WEDNESDAY
What: “Revolution of the Eye: Modern Art and the Birth of American Television”
Where: NSU Art Museum, 1 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale
When: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Cost: $5-$12
Contact: 954/525-5500, nsuartmuseum.org
We’ve all heard television being dismissed as the Boob Tube and the Idiot Box, and if you scan the content of many of the programs on E!, MTV and the dayside slates of most major networks, you’ll probably still agree. Even the medium’s defenders must concede that despite the high quality of more recent scripted programs, doesn’t TV exist to sell us crap we don’t need? Can it truly become cultural nourishment? This jaded perspective didn’t always exist, as this illuminating exhibition reminds us. The early days of television were actually a hotbed of modern art experimentation, from the Pop Art onomatopoeia of “Batman” to the surrealist graphics of “The Twilight Zone” to the Op Art influences in early Kodak ads. It’s hard to imagine now, but avant-garde composer John Cage even performed on “I’ve Got a Secret,” and Salvador Dali appeared on “What’s My Line?” “Revolution of the Eye” delves into this relationship between modern art and TV through more than 260 fine art and graphic designs, from artists ranging from Georgia O’Keeffe and Roy Lichtenstein to Marcel Duchamp and Frank Stella. It runs through Jan. 10.
THURSDAY
What: Public Image Ltd.
Where: Culture Room, 3045 N. Federal Highway, Fort Lauderdale
When: 8 p.m.
Cost: $25
Contact: 954/564-1074, cultureroom.net
The very year the Sex Pistols’ brief but influential existence flamed out in the death of its co-founder Sid Vicious, its other leader, John Lydon, was back in the studio, making a record that was markedly different than his former band’s gnarled fury. Inspired by reggae and world music, he formed Public Image (later adding the “Ltd.”) with three players as progressive and boundary-pushing as he was, and released the moody, challenging, astonishing debut “First Issue.” Lydon topped it the following year with his magnum opus “Metal Box,” a scary, uncompromising affront to pop structure. Like everybody else’s, Lydon’s music has mellowed in a more commercial direction in the 35 years since its release, but it hasn’t lost a shred of its relevance. PiL is supporting its second album since its 2009 reformation, the snaky new tunes mixing agelessly with the vintage ear-scorchers.
What: David Mitchell
Where: Miami-Dade College Auditorium, 300 N.E. Second Ave., Building 1, Miami
When: 7 p.m.
Cost: Book purchase of $27.82 at Books and Books provides entry for two
Contact: 305/442-4408, booksandbooks.com
Halloween may have just passed, but haunted houses are still very much en vogue in David Mitchell’s new book Slade House. The cultishly respected British sci-fi writer, whose epics like Ghostwritten, Cloud Atlas and The Bone Clocks span generations, countries and even universes, has limited himself this time to just a 35-year time period, from the late ‘70s to the present. The titular house, hidden behind the dark side of a British pub, presents itself only to the lonely or awkward outsiders who discover joy within it—only to find themselves locked inside forever. Citing Mitchell’s expansion into heretofore unexplored realms of winking comedy, Guardian critic Liz Jensen praised the book’s read-in-one-setting leanness (it’s just over 200 pages) and called it “manically ingenious.”
FRIDAY
What: Opening night of Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival
Where: Hard Rock Live, 5747 Seminole Way, Hollywood
When: 7 p.m.
Cost: Varies per event
Contact: fliff.com
This November staple and unofficial kickoff of Broward County’s cultural season is sparing no expense in its landmark 30th anniversary event, beginning with the special guests stars descending on Fort Lauderdale: Ed Harris, Christopher Lloyd, director Victor Nunez (of “Ulee’s Gold” fame), Loretta Swit, Candy Clark and Estelle Parsons will all appear at special screenings of films both new and retro. In all, more than 150 features, documentaries and shorts from around the world will screen over three nonstop weeks of premieres and parties. It kicks off with a polemic bang Friday with the Florida premiere of Michael Moore’s “Where to Invade Next” (pictured), a comment on American’s global perception in which the rotund provocateur visits foreign countries to spread satirical imperialism. Moore will be there to speak about the film, marking his fifth appearance at FLIFF. It will be followed at 9 p.m. with “Jaco” (also screening at Hard Rock), a touching and illuminating documentary about the late, great jazz bassist Jaco Pastorius, who grew up in Broward. Most other screenings take place at Cinema Paradiso’s Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood locations; visit the festival’s website for the complete schedule.
