TUESDAY
What: Avery Sommers
Where: Kravis Center, 701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach
When: 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Cost: $29
Contact: 561/832-7469, kravis.org
The versatile singer-actress Avery Sommers has been a linchpin of South Florida theater for decades. She first appeared at the Kravis Center nearly 20 years ago, in a production of “Chicago,” and her cabaret sets have delighted audiences at Maltz Jupiter Theatre and Palm Beach’s Colony Theater, where she’s enjoyed frequent bookings since 2008. And just last month, she closed Arts Garage’s sensational musical “The Devil’s Music,” in which she embodied, to a boisterous tee, the pioneering blues siren Bessie Smith. Now, this star of Broadway’s “Ain’t Misbehavin’” and “Showboat” is back in front of the microphone at the Kravis’ Dreyfoos Hall, lending her rich tenor and big personality to smooth selections such as “Feeling Good,” “Just One of the Those Things” and “I Love Being Here With You.”
WEDNESDAY
What: Opening night of Palm Beach International Film Festival
Where: Muvico Parisian 20, 545 Hibiscus St., West Palm Beach
When: 7 p.m.
Cost: $12 for film only, $25 for film and party
Contact: 561/362-0003, pbifilmfest.org
This year marks major organizational changes from the venerable Palm Beach International Film Festival, which celebrates its 21st year with dozens of world, national and Florida premieres. The festival now has a new home base—the Palm Beaches Theatre, formerly the location for Florida Stage—and a new CEO, Jeff Davis, a veteran movie and musical producer who aims to expand the PBIFF’s networking and education opportunities. Entries from around the world include Wednesday night’s opening movie, “Money,” a world premiere by award-winning Spanish director Martin Rosete. It’s a crime thriller set in the Hamptons and starring “Twilight” hunk Kellan Lutz. Members of the cast and crew will be attending the film and its after-party at the cinema’s second-floor lounge. For a guide to some of the most promising films on this year’s PBIFF slate, visit bocamag.com later this week.
What: James Carville
Where: Broward Center, 201 S.W. Fifth Ave., Fort Lauderdale
When: 7:30 p.m.
Cost: $50.85
Contact: 954/462-0222, browardcenter.org
When he was a chief architect of Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign, James Carville wrote three bullet points on a sign hanging in his staff’s Little Rock headquarters: “Change vs. more of the same,” “The economy, stupid” and “Don’t forget health care.” Twenty-four years later, these fortune cookie-sized fragments of political insight remain key factors into which candidate assumes the Oval Office and which one spends the next four years on memoirs and talk shows. The middle meme, “It’s the economy, stupid,” has become such Beltway gospel it may as well have originated with Moses. Known for his thick Louisiana accent and self-deprecating humor, Carville—aka the “Ragin’ Cajun”—has continued to enjoy an eminent position on campaigns both here and abroad, advising leaders ranging from England’s Tony Blair and Israel’s Ehud Barak to Afghanistan’s Ashraf Ghani. Still a staple of the cable-news chattering class, the longtime husband of GOP political strategist Mary Matalin must possess nimble skill at separating his personal and professional lives; hopefully he’ll discuss both at this timely election-year lecture.
FRIDAY AND SATURDAY
What: Boca Bacchanal
Where: Mizner Park Amphitheater, 590 Plaza Real, Boca Raton, and private residences
When: 7 p.m.
Cost: $125-$325
Contact: 561/395-6766 ext. 101, bocabacchanal.com
Acclaimed chefs from Washington DC, Tampa, Virginia, Texas, South Carolina and our own backyard of Fort Lauderdale will be dishing regional and national specialties at this festive annual fundraiser for the Boca Raton Historical Society & Museum. These top toques will join premier vintners from the around the world for once-in-a-lifetime culinary pairings at private residences and venues this Saturday night. Three are sold out as of this writing, but tickets remain for posh dinners at the Boca Raton Resort & Club, and the homes of Bobby & Barbara Campbell and Joyce & Thom DeVita and Joni & Al Goldberg. But first, on Friday, at the Amphitheater, Bacchanal guests can enjoy delectable cuisine from 30 local restaurants and offerings from many of the same vintners, while listening to “DJ violinist” Timothee Lovelock and watching fashion demonstrations from Saks Fifth Avenue Boca Raton. This favorite foodie event often sells out, so if you don’t purchase tickets ASAP, you might miss out.
