TUESDAY
What: Bleachers
Where: Culture Room, 3045 N. Federal Highway, Fort Lauderdale
When: 7:30 p.m.
Cost: $32.10
Contact: 954/564-1074, cultureroom.net
Jack Antonoff’s day job, at least in the past few years, has been playing guitar for fun., the Top 40 powerhouse behind “Some Nights” and “We Are Young.” But it turns out that while touring the world and playing second fiddle, Antonoff, formerly of the cult band Steel Train, had his own vision for pop glory, which he called Bleachers. The band’s debut album, “Strange Desire,” hit retailers last summer with songs that suggest both the youthful abandon and effortless infectiousness of fun. and, perhaps more endearingly, the synthesized nostalgia of 1980s pop (Antonoff has said that he wanted to evoke the soundtracks of the great John Hughes movies of that period). Anchored by the alt-rock chart-topper “I Wanna Get Better” and the rollicking, arena-ready singles “Shadow” and “Rollercoaster,” Bleachers’ mid-day set at last October’s Coral Skies Festival in West Palm Beach was the toast of the fest. Now headlining its own tour, the band will receive the lengthier set time it deserved back then.
THURSDAY
What: TEDx Boca Raton
Where: Mizner Park Amphitheater, 590 Plaza Real, Boca Raton
When: 4 to 10:30 p.m.
Cost: $30 students, $75 general admission
Contact: tedxbocaraton.com
Local TEDx events are, invariably, an embarrassment of riches—of the cultural, inspirational and technological persuasions. This week’s dynamic program at Mizner Amphitheater will feature no less than 17 speakers spreading ideas and, as the event’s theme suggests, “breaking barriers.” Such familiar Boca luminaries as Barb Schmidt of FAU’s Peaceful Mind Peaceful Life series, organic farmer extraordinaire Farmer Jay and Charlie Siemon of Festival of the Arts Boca will speak alongside emerging or lesser-known lecturers including comedian and motivational speaker Avish Parashar, 8-year-old piano prodigy Brandon Goldberg and the No Bodies Crew (pictured), an exciting collective of South Florida urban dance artists. This illuminating festival is broken up into two sections and includes a dinner break and a post-show reception.
What: Opening night of Palm Beach International Film Festival
Where: Muvico Parisian 20 & IMAX, 545 Hibiscus St., West Palm Beach
When: 7 p.m.
Cost: $75
Contact: 561/833-2310, pbifilmfest.org
The Palm Beach International Film Festival will kick off its 20th landmark year with the South Florida premiere of a movie that is sure to receive plenty of buzz when it opens later this spring: “Welcome to Me,” a challenging, darkly comic vehicle for Kristen Wiig as a woman with borderline personality disorder who wins the lottery and promptly buys her own bizarre television show. James Marsden, Tim Robbins and Jennifer Jason Leigh costar, and director Shira Piven will appear at tonight’s screening. That $75 entry fee might just be a bargain considering that it includes an after-party at nearby Revolutions with VIP bowling, two Perfect Vodka cocktails and “festive fare.” The festival continues for seven more jam-packed days, including visits from Tom Arnold and “Boyhood” star Ellar Coltrane, a mini festival devoted to filmmaker Noah Baumbach, a multi-film spotlight on the Jewish experience and much more. Visit the festival’s website for a complete schedule.
FRIDAY
What: Opening night of “Buried Child”
Where: Palm Beach Dramaworks, 201 Clematis St., West Palm Beach
When: 8 p.m.
Cost: $55–$77
Contact: 561/514-4042, palmbeachdramaworks.org
If the American Dream is dead, as many proclaim, then Sam Shepard’s breakthrough play “Buried Child” is its astute postmortem. This winner of the 1979 Pulitzer Prize for Drama—the first off-Broadway show to accrue that honor—deconstructs a once-prosperous and healthy Midwestern family across three generations of drift and disillusionment. Earning comparisons to family-centric works such as “Long Day’s Journey Into Night” and “All My Sons,” the play pivots on the reappearance of 22-year-old Vincent at his grandfather’s farmhouse, en route to Mexico. When he arrives, nobody recognizes him, from his alcoholic, emasculated grandfather to his emotionally impotent father to his physically disabled uncle. Meanwhile, the farmland is dry as a desert and the local minister is an adulterous hypocrite. Surrealism and symbolism brush against Shepard’s otherwise realistic canvas in a three-act drama that is, by turns, comedic and heartbreaking—and squarely in the wheelhouse of Palm Beach Dramaworks, our region’s finest translator of the classics.