What: Opening night of “Stripped”
Where: Arsht Center, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami
When: 7:30 p.m.
Cost: $50
Contact: 305/949-6722, arshtcenter.org
The relationships between parents and children have, in one way or another, colored the award-winning plays by Miamian Christopher Demos-Brown, from his monumental ensemble piece “Captiva” to his study of postwar coping, regret and historical revision, “Fear Up Harsh.” Now, Zoetic Stage, the company that produced both, returns with Demos-Brown’s latest work “Stripped,” in which family is front and center—and no less political than his more overtly headline-ripped plays. The story’s protagonist, Masha (Lindsey Corey), is a Russian immigrant, a mother and stripper—ahem, we mean exotic dancer—who, because of her profession, is consequently stripped of her child by the state. A meditation on the nature of being truly free, this world premiere takes an insider’s view of the complicated structure of child custody laws, examining every side with empathy. Chaz Mena, Ava-Riley Miles, Margot Moreland, Makeba Pace and Matt Stabile co-star in the production, which runs until Nov. 22.
SATURDAY
What: Opening night of “Hello, Dolly!”
Where: The Wick, 7901 N. Federal Highway, Fort Lauderdale
When: 7:30 p.m.
Cost: $70-$80
Contact: 561/995-2333, thewick.org
The list of performers who have played Dolly, the meddling, kooky matchmaker in Jerry Herman’s “Hello, Dolly!,” reads like a roll call of musical theater royalty: the iconic Carol Channing, Mary Martin, Dorothy Lamour, Eve Arden, Pearl Bailey, Ginger Rogers, Ethel Merman … and Lee Roy Reams? Yes, indeed. The Broadway actor—that would be male actor—who last donned frocks for the Wick Theatre’s “La Cage Aux Folles” this past January will challenge the Wick’s costumers once again. It will reportedly be the first time in the United States a man has played Dolly, and the producers couldn’t have picked a better “Dolly” expert to break this peculiar glass ceiling: Reams played a supporting character in a 1978 Broadway production of the show, and he’s also directed it. Reams recently told Palm Beach ArtsPaper, “They know that in my hands it’s not going to be a drag show. It’s going to be an actor playing the character.” Regardless of the result, this should be a “Dolly” for the record books. It runs through Dec. 6.
What: Joe Gillie: “Thanks for the Memories”
Where: Crest Theatre at Old School Square, 51 N. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach
When: 6:30 p.m.
Cost: $150
Contact: 561/243-7922, oldschoolsquare.org
It’s hard to imagine Old School Square without Joe Gillie at the helm. At the risk of some serious ego-massaging, it’s kind of like the Globe Theatre without Shakespeare. But just as the Globe has, in one capacity or another, survived its founder’s company, so too will Old School Square outlast its retiring president and CEO. But before Gillie leaves us for good, OSS is honoring him at this farewell bash—while making him work one last time. Gillie, a singer and actor before he was an organization president, will perform with the very same cabaret trio—completed by Kay Brady and Susan Hatfield Ivison, the latter flying in from Australia for the event—that performed on the Old School Square stage more than 25 years ago. They’ll sing jazz, a “sunshine medley” of happy tunes, and a medley of Gene Kelly numbers that will include, by popular demand, Gillie’s “Singin’ in the Rain” performed in diving flippers. Celebrated singer Avery Sommers, who performed at the Crest Theatre’s inaugural performance in 1993, also will perform, along with Matthew Farmer, the venu’s new artistic director. The ticket price includes cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, reserved seating and valet parking.
