Tuesday
Opening night of “Catch Me if You Can” at Kravis Center, 701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach; 8 p.m.; starting at $25; 561/832-7469 or www.kravis.org
“Catch Me if You Can” is yet another screen-to-stage musical, a trend that speaks to Broadway’s anemic recent record at developing fresh, new ideas. But this one is by Marc Shaiman, the composer and lyricist of Hairspray, whose creative musical version of the John Waters film has all but usurped the original movie for today’s youngest generation. He has proven well-equipped to take on “Catch Me if You Can,” Stephen Spielberg’s splashy, enormously entertaining biopic about real-life chameleonic con artist Frank Abagnale Jr. The touring version of this Tony-nominated musical features nearly 20 new songs inspired by ‘60s music and pop culture, with tunes like “The Pinstripes Are All That They See,” “Jet Set” and “Doctor’s Orders” that speak to Abagnale’s numerous phony careers. The show runs through Sunday.
Wednesday
First Annual Celebrity Cruise to benefit the Bougainvilla House, leaving from Tranquility Marina, 2950 N.E. 32ndAve., Fort Lauderdale; 6 p.m.; $175 to $250; 954/527-3334 ext. 309 or www.thebouganvillahouse.com
The folks at the newly opened Bougainvilla House know how to throw a party. This fundraiser for the 40-room residential and treatment facility for adolescent substance abusers will hit the water for four hours aboard the luxurious “Lady Windridge,” a 170-foot yacht charter. An hour-long cocktail hour will be followed by a gourmet dinner, and the festivities will be hosted by onetime Batman himself, Val Kilmer, who, if you get him drunk enough, might just be tempted to break into his Jim Morrison portrayal from “The Doors” and croon “Light My Fire.” Probably not, but a boy can dream, right? At any rate, this is a great cause for a nonprofit treatment center that deserves your support.
Thursday
Best of Boca and Beyond at the Shops at Boca Center, 5050 Town Center Circle, Boca Raton; 6 to 9 p.m.; $50; 561/361-9804 or www.bocamag.com
Best of Boca and Beyond is this very magazine’s biggest social gathering of the year, so I won’t even pretend to be unbiased; that said, show me an objective party who hasn’t had a blast at this upscale shindig, and I’ll show you an honest politician. More than 30 restaurants will offer special food and drink samples, including Max’s Grille, Tanzy, Uncle Julio’s, The Green Gourmet, Brio, The Mexican, Rocco’s Tacos and Cucina Mio. This year’s honorees will be Lynn University, Jim and Marta Batmasian, The Boca Raton Resort & Club, the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County and Office Depot. There will be a strolling fashion show, live music and more – spread across the newly unveiled courtyard of the posh Shops at Boca Center.
Friday
Holiday tree lighting in Mizner Park, 327 Plaza Real, Boca Raton; 6:30 p.m.; free; 561/362-0606 or www.miznerpark.com
There are Christmas trees and then there are Christmas trees – epic spectacles of light, ornaments, greenery and branches that dazzle with nearly 50 feet of holiday revelry. Mizner Park’s seasonal entry is one such tree; in fact, it’s one of only three 47-foot light-up trees in the United States. Dubbed an “iTree” by its creators, Music N’ Motion, the tree will illuminate with a light show choreographed to holiday music, courtesy of its 32,000 lifelike PVC branches, red and gold bows, clusters of ornaments and 25,000 clear and multicolored LED lights. Each light-up extravaganza will run for 25 minutes at every hour from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. every night through the holidays, and the tree’s layout will be accompanied by a giant wooden dreidel, gifts, a working toy train set, a three-foot teddy bear and a pair of six-foot toy soldiers. At tonight’s grand lighting, Miami Dolphins cheerleaders and radio personalities from WILD 95.5 FM and KOOL 105.5 FM will join in the festivities.
Opening night of “The Birds” at Mosaic Theatre at American Heritage Center for the Arts, 12200 W. Broward Blvd., Plantation; 8 p.m.; $40 adults, $36 seniors, $15 students; 954/577-8243 or www.mosaictheatre.com
Nothing says “welcome to fall” quite like a disgorged eye socket. Most people know “The Birds” for this and other unseemly images from Alfred Hitchcock’s 1963 film about avian terrorism on a British coastal town. But for this unexpected stage adaptation, Irish playwright Conor McPherson—whose 2006 work “The Seafarer” won a handful of awards for Mosaic Theatre a few years back—looks not to the silver screen but to Daphne du Maurier’s original novelette, where meditations on morality and religion share the stage with the ornithological onslaught. Expect Mosaic’s sound designer to create a sense of squawking terror. The show runs through Dec. 9.
Friday to Sunday
“Titanic: The Musical” at Delray Beach Center for the Arts, 51 N. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach; 8 p.m. Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday and 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday; $42; 561/243-7922 or delraycenterforthearts.org
Delray Beach Center for the Arts opens its 2012-2013 arts season with quite a coup: the national tour of the five-time Tony-winning “Titanic” in honor of the 100th anniversary of the ship’s sinking. Elaborate staging, period costumes and one of the largest casts ever assembled on the Crest Theatre stage should make this production one of the highlights of the season. The mammoth set includes video projection of actual interiors from the Titanic, and the play explores the hopes, dreams and aspirations of the ship’s guests. “It’s a sad musical,” says Joe Gillie, president and CEO of Delray Beach Center for the Arts. “You know the ending. But I don’t think a musical has to be Rodgers and Hammerstein all the time.” Buy your tickets now, because sellouts are expected.
Miami Book Fair street fair and author events at Miami-Dade College, 300 N.E. Second Ave., Miami; various admission prices and start times; 305/237-3258 orwww.miamibookfair.com
This week is Heaven for book lovers in South Florida, as the Miami Book Fair International has slated events every day during the week. But this coming weekend is when the action really heats up, with an outdoor street fair offering new, used, rare and bargain books at the best prices in town, not to mention a constant stream of author events from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on all three days. Renowned Irish playwright and author Emma Donoghue will discuss her new short-story collection “Astray” at 6:30 p.m. Friday; comic writers Dave Barry, Seth Reiss and Will Tracy will riff on their new comic tomes at 10 a.m. Saturday; Bill O’Reilly will chat about his latest presidential history book “Killing Kennedy: The End of Camelot” – and something tells me he may have a thought or two about the recent presidential election, as well – at 6 p.m. Saturday; and actress Molly Ringwald, famous for her coming-of-age “Brat Pack” dramas of the 1980s, will promote her debut novel, “When it Happens to You,” at 11 a.m. Sunday. Visit the fair’s website for a full schedule of events.
Sunday
Face to Face at Culture Room, 3045 N. Federal Highway, Fort Lauderdale; 8 p.m.; 954/564-1074 or www.ticketmaster.com
Punk rockers start out scorching the floor with feedback-drenched rock riffage and finish their careers plucking delicate acoustic strings; we’ve seen it time and again. SoCal band Face to Face is only the latest case of a group trading skate-punk urgency for quiet introspection, but it’s also one of the most appropriate bands to mellow out. The group’s lyrics have always been more poetic than anarchic, influenced more by Jawbreaker’s introversion than NOFX’s snottiness. So the group sounds perfectly at home sitting on stools as an acoustic guitar duo for its latest tour, which concentrates on material from its 1999 album “Ignorance is Bliss” as well as a few other surprises.
