TUESDAY
What: Opening night of “I Love Lucy Live on Stage”
Where: Arsht Center, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami
When: 8 p.m.
Cost: $26-$89
Contact: 305/949-6722, arshtcenter.org
This innovative production, produced and co-adapted by Kim Flagg, is more than just a classic “I Love Lucy” episode presented as a theater. It’s two episodes. And a pre-show introduction. And live commercial jingles. And everything else that happens both in front of and behind the cameras during the filming of a television show in the 1950s. Flagg has described the experience as being nothing less than a time machine, with theatergoers inhabiting the roles of a live studio audience at a time when television was a radical new phenomenon and the sitcom was in its infancy. You’ll see how the sausage is made while also enjoying the final result, with throwback humor that will resonate nostalgically with those who grew up with “Lucy” and act as an entertaining period piece for more recent generations. The show runs through Sunday, Oct 5 only.
WEDNESDAY
What: “IMAG_NE” unveiling
Where: Sanborn Square, 72 N. Federal Highway, Boca Raton
When: 7 p.m.
Cost: Free
Contact: 561/393-7995, myboca.us
If we didn’t have imagination, we wouldn’t have anything—from civil rights advances and political revolutions to space travel, satellites and the iPhone 6. “IMAG_NE,” an interactive sculpture by Australian visual artist Emma Allen, celebrates this spirit of conjuring the previously unthinkable. Allen’s sculpture, measuring 13.7 feet wide and 3 feet high, is cleverly structured like a Scrabble rack whose tiles spell out the word IMAGINE, sans the second “I.” Visitors to the sculpture are invited to “fill in” the missing letter any way they wish, and to disseminate their imaginative creations through social media. Boca Raton Mayor Susan Haynie will introduce the sculpture’s unveiling on Wednesday night, which will include a performance by the West Boca Raton High School Vanguard Jazz Band. “IMAG_NE” will remain on view through Nov. 30.
THURSDAY
What: Opening day of “The Rudin Prize for Emerging Photographers”
Where: Norton Museum of Art, 1451 S. Olive Ave., West Palm Beach
When: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Cost: $5-$12
Contact: 561/832-5196, norton.org
Image-makers whose work thrives on the nexus of contemporary art and photography are the subject of this international Norton Museum biennial, named after the late New York City real estate developer Lewis Rudin, whose family’s generosity keeps the competition going. Here’s how the Rudin Prize works: Four renowned artists from across the globe each nominated a photographer they believe represents the cutting edge of modern art. The four nominees are then exhibited at this Norton exhibition, with the winner—decided by a separate jury of artists—receiving a $20,000 prize. But as they say in Oscar-ville, it’s an honor just to be nominated, and this year’s four photographers are sure to impress: Guatemala’s Renato Osoy and Israel’s Rami Mayman, who study the “residue” of photography in unique ways; Brooklyn’s Delphine Fawundu (pictured), who explores African-American female identity; and Germany’s Miriam Bohm, who finds mazy complexity in still-lifes. The show runs through Jan. 11, with the winner being announced on Dec. 1.
What: Hillary Clinton
Where: Books and Books, 265 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables
When: 3:30 p.m.
Cost: Book purchase of $35 plus tax
Contact: 305/442-4408, booksandbooks.com
In the past, Bill Clinton has made several notable efforts to fit Miami’s Books and Books into his exhaustive travel schedule. And this special relationship continues this week with an appearance from his similarly ambitious spouse, a woman who has been spending a goodly amount of time in Iowa for someone who hasn’t yet announced her presidential candidacy. Clinton is supporting her latest memoir “Hard Choices,” and you can expect a veritable mob scene descending on Books and Books. Attendees should be aware that this event is a book autographing only, and that no personal items will be allowed, with the exception of wallets and cell phones. Photos will be permitted from the signing line, but not posed—in other words, the usual precautionary rigmarole, which, for South Florida’s Democrats, should be well worth it for a brief, personal glimpse at their party’s anointed 2016 nominee.
FRIDAY
What: Opening night of “The Liberator”
Where: Living Room Theaters at FAU, 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton
When: Show times pending
Cost: $6.50-$9.50
Contact: 561/549-2600, fau.livingroomtheaters.com
Latin America surely wouldn’t be what it is today were it not for Simon Bolivar, the fiery revolutionary who is credited with liberating Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia from the Spanish empire—more than 100 battles in all, covering some 70,000 miles on horseback in the late 18th and early 19thcenturies. “The Liberator” is Bolivar’s long-awaited biopic: an expensive, romantic and sweeping account of his numerous liberations, by land and sea, using handheld weapons and canon fire. Edgar Ramirez portrays Bolivar, and he is no stranger to playing tumultuous historical figures; his filmography includes roles in “Che” and “Carlos.” Danny Huston and Maria Valverde co-star, in what was Venezuela’s official entry for Best Foreign Language Film at 87thannual Academy Awards.
SATURDAY
What: Stitch Rock
Where: Old School Square Vintage Gymnasium, 51 N. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach
When: Noon to 6 p.m.
Cost: $5
Contact: rockthestitch.com
There aren’t many places you can find a gaggle of demented-looking plush dolls, a heart-shaped plaque depicting smooching skeletons, pieces of octopus jewelry and an airbrushed likeness of Bryan Cranston in “Breaking Bad,” all sharing the same offbeat oxygen. But Delray is a town weird enough to support a cash-and-carry indie craft fair like Stitch Rock, now entering its eighth venerable year. All of these items and much, much more lined the tables of some 80-plus vendors last year, drawing lines around the block for what has become the Vintage Gymnasium’s signature annual event. And we haven’t even mentioned the copious T-shirts, pins, coasters, records, pinup paintings, homemade jams and plenty of cupcakes, both decorative and edible. The vendors often have as many safety pins on their bodies as in their craftwork, and at least half the items in the gym look like they wandered from a Tim Burton set. For unique gifts, we can’t agree more with the event’s tagline: “Skip the Mall, Shop Indie!”
What: 27th anniversary party
Where: Respectable Street, 518 Clematis St., West Palm Beach
When: 8 p.m.
Cost: Free
Contact: 561/832-9999, sub-culture.org/respectable-street
Before there was Revolution and Ovation and Metal Factory and Culture Room and Grand Central and Pompano Beach Amphitheater and all the other legendary music clubs in South Florida, there was Respectable Street. The intimate West Palm Beach lounge has long billed itself as the oldest music club in the Southeast, and it remains a vital refuge for bands that operate way left of the radio dial. The venue will celebrate its 27th birthday in traditionally grand fashion, with a full 27 bands slated to perform on five downtown stages: a main outdoor stage, inside Respectable Street, on the Respectable Street patio, inside Longboards and on the patio of Hullaballoo. Headliners include Astrea Corp, Astari Night, Symbols, Jangle Leg, Galliminus and, playing outside at midnight, the Smiths tribute act Ordinary Boys.
MONDAY, OCT. 6
What: St. Vincent
Where: The Fillmore, 1700 Washington Ave., Miami Beach
When: 8 p.m.
Cost: $25.50-$35
Contact: 800/745-3000, fillmoremb.com
Tulsa native Annie Clark, better known as her stage name St. Vincent, has been churning out clever avant-pop music since 2006, with each of her four releases surpassing the last one in both quality and accessibility. A former Berklee College of Music student and a graduate of the 20-piece orchestral pop group The Polyphonic Spree, Clark is a silver-haired, postmodern iconoclast whose albums feature imagistic wordplay delivered over loopy, crunchy and unpredictable guitars, keyboards, horns and symphonic flourishes. She rose to mainstream acclaim thanks in part to “Love This Giant,” an album-length collaboration with David Byrne, whose Talking Heads cast a wide shadow over St. Vincent’s theatrical sound. She and her band even perform choreographed movements while playing their songs, which they showcased in a season-closing appearance on “Saturday Night Live” in May that left some viewers baffled. After opening for acts like Arcade Fire and Death Cab for Cutie, St. Vincent finally gets its own headlining tour at a major concert hall.