Street fashion meets high art at the Norton, and a Stephen King masterpiece makes it to the stage. Plus, Lucy Dacus, a Pink Floyd extravaganza and more in your week ahead.
FRIDAY
What: Floyd Nation: Experience Pink Floyd
Where: Kravis Center, 701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach
When: 8 p.m.
Cost: $35-$70
Contact: 561/832-7469, kravis.org
If those Roger Waters tickets back in August were too expensive, or if Miami was too far a schlep, or if Waters has become too grouchily political (we hear you), a deft re-creation of Pink Floyd at its peak awaits you just up the road in West Palm for a fraction of the price. The U.S. based tribute act Floyd Nation features a nine-piece band with a studious and passionate understanding of Floyd’s music and theatrical showmanship, which is present throughout the laser lights and sound in this state-of-the-art, career-spanning experience. Hits from Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here and The Wall are on the docket, but tunes from challenging, lesser-known LPs like Meddle and the group’s last full-length to date, The Division Bell, make the cut—or shall we say The Final Cut—as well.
What: Opening night of “Misery: The Play”
Where: Empire Stage, 1140 N. Flagler Drive, Fort Lauderdale
When: 8 p.m.
Cost: $35
Contact: 954/678-1496, empirestage.com
Still the ultimate nightmare scenario concerning fame and the relationship between celebrities and their fans, Stephen King’s Misery has had a rich and multimedia legacy, becoming the only of the author’s film adaptations to win an Academy Award. William Goldman, who wrote the screenplay, also adapted King’s novel for the stage, which should play well to its chamber-like setting and urgent suspense. When Paul Sheldon (played by David Gordon in Empire Stage’s production), a famed novelist of Victorian bodice-rippers, crashes in a snowstorm en route from Colorado to New York, he winds up in the “care” of Annie Wilkes (Elizabeth Holmes), a nurse and self-professed No. 1 fan of Paul’s work. But when the author’s latest creative decision irks his new caregiver, her adoration congeals into sadism. Michael Leeds, on loan from Island City Stage, directs Empire Stage’s brisk 90-minute production, which runs through Oct. 30.
What: Opening night of “To Leslie”
Where: O Cinema, 1130 Washington Ave., Miami Beach
When: 7 and 9:15 p.m.
Cost: $9.50-$11
Contact: o-cinema.org
We hear it all the time: Somebody wins the lottery and proceeds to squander the winnings irresponsibly. In short order, they revert to the same position in which they started—or worse. This is the fate that befalls the title character, played by Andrea Riseborough, in director Michael Morris’ “To Leslie,” which is inspired by true events. Leslie is a single mother from West Texas whose winning lottery ticket provides $190,000 for her and her son. Years later, the money is gone, and Leslie is left battling heartbreak and alcoholism. But the movie’s not all bleak; in fact, it’s full of a life and the possibility of second chances. Stephen Root, Marc Maron and Allison Janney are part of the exemplary supporting cast, while Riseborough’s lead performance has been earning early awards buzz. It runs at least through Oct. 13.
SATURDAY
What: “A Personal View of High Fashion & Street Style: Photographs from the Nicola Erni Collection, 1930s to Now”
Where: Norton Museum of Art, 1450 S. Dixie Highway, West Palm Beach
When: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Cost: $15-$18, $5 students
Contact: 561/832-5196, norton.org
The title of the Norton’s much-anticipated fall exhibition may be a mouthful, but it barely scratches the surface of its collector’s sweeping sensibilities. Swiss collector Nicola Erni began amassing photographs as a passion project in the 1990s, beginning with works in the burgeoning ‘70s that captured the convergences of her interests in art, fashion, film and music. It has since grown backwards and forwards, to the post-Jazz Age to today’s trendsetting fashion photography. It includes work by such titanic image-makers as Cecil Beaton, Richard Avedon, Irving Penn, Cindy Sherman, Vivian Maier and many others; celebrities appearing under their lenses include Lena Horne, Kate Moss and Zendaya. The immense totality of this invaluable collection, on display in a museum for the first time, offers insight into changing norms of beauty and the origins of street photography as a respected artistic genre. The exhibition runs all the way through Feb. 23.
What: Lucy Dacus
Where: Miami Beach Bandshell, 7275 Collins Ave., Miami Beach
When: 8:30 p.m.
Cost: $34.88
Contact: 305/672-5202, miamibeachbandshell.com
I’ve been gradually growing smitten with Lucy Dacus since I began hearing her music on indie-rock radio. Part of the same subgenre of earnest, confessional, poetic singer-songwriters as Phoebe Bridgers and Julien Baker—with whom she formed the great supergroup boygenius in 2018—Dacus plumbs her autobiography with wit, nostalgia and heart-tugging specificity, and with a voice that could slay demons. She’s supporting her third LP, 2021’s universally acclaimed Home Video, a masterful selection of catchy and revealing sketches that seem loosely connected around youth, moviegoing and moviemaking. Rolling Stone named Home Video its fifth-best release of the year. Yes, nobody likes driving to Miami, but I wouldn’t sit this one out; acts like Dacus don’t tour South Florida often. The infectious and humorous Philadelphia duo Crooks & Nannies open the show.
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