What: Lake Worth Reggae Fest
Where: Bryant Park, 6 S. Golfview Road, Lake Worth
When: Begins at 6 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday
Cost: $15-$65
Contact: ticketmaster.com
For its 18th year, the Lake Worth Reggae Fest is expanding its pedigree, with two headliners culled from the top ranks of the reggae world, and a new, larger stage near the Intracoastal erected to accommodate them. Matisyahu (pictured), the eclectic reggae-rocker who integrates Orthodox Jewish themes into his best-selling, beatbox-heavy albums, is the featured performer on Friday night, and Grammy-winning Jamaican mainstays Black Uhuru will bring more than 40 years of reggae and dub dominance to Saturday’s show. Other acts include The Hip Abduction, Tomorrow’s Bad Seeds, Sammy J, John Heinrichs, The Ellameno Beat, Spred the Dub, The Badda Skat Band and Roots Shakedown. Up to 10,000 people are expected to attend.
What: Transatlantic Festival
Where: North Beach Bandshell, 7275 Collins Ave., Miami Beach
When: 6 p.m.
Cost: $22.09-$53.74
Contact: 305/672-5202, rhythmfoundation.com
This one-of-a-kind music festival produced by Miami’s Rhythm Foundation derives its name from the organizers’ mission: to present Miami as “a true modern transatlantic capital, a crossroads of the Americas and Europe.” To that end, the Foundation has selected acts that represent mergers of genres, nations, and rich musical heritages. Friday night’s headliner, the indie-rock sensations Beirut, will play its landmark first Florida concert ever. The Santa Fe group, fronted by erstwhile one-man-band Zach Condon, has immersed itself in styles ranging from Balkan folk to French chanson melodies to baroque ‘60s pop, styles united by Condon’s dreamlike vocals and an eclectic palette of instrumental color, from horns and mandolin to ukulele and glockenspiel. Opening act Troker comprise one of the hottest groups in Guadalajara’s underground jazz scene, with an exciting sound combining funk, metal, jazz and mariachi music. Saturday’s headliner, New York’s EMEFE, hybridizes influences from Fela Kuti to the Beach Boys in its danceable blend, and will play alongside opening acts Psychic Mirrors and Chantil Dukart.
FRIDAY TO SUNDAY
What: Delray Affair
Where: Downtown Delray Beach
When: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday
Cost: Free
Contact: 561/279-0907, delrayaffair.com
Long before South Floridians had any other reason to stop in the sleepy outpost known as Delray Beach, they still came in droves for the Delray Affair, the prescient art festival that first spread its canvas across Atlantic Avenue in 1962. More than half a century later, it’s still growing strong, it’s still stopping traffic, and it’s still a marathon for organizers, artists and attendees alike: a sprawl of 12 city blocks that proudly bills itself as the largest arts and crafts festival in the southeastern United States. Visitors can expect to view and purchase work by artists and crafters from 30 states and 12 countries, with a special emphasis on the fun and the funky. There also will be live music at two beer gardens all weekend long (one at Old School Square’s outdoor amphitheater, the other at Seventh and Atlantic) and a Family Fun Zone, complete with a mobile video arcade, mobile golf inflatables, face painting and a dunk tank.
SATURDAY AND SUNDAY
What: Reading of “Red, White, Black and Blue”
Where: Theatre Lab at FAU, 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday
Cost: $20
Contact: 561/297-6124, fauevents.com
It’s safe to say that playwright Michael McKeever is on a roll. Fresh off three shows that have achieved unanimous critical acclaim and either won or been nominated for major Carbonell awards—those would be “Moscow,” “Clark Gable Slept Here” and “Daniel’s Husband”—South Florida’s most exportable playwright returns with the first public reading of his new work. “Red, White, Black and Blue,” as its title suggests, explores the blood sport that is “the upside-down world of modern American politics.” You can say that again. In a topsy-turvy election season that is splitting both political parties apart, McKeever’s play—about the first black female president of the United States, who ascends to the highest office in the land after a national tragedy—should be a witty and zeitgeist-capturing political satire. Professional actors will bring the skill and emotion of a full production to this reading, and will join the playwright for a discussion after each performance.
