Tuesday
David Sedaris at Fillmore Miami Beach, 1700 Washington Ave., Miami Beach; 7:30 p.m.; $30 to $50; 305/673-7300 or www.livenation.com
A hipster icon who has remained hip long after charting highly on numerousNew York Timesbest-selling lists, David Sedaris is a master of autobiographical self-deprecation, culling uproarious humor and insight from his five decades of life. His audiobooks have been nominated for Grammys, and he has sold more than 7 million copies of the old-fashioned kind, a feat at which even his detractors cannot scoff. He is ostensibly touring in support of his 2010 collection “Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary,” though who knows what direction his presentation will take; he’s one of the few authors entertaining enough to command a concert hall like the Fillmore no matter what he’s talking about.
Thursday
Best of Boca and Beyond at The Shops at Boca Center, 5050 Town Center Circle, Boca Raton; 6 to 9 p.m.; $40; 561/361-9804 or www.bocamag.com
This week’s event preview wouldn’t be complete without a slot for our own signature event of the year, Best of Boca and Beyond. Celebrate the beginning of the cultural season in style while supporting the five winners of our annual Best of Boca accolades. Attendees can nosh on appetizers and desserts from 30 top restaurants, enjoy fine wine and specialty cocktails, kick back in a swanky wine and cigar lounge, partake in mini treatments from Bliss Spa, view stunning luxury cars and participate in raffles. If you’re not partied out, the fun continues at an after-party at Rocco’s Tacos, 5250 Town Center Circle. A portion of the ticket sales will benefit Hospice of Palm Beach County Foundation.
Miles High jazz concert at Mizner Park Amphitheater, 590 Plaza Real, Boca Raton; 7:30 p.m.; free; 561/544-8600 or www.miznerparkamphitheater.com
The Mizner Park Amphitheater will be offering free jazz concerts on Thursdays throughout the month of November, showcasing some of South Florida’s best jazz artists. This Thursday’s group, Miles High, is known for combining jazz, funk and Latin music into a fusion sound driven by percussion, guitar, horn, keyboard and vocals. Parking is free along with admission, and chairs and blankets are recommended. Outside food is prohibited, but food trucks and a cash bar will be available on-site. This series is endorsed and presented byJazziz magazine and Stu Grant, South Florida’s legendary jazz DJ, so
expect to see the best of the best at a cost everyone can agree with.
Opening night of “Flags of the World” at Norton Museum of Art, 1451 S. Olive Ave., West Palm Beach; 5 to 9 p.m.; $5 to $12; 561/832-5196 or www.norton.org
Artist Dave Cole has forged his career as both a master craftsman and biting political commentator, creating large-scale installations that critique America, particularly our foreign policy. His latest piece, which premieres at the Norton today and runs through Jan. 16, is a 15-by-30-foot American flag, painstakingly assembled with mixed media to the specifications of the U.S. Marine Corps Manual. This being a Dave Cole work, there’s more than just a representation of an iconic symbol on display here; the installation also includes the remnants of the 192 flags of the world rumpled on the floor beneath the American flag – a comment, perhaps, on U.S. egotism and imperialism. See it for yourself and begin the debate.
Friday
Opening night of “The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife” at Willow Theatre at Sugar Sand Park, 300 S. Military Trail, Boca Raton; 8 p.m.; $18; 561/948-2601 orwww.brtg.org
This may finally be the production that lifts this theater company out of its community-theater past and into a future befitting its considerable talent. It’s the first Boca Raton Theatre Guild production that is eligible for the Carbonell Awards, and it may feature the company’s finest cast yet. Iris Acker, best known as the host of Beacon-TV’s “On Stage,” takes a rare acting rolebrtg alongside Patti Gardner, Barbara Sloan and Michael Beecher in Charles Busch’s Tony-nominated hit about the breakdown of a shopaholic Upper West Side housewife. If you’ve never seen a BRTG show, make this one your first. It runs through Nov. 20.
Ana Gasteyer at Aventura Arts & Cultural Center, 3385 N.E. 188th St., Aventura; 8 p.m.; $56.50 to $66.50; 954/462-0222 or www.aventuracenter.org
Known for her droll, deadpan comedic delivery on six seasons of “Saturday Night Live,” Ana Gasteyer remains one of the most underappreciated comedians in the show’s storied history. She has successfully impersonated everyone from Martha Stewart to Hillary
Clinton, but her legacy was immortalized through her original character Margaret Jo McCullen, co-host of NPR’s “Delicious Dish,” the sketch that gave us “Schweddy Balls.” But, like fellow television personality Jane Krakowski, Gasteyer also is an accomplished singer and Broadway star, and this variety
show will feature jokes interspersed with show-stopping tunes from Gershwin to Gilbert & Sullivan.
Saturday
Spady Living Heritage Day Festival at Spady Museum, 170 N.W. Fifth Ave., Delray Beach; 4 to 10 p.m.; free; 561/279-8883 or www.spadymuseum.com
Celebrate Delray’s heritage on historic Northwest Fifth Avenue at the annual Spady Day Festival. The free street fair features DJ music, children’s activities and gourmet food trucks serving multicultural favorites, including dishes from Jamaica, Venezuela, Spain, Mexico, Argentina and New Orleans. A new VIP section will feature live music for a $5 cover. Lawn chairs are recommended.
Opening night of “Red” at GableStage, 1200 Anastasia Ave., Coral Gables; 8 p.m.; $37.50 to $42.50; 305/445-1119 or www.gablestage.org
It’s not surprising that as soon as John Logan’s “Red”—the Broadway hit and 2010 Tony winner for Best Play—would become available to regional theaters, it would be snagged up quicker than the desserts at an opening reception. That time has come, and two South Florida theaters will offer distinct takes on this difficult, minimalist two-hander. The play is about the volatile abstract-expressionist painter Mark Rothko, set in his New York studio in the late 1950s, when he is in the process of painting a series of murals for the posh Four Seasons restaurant. His assistant, Ken, engages the artist, questioning his theories on painting and the prospects of “selling out.” GableStage takes first whack at this play, starring Gregg Weiner and Ryan Didato, through Dec. 4; the Maltz Jupiter Theatre will present its own version next year.
