A jazz fusion titan bids farewell, an Oscar hopeful opens in Boca, and a new play tracks the trauma of a family and a nation. Plus, “Swan Lake” and the Beatles’ Let it Be.
WEDNESDAY
What: Larry Carlton
Where: North Beach Bandshell, 7275 Collins Ave., Miami Beach
When: 8 p.m.
Cost: $65.95-$750
Contact: 786/453-2897, northbeachbandshell.com
This is an unusually robust week for jazz fusion guitarists. As we mentioned in yesterday’s blog, Pat Metheny’s new trio swings into town Friday, and two days prior, you can catch the reported farewell tour of the guitar giant Larry Carlton, who has spent 60 years operating in the boundless nexuses of jazz, rock and soul. His collaborators include a who’s who of popular music in the 1970s and 1980s, from Joni Mitchell and Michael Jackson to Dolly Parton and the Fifth Dimension. He contributed to the epic solo on Steely Dan’s “Kid Charlemagne,” and played on the iconic theme to “Hill Street Blues.” Expect to hear Carlton’s solo material alongside select cuts from Steely Dan and his fusion group the Crusaders.
FRIDAY
What: Opening night of “The Worst Person in the World”
Where: Living Room Theaters at FAU, 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton
When: Show times pending
Cost: $10.50
Contact: 561/549-2600, fau.livingroomtheaters.com
This acclaimed romantic dramedy from Norway was one of the surprises of last week’s Oscar nominations: Not only is it vying for Best Foreign Language Film; it also earned a nod for Best Original Screenplay. Some believe is should have received Best Actress consideration, too. Renate Reinsve, the film’s breakout star, recently told Seth Meyers that she had decided to quit acting the night before receiving the phone call offering her the part in “The Worst Person in the World.” This serendipitous timing is a gift to the film world, as she would go on to win a top prize at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival. The movie, the final entry in director Joachim Trier’s loose trilogy of films set in contemporary Oslo, follows Reinsve’s character in 12 chapters over the course of four years, as she balances a life love between two suitors. It runs at least through Feb. 24.
What: Opening night of “The Duration”
Where: Palm Beach Dramaworks, 201 Clematis St., West Palm Beach
When: 8 p.m.
Cost: $94 for opening night, including reception; $79 all other performances
Contact: 561/514-4042, palmbeachdramaworks.org
In this new play from Bruce Graham set in the divisive aftermath of 9/11, a liberal academic from New York (Elizabeth Dimon) purchases a gun and hides away in the middle of the woods of rural Pennsylvania. It’s up to her daughter (Caitlin Duffy) to track her down and address their personal grief—and perhaps the nation’s as well. Continuing Dramaworks’ season of plays written in the 21st century, “The Duration” premiered last year, around the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, and is imbued with the aftershocks of its seismic impact. J. Barry Lewis directs the production, which runs through March 6.
What: Classic Albums Live: The Beatles’ “Let It Be”
Where: Coral Springs Center for the Arts, 2855 Coral Springs Drive, Coral Springa
When: 8 p.m.
Cost: $27-$57
Contact: 954/344-5990, thecentercs.com
The Fab Four’s final album release is certainly having a moment, with Beatlemaniacs around the world tuning into all 488 minutes of Disney+’s “Get Back,” the long and winding documentary about the album’s making. You’re forgiven if you haven’t finished it yet—I haven’t—and you’re still welcome to attend this “note for note, cut for cut” live re-creation of the album from the master musicians of Classic Albums Live. This would be an event even if Let it Be wasn’t so much in the pop-culture firmament these days, simply because it offers fans a rare chance to hear such one-off doodles as “Maggie Mae” and “Dig It” alongside “Across the Universe,” the title track and other stone-cold classics.
SATURDAY AND SUNDAY
What: Miami City Ballet’s “Swan Lake”
Where: Kravis Center, 701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach
When: 1 and 7:30 p.m.
Cost: $37-$120
Contact: 561/832-7469, kravis.org
In a major coup, Miami City Ballet will, this weekend, mount the North American premiere of choreography Alexei Ratmansky’s radical reconstruction of Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov’s “Swan Lake.” Ratmansky’s interpretation of this dual-role masterwork may be his magnum opus: 50 dancers, magisterial sets and Tchaikovsky’s iconic score performed live. The New York Times called this version “the one by which we should judge all others.”
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