[NOTE: This Week Ahead does not include Festival of the Arts events, which begin Friday. Those will be covered in a blog later this week.]
TUESDAY
What: “Victoria Gitman: Desiring Eye”
Where: Perez Art Museum, 1103 Biscayne Blvd., Miami
When: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Cost: $12-$16
Contact: 305/375-3000, pamm.org
There are plenty of reasons to spend a day or more at the Perez Art Museum Miami; this survey of 19 works by Hallandale (by way of Buenos Aires) artist Gitman is just one of them. Opening last week and showing through May 31, “Desiring Eye” is foremost a showcase of her meticulous paintings of banal fashion accessories— handbags, necklaces, clutches, beaded and fur purses—which she purchased from flea markets and yard sales. By combining photorealism with modernist framing techniques and veiled references to Mark Rothko, Ad Reinhardt and other iconoclasts, Gitman makes us see beyond the simple surfaces of these hand-me-downs. “Desiring Eye” also features Gitman’s “Beauties”—a series of oil paintings on panel that reproduce paper drawings from the great Neoclassical draughtsman Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres.
THURSDAY
What: “Moroccan Soul” concert
Where: FAU’s Wimberly Library, 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton
When: 7:30 p.m.
Cost: $13
Contact: 800/564-9539, fauevents.com
Last weekend, FAU Libraries kicked off its 2015 Kultur Festival, an annual celebration of Jewish culture as represented in film, music, dance, book arts and lectures. The highlight of this year’s fest, we predict, is Thursday night’s Moroccan Soul showcase, which finds the library’s official Klezmer Company Orchestra pushing its boundaries past new genres once again. Cantor Aaron Bensoussan, whose rabbinic roots trace three generations in his native Morocco, will sing and perform the oud, an ancient stringed instrument, for a soulful sound that combines Ashkenazic and Sephardic music. A trio from the Klezmer Company Orchestra will back him up, providing everything from Middle Eastern melodies to flamenco rhythms.
FRIDAY
What: Opening night of “Uncertain Terms”
Where: Arts Garage, 180 N.E. First St., Delray Beach
When: 7:30 p.m.
Cost: $30-$45
Contact: 561/450-6357, artsgarage.org
Playwright Allison Gregory had finished the first act of her latest Great American Play when she found herself in a creative mire: No second act was materializing. Then, like providence, an idea for an all-new play hatched outside her house. A hermetic neighbor, who had been living alone on the now-depleted trust fund of his late partner, was being thrown out of his domicile, sulking in an armchair on the front lawn. “The children [of the late homeowner] were having to foot the bill for him, pay his taxes ad utilities. It was sad and kind of funny,” Gregory recalls. “I started weaving a play around that insight. I took that exact situation and made up the dynamics and conflicts within the family and outside the family, and the house itself became a character to me.” The result is “Uncertain Terms,” which will receive its world premiere at the Theatre at Arts Garage. In this case, the obstinate houseguest is an ex-husband of main character Dani, forcing the couple to reconvene and unpack family baggage, while dealing with the fickle real estate market of recession-era America. The play runs through March 29.
What: Opening night of Miami International Film Festival
Where: Various theaters in Miami-Dade County
When: Various show times
Cost: Varies by event
Contact: 305/237-3456, miamifilmfestival.com
Images of Orson Welles have been teasing us for months in the Miami Film Festival’s marketing material, and for good reason: The legendary, perpetually-ahead-of-his time auteur will receive a rare five-film showcase at this year’s eclectic festival, which opens this weekend and runs through March 15. “Citizen Kane,” “Othello,” “The Lady From Shanghai,” “Touch of Evil” and “The Stranger” will all screen in glorious black-and-white digital remasters. Of course, dozens of national, regional, and statewide premieres will screen as well across the region’s top cinemas, divided into glittery Gala Films, Knight Competition entries, an Emerging Cuban Program, a Spotlight on French Cinema, and many more. For Friday’s opening night festivities, excellent choices abound, including the wicked Argentinean comedy “Wild Tales” (7 p.m. at Olympia Theatre), the intimate Kurt Cobain documentary “Montage of Heck” (9:30 p.m. at O Cinema) and the surrealist Swedish comedy “A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting” (9:30 p.m. at Coral Gables Art Cinema). Did we mention there are parties, too? Visit the festival’s website for a complete guide.
What: Opening night of “Trust”
Where: Arsht Center, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami
When: 7:30 p.m.
Cost: $45
Contact: 305/949-6722, arshtcenter.org
Despite film critics pretty much damning it as the worst thing since ISIS, “Fifty Shades of Grey” has continued to make its depressing millions at the box office. There’s no accounting for taste, but for those of us who enjoy a little BDSM in our entertainment and we don’t want to check our brains at the door, there is hope, and it arrives this weekend from Zoetic Stage. The acclaimed company’s new production, “Trust,” is about an overnight Internet billionaire, now rich and suddenly not-so-happily married, who impulsively seeks the “affections” of a dominatrix. A meditation on love, power and control, this kinky ensemble comedy was written by Paul Weitz, a writer and filmmaker whose work has matured greatly since his “American Pie” breakthrough—without losing that film’s envelope-pushing edge. Nicholas Richberg, Niki Fridh, Alex Alvarez and Gretchen Porro will star in “Trust,” which runs through March 29.
SATURDAY
What: “Stars of American Ballet”
Where: Countess de Hoernle Theatre at Spanish River High School, 5100 Jog Road, Boca Raton
When: 7:30 p.m.
Cost: $50
Contact: 561/995-0709, bocaballet.org
If you were to compile a list of the most influential ballets of the 20th century, Jerome Robbins’ “Fancy Free” would certainly make the shortlist. Its scenario, charting the adventures of three boisterous and randy sailors on a brief shore leave, inspired the plot of the Comden, Green and Bernstein musical “On the Town,” and it still makes for an eclectic showcase of dance ranging from a pas de deux to a solo gallop, waltz and danzon. “Fancy Free” will be the signature piece of this one-night-only extravaganza from Boca Ballet Theatre. Daniel Ulbrecht, founder of Stars of American Ballet, will bring top-notch, Lincoln Center talent to Boca for this program, including soloists from New York City Ballet and a principal dancer for Ballet San Jose.
What: Rib Round-Up
Where: Coral Sky Amphitheatre, 601-7 Sansburys Way, West Palm Beach
When: 7 p.m.
Cost: $46-$118
Contact: livenation.com
For South Florida country music fans, the best way to kiss winter goodbye and welcome spring is the annual Rib Round-Up, hosted by local radio station WIRK. This star-spangled festival will live up to its name, promising the best ribs in the USA, cooked low and slow, along with competitions such as the infamous Rib Row and Miss Rib Round-Up. The concert will be headlined by Joe Nichols (pictured), the talented musician whose top 40 singles include “Brokenheartsville” and “Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off” (The latter isn’t our advice; we’re just reporting). Jerrod Niemann (“Lover, Lover”), The Swon Brothers (fourth season “Voice” finalists), husband-and-wife duo Thompson Square (“If I Didn’t Have You”), Dustin Lynch (“Where It’s At”), Craig Morgan (“That’s What I Love About Sunday”), up-and-comer John King, and Nashville band Gloriana round out the Round-Up.
What: Dave Barry
Where: Temple Judea, 5500 Granada Blvd., Coral Gables
When: 7:30 p.m.
Cost: Free, but RSVP required
Contact: 305/442-4408, booksandbooks.com
Dave Barry, Florida’s most exported literary funnyman, is releasing a new book this week, which gives us plenty of reasons to unplug from the depressing headlines of the day and see this insane world through Barry’s hilarious eyes. It’s called Live Right and Find Happiness (Although Beer is Much Better), which sounds like Barry’s sarcastic spin on the trendy self-development tome; in a way it is, and it does offer insights and memoirs on growing through awkward adolescence and the generational differences in child-rearing. But mostly, this collection of never-before-published essays runs a thematic gamut, addressing topics ranging from cable news and Vladimir Putin to Google Glass, home repair and the soccer-fueled craziness of Brazil. Barry will speak and sign copies at this special event, which requires a reservation at booksandbooks.com.
