is no stranger to South Florida stages, usually when it stops by on national tours. It is unusual for a local company to mount its own regional production, but the industrious Slow Burn Theatre Company has never balked at a challenge. The South Florida cast and crew built their own puppets and costumes, in a production that has already played a couple of regional venues and now stops by the Crest for a brief residency. By now, the actors have their puppeteering finesse down to a science, disappearing completely into parts like Kate Monster, a timid teacher looking for love, and Trekkie Monster, a shaggy recluse with an all-too-familiar Internet addiction.
SATURDAY
What: Screening of “Eyes Wide Shut” on 35mm
Where: O Cinema, 500 71st St., Miami Beach
When: 11:30 p.m.
Cost: $10
Contact: 786/207-1919, o-cinema.org
Moviegoers looking for a holiday film that is a bit more, shall we say, adventurous than the usual suspects can do no better than Stanley Kubrick’s unintended swan song, based on an erotic 1926 novella by Arthur Schnitzler. Set at Christmastime during a hedonistic 48 hours for affluent doctor Bill Harford (Tom Cruise), “Eyes Wide Shut” is a polarizing nocturnal odyssey through an unfamiliar New York, a film chockablock with deviant set pieces and unforgettable, symbolically loaded imagery that continues to fascinate conspiracy theorists to this day. One thing is for certain: A single viewing is never enough to comprehend this meticulously composed, deeply controversial work of art. And there’s no better opportunity to experience, or revisit, this modern classic than on its original 35mm format.
SUNDAY
What: Y100 Jingle Ball
Where: The BB&T Center, 1 Panther Parkway, Sunrise
When: 7:30 p.m.
Cost: $46-$251
Contact: 954/835-8000, thebbtcenter.com
Pop festivals are for the young, so here’s a great way to test how old you’re getting: Look at the music lineup for Y100’s annual Jingle Ball concert, and count the number of artists you recognize. Chances are it will diminish every year—unless you have kids who groove to Top 40, in which case you have an unfair advantage. They might even be dragging you to The BB&T Center this weekend, which features performances by influential DJ/EDM pioneer Diplo, Sweden’s darkly confessional singer-songwriter Tove Lo (I’m familiar with those two, thank you very much), electronic duo The Chainsmokers, five-piece girl group Fifth Harmony, reggaeton singer Nicky Jam, Danish pop-soul act Lukas Graham, singer-actress Hailee Steinfeld and more. And if you are one of those dragged parents, be thankful for small favors: At least it’s not the Biebs.
