A Parrothead tribute in Delray, camp theatre in Fort Lauderdale, Jane’s Addiction and Bush in Hollywood, and more in your week ahead.
THURSDAY
What: Opening night of “Die! Mommie Die!”
When: 7 p.m.
Where: Island City Stage, 2304 N. Dixie Highway, Wilton Manors
Cost: $40-$45
Contact: 954/928-9800, islandcitystage.org
So-called “psycho-biddy” horror movies of the ‘60s and ‘70s, in which prestigious actresses from Hollywood’s Golden Age made late-career forays into the gnarly terrain of psychological horror—think “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane”—inspired this campy sendup from kitsch-theatre impresario Charles Busch. Angela Arden is the “mommie” of the title, a washed-up pop star in a loveless marriage who proceeds to clandestinely kill her film-producer husband with an arsenic-laced suppository. Desperate for the truth, Angela’s children slip some LSD into dear old mom’s coffee in an effort to elicit a confession. In a video recorded for Island City’s production, