Tuesday
Screening of “Les Amants” at Tower Theatre, 1508 S.W. Eighth St., Miami; 7 p.m.; $5; 305/643-8706
Little Havana’s Tower Theatre, which was recently lauded as one of the 10 best historic cinemas in the country, has been hosting film screenings from the Alliance Francaise of South Florida – one-night only, monthly nostalgia trips to important titles in French film history. This month’s movie, part of a “Love a la Franciase” miniseries, celebrates a film that, for its time, was the most controversial thing since D.H. Lawrence. Louis Malle’s “Les Amants” (or “The Lovers”), about a bored housewife ping-ponging between lovers, featured a nude scene that, when it was released in 1958, led to the arrest of a Cleveland theater owner on obscenity charges. Needless to say, the film looks a lot tamer today, but it retains its storytelling power.
“Andy Warhol, the Bazaar Years, 1951-1964” at Society of the Four Arts, 2 Four Arts Plaza, Palm Beach; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; $5 or free for members; 561/655-7227 or www.fourarts.org
Before he made bizarre art, Andy Warhol made Bazaar art. Always one to embrace, rather than reject, consumer culture while commenting on it, it’s no surprise to learn that Warhol used to be an illustrator for magazines, books and advertising. On loan from the Hearst Corporation in New York, this touring exhibition captures the patchwork-driven modern-art approach Warhol used in Harper’s Bazaar for more than a decade, working gloriously for the Man. Many of Warhol’s originals were lost, so these reproductions will have to do. The exhibition runs through Jan. 15.
Wednesday
Opening day of “American Treasures” at Boca Raton Museum of Art, 501 Plaza Real, Boca Raton; 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; $4 to $8; 561/392-2500 orwww.bocamuseum.org
The Boca Raton Museum of Art has struck gold over the past few years with surveys of American art from its permanent collection; this time, the masterworks on display from today through March 18 arrive courtesy of the Butler Institute of American Art in Cleveland, the country’s first museum dedicated exclusively to American art. The 36 pieces on display meet the highest standards of American art from the past two centuries, educating and enlightening patrons with masterpieces by George O’Keeffe, Andrew Wyeth, Edward Hopper, Jackson Pollock and dozens more.
Thursday
Opening day of “Cocktail Culture” at Norton Museum of Art, 1451 S. Olive Ave., West Palm Beach; 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; $5 to $12 or free for members; 561/832-5196 or www.norton.org
Not every art exhibition has to shake up the establishment, blaze trails and shatter boundaries; sometimes, a show can just be fun. The Norton’s latest unveiling, of the multidisciplinary exhibit “Cocktail Culture,” appears to be just that – a lightly enjoyable holiday-season show exploring “the social rituals of the cocktail hour through the lens of fashion and design.” Full of humor, period detail and – we assume – “Mad Men” ethos, “Cocktail Culture” includes attire, accessories, ads, decorative arts, illustrations, photography and more dating back to the flapper era of the 1920s. It should make for good business for the bars in downtown West Palm Beach, too: You’ll walk out of the museum craving a highball.
“Music in the Round” at Bamboo Room, 25 South J Street, Lake Worth; 8:30 p.m.; $7; 561/585-2583 or www.bamboorm.com
The Bamboo Room frequently books exciting national acts in the blues and Americana fields, but you can never accuse them of ignoring our own homegrown talent. Tonight’s program is a celebration of the diversity of the South Florida music scene, featuring the music of such disparate artists as Teri Catlin, Maria Nofsinger, Matt Farr and John Ralston bridging gaps between rock, folk, soul, R&B, indie and Americana. Open your mind and show up for a diverse survey of SoFla music at an affordable price.
Alice Cooper at Hard Rock Live, 5747 Seminole Way, Hollywood; 8 p.m.; $49 to $69; 800/745-3000 or www.seminolehardrocklivehollywood.com
When he’s not spewing fake blood all over the stage of some unfortunate concert venue, Alice Cooper is a celebrity golfer. The thought of Vincent Damon Furnier – Cooper’s birth name, wisely changed for showbiz – in a polo shirt and golf shorts, quietly putting to make par, is about as incongruent as Charlie Sheen keynoting a feminist convention. Then again, Cooper is full of contradictions. A heavy metal pioneer whose Grand Guignol stage show weaves guillotines, electric chairs and boa constrictors into his shock-theatre set, he’s also an erudite intellectual who has never really taken his shtick seriously. For evidence of that, look no further than his hilarious cameo in the cult classic “Wayne’s World.”
Friday to Sunday
“Madama Butterfly” at Kravis Center, 701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach; various start times; starting at $20; 561/832-7469 or www.kravis.org
Ranking as the eighth-most-performed opera around the world, this masterpiece by Giacomo Puccini about the jilted geisha lover of an American naval officer at the dawn of the 20thcentury has had a vibrant lifespan, beginning as a critically maligned two-act opera and evolving into a three-act classic that has been adapted for film, television, classical and pop music more than 20 times since (David Cronenberg’s 1993 film adaptation is a great one). Even Puccini’s original composition was based on a short story and a book published in the late 19thcentury. It is the very definition of a timeless work.
Saturday
Viral Video Party at Respectable Street, 518 Clematis St., West Palm Beach; 9 p.m.; free; 561/832-9999 or www.respectablestreet.com
We all have our favorite YouTube video, whether it’s the smoking infant, the dog whose bark sounds exactlylike a crying baby or the line of pilots engaging in a synchronized dance on a landing strip. For the first time ever, West Palm Beach’s hippest lounge is harnessing YouTube’s best (and best of the worst) user-generated videos, bringing the celebrities from this egalitarian medium onto a big screen. The event runs all night long starting at 9, and each hour there will a “featured video” – during which time visitors can enjoy beers or liquors of their choice, for just $3 or $1, respectively. Sounds like a party.
