Delray’s Art and Jazz takes a trip down Memory Lane, HARID dancers showcase their pliés and jetés, and NSU Art Museum opens a dazzling Haitian art exhibition. Plus, Palm Beach Dramaworks’ season finale and more in your week ahead.
WEDNESDAY
What: Art & Jazz on the Avenue
When: 5:30 to 9:30 p.m.
Where: The Set neighborhood on West Atlantic Avenue from West Third Avenue to West Sixth Avenue
Cost: Free
Contact: 561/243-1077, downtowndelraybeach.com
The latest iteration of this cherished downtown Delray tradition returns with another four-hour program of live music, live art, children’s activities and food and craft vendors. Let’s not bury the lede: The biggest draw, for us, is the headlining performance by the Memory Lane Band, the sharply dressed specialists in soul and R&B, from the origins of Motown Records to funky favorites from the aughts. Normally, for their Monday night residency at Tin Roof, a cover charge applies; here, you can enjoy them gratis, so bring your dancing shoes. They’ll perform at Libby Wesley Plaza at 7 p.m. and will be preceded at 5:30 p.m. by vocalist/guitarist Morgan Minsk. Meanwhile, on stage two, in front of the Delray Beach Police Department, Mervyn Johnston’s five-piece band will take the stage at 7:30, preceded by the quintet CAPE Universal at 5:30. Nicole Holderbaum, aka “Nico,” and CHNK will be creating live murals all night.
This event has been postponed to Wednesday, May 31, in anticipation of inclement weather on May 24.
THURSDAY
What: Opening night of “You Hurt My Feelings”
When: 4, 6:40 and 9:20 p.m.
Where: Cinemark Palace 20, 3200 Airport Road, Boca Raton
Cost: $9-$14
Contact: 561/395-4695, cinemark.com
A new film from the great American auteur Nicole Holofcener (“Lovely and Amazing,” “Please Give”) is always reason to celebrate, and her seventh feature “You Hurt My Feelings” is no exception. Writer Beth (Julia-Louis Dreyfus) and psychotherapist Don (Tobias Menzies) have an ideal marriage—seemingly sharing everything with each other, from meals to personal foibles to existential doubts about aging and their careers. But when Beth surreptitiously overhears Don disparaging her debut novel to his brother-in-law—while assuring her that he loves it on every step of its evolution—Beth is shattered by the betrayal. If this description sounds heavy, it’s to Holofcener’s credit that “You Hurt My Feelings” is among her funniest movies, full of wise, authentic and cringe-y humor. There’s arguably no better filmmaker when it comes to capturing the travails of stuck creatives in contemporary cities. The movie also opens at Cinemark Pompano Beach and other area theaters.
FRIDAY
What: Opening day of “Cosmic Mirrors”
When: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Where: NSU Art Museum, 1 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale
Cost: $10-$16
Contact: 954/525-5500, nsuartmuseum.org
With its opening tied to the celebration of May as Haitian Heritage Month, “Cosmic Mirrors” offers an unprecedented survey of the NSU Art Museum’s longstanding commitment to the collection of art from the spiritually rich and creatively vibrant island nation. The title of the exhibition refers to the Haitian Vodou belief in a parallel, or mirror, universe to our own, and “Cosmic Mirrors” includes works that explore both vodou cosmology and the colonial Catholic beliefs that took root in Haiti. Drawn almost entirely from the museum’s permanent collection, the exhibition features more than 160 pieces spanning from the 1950s through the 2000s, with Curator Ariella Wolens creating conversations between early masters of the Haitian Renaissance to the bold artists of today. “Cosmic Mirrors” runs through Fall 2023.
What: Opening night of “Topdog/Underdog”
When: 8 p.m. (7 p.m. for reception, included with ticket price; tickets for remainder of run are $84)
Where: Palm Beach Dramaworks, 201 Clematis St., West Palm Beach
Cost: $99
Contact: 561/514-4042, palmbeachdramaworks.org
Theatrical surrealism collides with a confrontational examination of issues plaguing Black men in America in this Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Suzan-Lori Parks. It’s set in a living space shared by two brothers ominously named Lincoln and Booth. In one of several meta details, Lincoln, the older brother, earns his living as a whiteface Abraham Lincoln impersonator in a local arcade, a demeaning position that is on the brink of being replaced by a wax model. Booth, meanwhile, has an aptitude for shoplifting and three-card Monte, a hustle to which Lincoln ultimately returns. Money problems and women problems dictate the course of the action in “Topdog/Underdog,” along with a sibling conflict as old as the Civil War—maybe as old as Cain and Abel. Parks has a lot to say in this play, a Tony nominee upon its 2002 premiere that continues to enjoy a long life in regional theatre. Palm Beach Dramaworks’ production, starring George Anthony Richardson and Jovon Jacobs and directed by Belinda Boyd, runs through June 11.
SATURDAY AND SUNDAY
What: HARID Spring Performances
When: 3 p.m.
Where: Countess de Hoernle Theater, 5100 Jog Road, Boca Raton
Cost: $30-$35
Contact: 561/998-8038, harid.edu
Dancers from Boca Raton’s first-rate dance conservatory will showcase everything they’ve learned alongside a quartet of special guest artists from the Orlando Ballet. Specifically, Sofia Abenanty and Hitomi Nakamura, along with HARID graduates John Abenanty (class of 2013) and Amir Dodarkhojayev (class of 2020) will join HARID’s current dancers on a sprightly spring collage of classic and contemporary pieces. The afternoon will feature the pas de deux from “La Fille Mal Gardée,” excerpts from “La Bayadère” and, perhaps most enticingly, the premiere of “Banjara,” featuring music by the composer and sitar virtuoso Ravi Shankar.
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