FRIDAY TO SUNDAY
What: Miami City Ballet: Program IV
Where: Kravis Center, 701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach
When: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday
Cost: $20–$175
Contact: 561/832-7469, kravis.org
The final program in Miami City Ballet’s season might be its most challenging slate of dance all year—which may be why it’s being saved for the end. There’s a thrilling element of unpredictability in this production, as it will include the world premiere of “Heatscape” by Justin Peck, who at 26 is one of the hottest new choreographers in the country. The ballet will feature a large cast and run 35 minutes; as an added treat, the renowned illustrator Shepard Fairey will create original art for the show, which will thrive on the unexpected harmony between classic ballet and guerilla street art. Also, MCB will premiere “The Concert (or, the Perils of Everybody),” considered the funniest work in Jerome Robbins’ oeuvre. With its postmodern aim to capture the inner thoughts of classical music concertgoers, this delightful flight of fancy must have felt well ahead of its time in 1956. George Balanchine’s “Raymonda Variations,” recognized for its bravura display of solos, rounds out the program.
SATURDAY
What: Sarah McLachlan
Where: Broward Center, 201 S.W. Fifth Ave., Fort Lauderdale
When: 8 p.m.
Cost: $45–$155, or $750
Contact: 954/462-0222, browardcenter.org
Sarah McLachlan’s career path was set back in high school, when her classmates wrote in her yearbook that she was “destined to become a famous rock star.” The Canadian chanteuse proved them right, releasing her first album at age 20 and ultimately selling more than 40 million records worldwide on the strength of her fragile yet commanding mezzo-soprano vocal range. To combat a gender bias on commercial radio, McLachlan would form Lilith Fair, the successful all-female rock fest that, for a time, was the most lucrative festival in popular music. Her blockbuster hits like “Angel” and “I Will Remember You” have become indelible touchstones for grief and mourning. A supporter of myriad charities and causes, McLachlan played both of those songs at the tear-stained 2011 memorial for hijacked United Airlines Flight 93, with former and sitting world leaders in attendance. Her latest album, 2014’s “Shine On,” is also fueled by loss, this time of her father. There won’t be a dry eye at her Broward Center performance, which doubles as a fundraiser for the venue: For the $750 ticket, along with prime seating at the show, guests will enjoy a cocktail hour, full dinner and post-show party.
SATURDAY AND SUNDAY
What: Bacon & Bourbon Fest
Where: Downtown Delray Beach
When: 2 to 11 p.m. Saturday and 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday
Cost: $25
Contact: 561/279-0907, delraybaconandbourbonfest.com
Say it with me now, in your best movie-trailer voice: From the team that brought you the Delray Beach Garlic Festival and the Delray Beach Wine and Seafood Festival comes a culinary happening that goes whole hog. Festival Management Group’s latest event, the alliteratively titled Bacon & Bourbon Fest, is a saltier, more robust affair than its predecessors, promising an array of chef-designed bacon and pork delicacies, from braised pork bellies with tamari, garlic, ginger and chili peppers to the inevitable bacon ice cream (hey, it worked for garlic). Comfort food, farm-to-table offerings and New American Cuisine will all be on the menu, and there are enough liquor seminars and tastings to turn you into a bourbon connoisseur. The live music lineup is heavy on classic rock and rollicking blues. Slated performers include Mac Arnold, a legendary Chicago bluesman who recorded with everyone from James Brown and Muddy Waters to BB King and Otis Redding; Victor Wainwright (pictured), a boisterous, Memphis-based pianist known for merging boogie-woogie and honkey-tonk music; and MaGowan’s Chair, a South Florida-based acoustic rock duo.
MONDAY
What: Savor the Avenue (Rescheduled to Monday, March 30)
Where: Downtown Delray Beach
When: 5:30 to 9 p.m.
Cost: Varies per restaurant
Contact: 561/243-1077, downtowndelraybeach.com/savor-and-tastemakers
Everyone’s favorite local foodie event remains as popular as ever, now in its seventh year strong. Florida’s longest dining table will spread 1,300 feet along the middle of Atlantic Avenue, where 16 of downtown Delray Beach’s finest restaurants will dish immaculately prepared four-course meals, with each course complemented by an expertly paired wine. Heavy hitters like 32 East, 50 Ocean, SoLita, Vic & Angelo’s, Cut 432, Rack’s Fish House + Oyster Bar and more will offer a gut-busting survey of their most inventive cuisine. Steve Weagle, our favorite meteorologist, will emcee the evening, and $3 of each reservation will benefit this year’s charity, the city of Delray Beach’s Campaign for Grade Level Reading. Reservations are now closed through the event’s website, but call the individual restaurants to snag a list-minute spot on the sprawling table.
