Tuesday
“Do Something Reel†Film Festival at Living Room Theaters at FAU, 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton; begins at 5:20 p.m.; $5 to $9.50; 561/549-2600 orwww.livingroomtheaters.com
This Earth Month celebration, produced by Whole Foods Market, features six environmentally conscious films about “passionate people making a difference.†It’s headlined by the astonishing and frightening “Vanishing of the Bees,†about the destructive effects of Colony Collapse Disorder. Other titles include “One Coal River,†about the human costs of coal mining; “Bag it,†about Americans’ love affair with plastics; and “Urban Roots,†about the search for locally grown food in the age of processed fast food.
Thursday
Opening night of the Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival at Colony Theatre, 1040 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach; 7 p.m.; $11 to $20; 305/674-1040 orwww.mglff.com
South Florida’s film festival season continues with the 13th annual MGLFF, one of the most respected niche festivals in the country. Running through May 1 at Regal South Beach, Coral Gables Art Cinema and the Colony Theatre, the festivities kick off, literally, with “Kick Off,†screening at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Colony. The film is a gender-bending British soccer satire making its American debut. It will be followed at 9:30 by “Elena Undone,†a drama about an unfulfilled pastor’s wife who begins a same-sex relationship with a successful writer.
Ron Feingold at Palm Beach Improv, 550 S. Rosemary Ave., West Palm Beach; 8 p.m.; $12; 561/833-1812 or www.palmbeachimprov.com
Feingold
This Orlando-based entertainer has taken the “singing comedian†subgenre one step further by eliminating musical instruments from the equation. Feingold’s straight stand-up act is strong and worth seeing on its own (he does a dead-on impersonation of Kermit the Frog), but he’s most known for his “comedy a cappella†style, in which he employs his human beatboxing talent and several prerecorded vocal tracks of himself for an evening of musically minimalist, finger-snapping humor.
Friday
Dennis Lambert at Carole and Barry Kaye Performing Arts Center at FAU, 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton; 8 p.m.; $40 to $125; 800/564-9539 orwww.fauevents.com
An unsung figure in the annals of pop songwriting, Boca Raton resident Lambert has had a hand in dozens of hit records, having written songs for the Four Tops, Starship, Glen Campbell and many others – while enjoying A-list, rock-star status in the Philippines for his original music. A 12-time Grammy nominee, Lambert will be joined at this concert by some of the people who made his songs famous, including Tavares, Mickey Thomas of Starship and Peter Beckett of Player.
Opening night of “Sunday on the Rocks†at the Women’s Theatre Project, 505 NW First Ave., Fort Lauderdale; 8 p.m.; $25 adults and $15 students; 866/811-4111 or www.womenstheatreproject.com
The Women’s Theatre Project continues its 2011 season with this off-Broadway play by Theresa Rebeck. The play is about three female housemates, all of whom are going through personal struggles, who decide to down a bottle of scotch for breakfast. They are joined by a fourth roommate, a religious woman, who compounds their already troubled morning. “Sunday on the Rocks†is billed as a comedy, so it will probably go down lighter than it sounds. It runs through May 15.
Saturday
Bad Religion at Sunset Cove Amphitheater, 12551 Glades Road, Boca Raton; 7 p.m.; $32; 561/242-6979 or
OK, so technically, the headlining act here is the Chicago punk band Rise Against, but opening act Bad Religion, the confrontational West Coast punkers with more than 30 years of underground toil to their credit, is the band to see. In a pop-punk genre cluttered with nasal-voiced men-children bemoaning failed relationships, Bad Religion have always been the adults in the room, criticizing unjust wars, questioning dogmatic thinking and praising noncomformity. The band is still as rocking and relevant as ever; its latest album, “The Dissent of Man,†debuted in the top 40 on the Billboard 200 chart.
The Hip-Hop Symphony at Broward Center for the Performing Arts, 201 SW Fifth Ave., Fort Lauderdale; 7 p.m.; $32 to $52; 954/462-0222 orwww.browardcenter.org
Probably the only night of the year you’ll hear rap music blaring from the Broward Center’s speakers, the Hip-Hop Symphony is a unique production combining urban dancing and music with traditional symphonic music and a light show. Whether or not the production is a complete success, we need more like it: The hip-hop and classical music cultures are too segmented, and followers of both could benefit from the cultural awakening that this merger provides.
Charlie Sheen: “My Live Torpedo of Truth†at BankAtlantic Center, 1 Panther Parkway, Sunrise; 8 p.m.; $49.50 to $89.50; 954/835-8000 orwww.ticketmaster.com
Here’s Merriam-Webster’s definition of schadenfreude: “enjoyment obtained from the troubles of others.†Our country’s
collective fascination with Sheen is pure schadenfreude, though not everyone has been enjoying the egomaniacal narcissist’s disastrous stage show: It holds a whopping two-star average from Ticketmaster. It’s included in this week’s roundup because, if you are a proponent of schadenfreude, you may find great delight in watching Sheen ramble about winning while clearly losing most of the audience. It may provide a welcome self-esteem boost.
Opening night of ‘Cyrano’ at Adrienne Arsht Center, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami; 7 p.m.; $39 to $229; 305/949-6722 or www.arshtcenter.org
Florida Grand Opera concludes its 2010-2011 season with a change of pace away from long-established masterpieces by dead composers. It will be presenting David DiChiera’s “Cyrano,†which premiered in 2007 at the Detroit Opera House. Based on Edmond Rostand’s frequently adapted play, “Cyrano de Bergerac,†the opera will feature Marian Pop as the large-nosed titular character and Leah Partridge as his love interest Roxane, both of whom will reprise their roles from the opera’s Detroit premiere. The show runs through May 7.
Saturday and Sunday
Easter weekend festivities at Lion Country Safari, 2003 Lion Country Safari Road, Loxahatchee; 9:30 a.m.; $19.50 to $26.50; 561/793-1084
The animals will have plenty of colorful distractions to amuse themselves with at Lion Country’s special Easter festivities, including decorated bowling balls, ostrich eggs, papier-mache piñata baskets and, of course, Easter eggs. Lions will pounce on the goodies, primates will hunt for plastic eggs and birds will peck at pinecones in species-specific enrichments designed to entertain and educate.
