Theatergoers crack the case in an interactive “Clue,” Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens presents art by a modernist master, and Beethoven’s Fifth comes to the Kravis. Plus, jazz giant Fred Hersch and more in your week ahead.
THURSDAY
What: Opening day of “Alex Katz: Portraits and Landscapes Through the Seasons”
Where: Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens, 253 Barcelona Road, West Palm Beach
When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Cost: $15 adults, $10 seniors
Contact: 561/832-5328, ansg.org
Blazing his own trail as a figurative artist during the heyday of Abstract Expressionism, Alex Katz was nothing if not prolific, aspiring, in his own words, to paint “faster than I can think.” In his long and storied career—he’ll turn 98 in July, God willing—Katz has brought reduction and flatness back into the foreground of contemporary painting through advertising-inspired portraits and landscapes that distill their subjects to their essences without sacrificing bold color. His appreciation for capturing the changing seasons in his nature-based works makes him a perfect fit for the lush environs of Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens, where his art—silkscreens, pigment prints, linocuts and original works—will be featured among Norton’s own masterpieces. The exhibition runs through June 20.
What: Opening night of “Clue: A Walking Mystery”
Where: Broward Center, 201 S.W. Fifth Ave., Fort Lauderdale
When: 5 p.m.
Cost: $39
Contact: 954/462-0222, browardcenter.org
Part “Amazing Race”-style scavenger hunt, part true-crime homage, part cheeky board game in three dimensions, “Clue: A Walking Mystery” is a roving, interactive theatre production that takes place at multiple locations in downtown Fort Lauderdale. The premise is that the murder at the heart of Hasbro’s iconic board game still has not been solved, and the butler (who surely didn’t do it this time) leads us, as detectives, to crack the case. In the process, we follow clues to track down auctioned furniture items from the rooms in “Clue”—the Library, the Billiard Room, etc.—while interacting with descendants of the game’s colorful characters. Lace up your walking shoes, because attendees will follow the scent from the Broward Center to locations such as the Riverside Hotel, Stranahan House and Hoffman’s Chocolates, in the sort of outdoor, socially distanced entertainment that briefly thrived during the pandemic. We’re glad to see it’s back! It runs through April 6.
FRIDAY
What: Opening night of “Murder on the Orient Express”
Where: Delray Beach Playhouse, 950 N.W. Ninth St., Delray Beach
When: 7:30 p.m.
Cost: $55
Contact: 561/272-1281, delraybeachplayhouse.com
A delectable and sturdy whodunit conceived by the genre’s signature voice, “Murder on the Orient Express” was the first of the prolific Agatha Christie’s three novels in 1934 alone. This stage adaptation presents a bevy of eccentric murder suspects, each with a rickety alibi, on a train barreling from the Middle East to London, with one impressively mustached detective tasked with solving the crime. If you’ve read the novel or seen the movie versions, the climax will be no surprise; the fun lies in the memorable characterizations, which will be brought to life by comic playwright Ken Ludwig. Delray Beach Playhouse’s community theater production runs through April 13.
What: Fred Hersch
Where: Arts Garage, 94 N.E. Second Ave., Delray Beach
When: 8 p.m.
Cost: $60-$65
Contact: 561/450-6357, artsgarage.org
Whether performing his own intricate compositions, reimagined standards from the American songbook, or pop nuggets from Joni Mitchell or Paul McCartney, jazz pianist and 17-time Grammy nominee Fred Hersch plays with his own identifiably romantic style, eliciting aching beauty from his technique and choices regardless of whether he’s playing in a solo, duet or small-band settings. According to his memoir, Good Things Happen Slowly, His break came when he attended a concert by Art Pepper, who kicked his own pianist off the bandstand and asked if anyone in the audience could sit in. Hersch rose to the occasion, launching a career that has included stints with giants of jazz saxophone (Joe Henderson, Stan Getz), bass (Charlie Haden, Esperenza Spalding), guitar (Bill Frisell) and more, while his solo recitals, like this Arts Garage performance, never fail to mesmerize.
SUNDAY
What: National Symphony Orchestra
Where: Kravis Center, 701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach
When: 2 p.m.
Cost: $40-$125
Contact: 561/832-7469, kravis.org
Now in its 95th year, the National Symphony Orchestra remains among our nation’s oldest and most esteemed institutions of classical music, spreading its power, joy and technical mastery across a 52-week season of some 175 concerts each year. The orchestra alights at the Kravis Center this weekend, as part of the symphony’s first domestic tour under Music Director Gianandrea Noseda, who took up the mantle in 2017. The program includes the NSO’s customary eclectic mix, with the exuberant “Four Black American Dances,” a 2023 work from its composer-in-residence, Carlos Simon; Korngold’s “Violin Concerto in D Major,” featuring violin soloist and three-time Grammy winner Hilary Hahn (pictured); and Beethoven’s epochal “Symphony No. 5.” Learn more about the music and the performers at a preshow talk-back, hosted by Kravis Center Classical Artistic Advisor Phillip Bergmann, at 1 p.m.
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