ET researchers make contact in Fort Lauderdale, the Symphonia kicks off its season, and Theatre Lab opens a meta memory play. Plus, bluesman Lurrie Bell and more in your week ahead.
THURSDAY
What: Ancient Aliens Live
When: 7:30 p.m.
Where: The Parker, 707 N.E. Eighth St., Fort Lauderdale
Cost: $65-$81
Contact: 954/462-0222, browardcenter.org
Before it was a cultural phenomenon, “Ancient Aliens” was a mere one-hour TV special: a speculative documentary, grounded in thought-provoking if pseudoscientific theories, that explored the idea that mankind was seeded by ancient astronauts. Buoyed by popular demand, this kernel sprouted into the History Channel’s definitive cult series, now in its 19th season, with episode topics expanding far beyond its original remit. In the catch-all world of “Ancient Aliens,” the multiverse, quantum theory, lost civilizations, cryptozoology, ESP and time travel are as likely to share screen time as the latest revelations from the Defense Department’s handling of UFOs. This 90-minute tour, billed as an “experiential extension” of the series, will cover similar wide-ranging ground. It features contributions from the show’s producer, Giorgio A. Tsoukalos; Nick Pope, who ran the U.K.’s UFO program for its Ministry of Defense; aerospace engineer Dr. Travis Taylor; and adventure explorer David Childress.
FRIDAY
What: Welcome to Night Vale
When: 7:30 p.m.
Where: Broward Center for the Performing Arts, 201 S.W. Fifth Ave., Fort Lauderdale
Cost: $27.50-$49.50
Contact: 954/462-0222, browardcenter.org
In the 11 years since it premiered in our earbuds, “Welcome to Night Vale” has evolved from upstart sci-fi comedy podcast to a cultish multimedia phenomenon spanning books, a touring stage show, and a forthcoming TV series from FX. The concept is a satire on our increasingly paranoid times: Each half-hour podcast is presented as a radio news update in the fictional Southwestern town of Night Vale, in which, per co-creator Joseph Fink, “all conspiracy theories are real.” For instance, listeners can tune in to learn about the menacing Glow Cloud hovering over the town, a hidden city buried under the Night Vale bowling alley, the continual disappearance of the radio station’s interns, and an invasion from a demonic beagle puppy. This stage production, catering to both newcomers and longtime fans, features all-new dispatches and live music.
SATURDAY
What: Opening night of “The Berlin Diaries”
When: 7:30 p.m.
Where: Theatre Lab at FAU, 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton
Cost: $35-$45
Contact: 561/297-6124, fauevents.com
“The Berlin Diaries,” a new play that celebrates its “rolling world premiere” at Theatre Lab this weekend, is a fiercely personal work for its playwright, Andrea Stolowitz. It’s inspired by a journal kept by her great-grandfather Max Cohnreich, a Jewish doctor who fled Nazi Germany during the Holocaust. Stolowitz herself is a central character in this adventurous and meta docudrama: She journeys to Berlin to retrace the steps Cohnreich trod generations earlier for the purpose of a play, only to become captured in a space between past and present, discovering fresh tragedies—and occasionally absurdist humor—in the branches of her family tree. Theatre Lab’s production is expected to be a tour de force for its two cast members (Niki Fridh and Avi Hoffman), who play no fewer than 14 characters. The production runs through Dec. 10.
What: Lurrie Bell
When: 8 p.m.
Where: Arts Garage, 94 N.E. Second Ave., Delray Beach
Cost: $40-$45
Contact: 561/450-6357, artsgarage.org
In the mid-1960s, then 5-year-old Chicago native Lurrie Bell picked up his first guitar, and he’s seldom put one down since. Bell was born into his city’s legendary blues culture—his father, Carey Bell, played harmonica for the Muddy Waters Band, whose shadow would loom large over the young axeman’s budding career. Bell was still a teenager when he joined Koko Taylor’s Blues Machine in the 1970s, and made his recording debut on his father’s 1977 album Heartaches and Pain. Bell would experience these emotions himself in a turbulent 1980s, in which he battled emotional problems and substance abuse. He’s been most prolific since he overcame them, releasing 10 albums since 1997, including his latest, Can’t Shake This Feeling, which earned a Grammy nomination for Best Traditional Blues Album in 2017. Indeed, the exuberant 64-year-old singer-guitarist is a gravelly voiced keeper of the flame for blues traditions that predate his mentorship under Muddy Waters, fostering a sound that can be scorching and tender in equal measure.
SUNDAY
What: Symphonia Concert I: Native Wonders
When: 3 p.m.
Where: Roberts Theater at Saint Andrew’s School
Cost: $55-$90
Contact: 561/376-3848, thesymphonia.org
The Symphonia is going down to Earth for its 2023-2024 orchestral season, continuing last season’s theme of exploring our natural environment through the majesty of sound. The opening program “Native Wonders” features the work of four composers who took, and take, inspiration from the natural world. As evidence of the company’s mission to trumpet the work of contemporary working composers, “Native Wonders” will feature “Chokfi” by the indigenous American composer-pianist Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate, whose Chickasaw identity is explored through his work. The lively and percussive “Chokfi,” for example, is inspired by a trickster legend from his tribal ancestry. The program also includes Handel’s “Water Music Suite No. 2,” Tchaikovsky’s “Souvenir D’un Lieu Cher” and Copland’s “Appalachian Spring.” Alastair Willis conducts the orchestra, which will spotlight guest violin soloist Hina Khuong-Huu, first-prize winner of the 2023 Elmar Oliveira International Violin Competition.
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