The Boca Museum honors a Beat Generation artist, a jazz bass virtuoso visits Arts Garage, and queer icon Janis Ian speaks in Fort Lauderdale. Plus, Bruce Springsteen and more in your week ahead.
WEDNESDAY
What: “Exploring Jess: Beat Generation Visionary”
When: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Where: Boca Raton Museum of Art, 501 Plaza Real, Boca Raton
Cost: $12 seniors, $16 general
Contact: 561/392-2500, bocamuseum.org
A staple of San Francisco’s Mission District in the 1950s and beyond, painter Jess—born Jess Collins and later dropping his surname—is one of the more underrated artists to emerge out of the 1950s Beat Generation. With his longtime partner, poet Robert Duncan, Jess was a fixture at poetry readings and gallery shows, where he exhibited his unusual paintings and collages, maximalist work that integrated concepts of alchemy, chemistry, the occult, literature and popular culture. His collage series of what he termed “Paste-Ups,” for instance, wove comic strips, magazine illustrations, tarot cards, puzzle pieces and other ephemera into visionary new shapes. This rare survey explores Jess’ surrealist early years and his impact on the Beats. It runs through Dec. 6.
THURSDAY
What: Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band
When: 8 p.m.
Where: Amerant Bank Arena, 1 Panther Parkway, Sunrise
Cost: $52-$618
Contact: 954/835-7469, amerantbankarena.com
A performer of indefatigable energy, roof-shaking showmanship, and an ongoing calling to speak truth to power, Bruce Springsteen earned perhaps the best free publicity a musician could hope for early this month, when the president of the United States singled him out in a Truth Social post for the anti-Trump tenor of his latest tour, titled Land of Hope and Dreams. For Springsteen, speaking out against war and injustice have been part of his M.O. for decades, including in volcanic hits such as “Born in the U.S.A.,” which takes a front-row position in his current set lists. So does the Clash’s “Clampdown” and his most recent No. 1 streaming hit, “Streets of Minneapolis.” Thursday marks Springsteen and his longtime E Street Band’s only Florida show of the tour, and they’re accompanied by Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello on a number of tunes.
THURSDAY TO SATURDAY
What: Sh!t-Faced Shakespeare®: Hamlet
When: 8 p.m.
Where: Kravis Center, 701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach
Cost:
Contact: 561/832-7469, kravis.org
The concept of this bawdy, deliberate train wreck of a touring show is that five professional actors perform William Shakespeare’s Hamlet—except that one randomly selected performer is genuinely intoxicated for the performance, likely slurring their words, missing lines and cues, and inventing new ones, prompting their colleagues onstage to go with the increasingly bonkers flow. This year’s tour features Shakespeare’s longest and, arguably, most majestic drama, although its epic, five-act nature is reduced here to a manageable two hours, with all of that nipping and tucking in service of a fun night with a skewed Bard. The company seems to lean into its sacrilegious mission: In its promo video, it presents with pride a one-star review from a theater critic, who gripes that it represents, “theater for people who hate theater.”
SATURDAY
What: Christian McBride & Ursa Major
When: 5:30 and 8:30 p.m.
Where: Arts Garage, 94 N.E. Second Ave., Delray Beach
Cost: $108-$118
Contact: 561/450-6357, artsgarage.org
Bassist Christian McBride’s most recently formed group is called Ursa Major, and it’s a fitting name: McBride is, indeed, a big bear in the world of jazz. Trained at Juilliard and emerging in the early 1990s on the heels of straight-ahead jazz revivalists like Wynton Marsalis and Terence Blanchard, McBride’s career has encompassed everything from duo performances to big bands, and he’s appeared on more than 400 records spanning the spectrum of popular music, from Sting to Celine Dion to the Roots to Renée Fleming. Gregarious when he needs to be, McBride is something of an unofficial spokesperson for jazz, having run the Newport Jazz Festival for nine years, and leading his own cruise, McBride’s World at Sea, which departed from Fort Lauderdale in January. He has described Ursa Major, which he formed in 2022 with upstart players in their 20s, as his “all in” band, combining his many musical interests into a tight, grooving, swinging quintet.
SUNDAY
What: Janis Ian conversation and film screening
When: 5 p.m.
Where: Center for Spiritual Living, 4849 N. Dixie Highway, Oakland Park
Cost: $20
Contact: stonewall-museum.org
One of the seminal figures in the 1960s protest-folk scene, Janis Ian was all of 14 when she wrote and recorded her first hit, “Society’s Child (Baby I’ve Been Thinking),” a song that supported interracial marriage at a time when it was still a cultural taboo. She later notched a Billboard Top Ten single with 1975’s “At Seventeen,” which helped cement her legacy. The two-time Grammy winner has remained active and outspoken ever since, both personally and professionally, releasing 16 albums since her 1975 chart-topper and coming out as a lesbian in 1993. She’s continued to advocate for LGBTQ+ parity, including as a columnist for The Advocate. This special event, held in conjunction with Wilton Women’s Week, features a screening of Janis Ian: Breaking Silence, the acclaimed 2025 documentary about her life and legacy, as well as a live conversation with Ian after the screening. The evening also includes a musical tribute from vocalist Heather Craig and light refreshments and drinks included with the ticket price.
For more of Boca magazine’s arts and entertainment coverage, click here.
