South Florida artists receive their first solo museum shows, local bands sound off at Mizner, and Island City Stage mounts a daring musical. Plus, George Strait and more in your week ahead.
TUESDAY
What: “Future Past Perfect”
When: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Where: NSU Art Museum, 1 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale
Cost: $10-$16 museum admission
Contact: 954/525-5500, nsuartmuseum.org
This vital exhibition, which opened this past weekend, fulfills one of NSU Art Museum’s core objectives: fostering the next generation(s) of South Florida artists. Inspired by the paradoxes of the pandemic—which shuttered many forms of artistic discourse but allowed for unprecedented time for the cultivation of the new work—“Future Past Perfect” showcases the creations of seven artists from this pivotal period, providing each of them with their first solo museum exhibition. The artists receiving such long-overdue recognition include Natalie Alfonso of Coral Springs (the site-specific installation “LineScape Dusk”), Susan Kim Alvarez of Miami (“Oogly Boogly,” which explores mythological creatures through multiple mediums), Joel Gaitan of Miami (whose sculptures riff on pre-Columbian artifacts), Kandy G. Lopez of Fort Lauderdale (creator of large-scale fiber portraits), Alejandro Piñeiro Bello of Miami (whose “Escaping Paradise” is a vivid tribute to his native Cuba), Lulu Sanchez of Miami (whose “ADOLFOLAND” is inspired by her famous artist uncle), and Zoe Schweiger of Miami (whose art imagines a climate-devastated South Florida future). The exhibition runs through Oct. 15.
WEDNESDAY
What: George Strait
When: 8 p.m.
Where: Hard Rock Live, 1 Seminole Way, Hollywood
Cost: $455 and up (resale only)
Contact: 866/502-7529, seminolehardrockhollywood.com
Even the best music critics can be wrong. “He’s so unassuming I’m afraid he’s destined to remain a minor pleasure,” said Robert Christgau, dean of American rock critics, about George Strait’s 1981 debut. Strait, unassuming though he may be, is third only to Elvis Presley and the Beatles with the most gold and platinum singles in music history, and he has accrued a staggering 60 No. 1 hits on the Billboard charts. Moreover, he’s no legacy act—he continues to recording inspiring new music, releasing his 30th album Honky Tonk Time Machine in 2019. It’s a fitting title for an artist who has consistently trumpeted the virtues of traditionalist country music even when his peers were embracing crossover pop. Remaining doggedly consistent after more than 40 years in the genre, Strait continues to exemplify country’s best attributes: uncluttered arrangements and a tenderness of tone and spirit that cuts right to the heart.
THURSDAY
What: Opening night of “Thrill Me”
When: 8 p.m.
Where: Island City Stage, 2304 N. Dixie Highway, Wilton Manors
Cost: $40
Contact: 954/928-9800, islandcitystage.org
On the rare instances when Island City Stage, our edgy LGBTQ+ theater, mounts a musical, it’s usually not the fluffy escapist kind. It’s more like “Thrill Me,” composer-lyricist Stephen Dolginoff’s riveting account of Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb, the so-called “thrill killers,” a pair of University of Chicago students-turned-lovers who kidnapped and killed a 14-year-old boy in 1924, essentially to prove that they could pull off the perfect murder. If this sort of sociopathic gamesmanship sounds Hitchcockian, it’s only fitting: The Leopold and Loeb saga inspired Hitch’s movie “Rope,” in which the characters’ physical relationship could only be implied. “Thrill Me,” however, leans into both the lust and the psychological depravity of this sordid true-crime nightmare, performed through 16 songs by two actors—Kevin Veloz and Dylan Goike—on an expectedly spartan set. Directed by Christopher Michaels, Island City Stage’s season-closing production runs through Sept. 3.
FRIDAY
What: Battle of the Bands
When: 7 p.m.
Where: Mizner Park Amphitheater, 590 Plaza Real, Boca Raton
Cost: Free
Contact: 561/393-7890, mizneramp.com
This third-annual summer tradition features two brackets of bands vying for the top prize—no less than $2,500 cash—while sharing their talents with a supportive audience of fellow locals. Nine bands will each perform a short set, including four competing in the “over 20 years old” category (Atomic Pleasures, AWALL, HADEE and the Fallen Kiwi), and five in the “Under 20” youth competition (Ava Violet, DNA, Midnight3, Ripped Jorts and Seda Sol). Between acts, attendees can support local makers by visiting the Young Entrepreneurs Marketplace, also at the Amphitheater, whose unique and homemade wares include everything from freshly baked pastries and origami jewelry to Harry Potter wands, books and crocheted toys. As usual, the Battle of the Bands marks the end of the city of Boca Raton’s weekly free “Summer in the City” programming.
What: A Flock of Seagulls
When: 7:30 p.m.
Where: Culture Room, 3045 N. Federal Highway, Fort Lauderdale
Cost: $38.50
Contact: 954/564-1074, cultureroom.net
Formed in Liverpool in 1979, A Flock of Seagulls earned a Grammy in 1983 for their instrumental “D.N.A.,” and their visual as well as musical aesthetic helped define a generation. Their self-titled debut album, perhaps their lone bona fide masterpiece, is a conceptual work about an alien invasion, and it spawned their most beloved songs. These days, founding vocalist Mike Score no longer sports the gravity-defying bouffant of A Flock of Seagulls’ peak period of influence; in fact, he’s bald, and looks a bit more like Pixies’ Frank Black. No matter: As the only original member of the new-wave titans, he stills brings it vocally, and his younger bandmates perform synthpop staples like “Space Age Love Song” and “I Ran” with the reverential majesty they deserve.
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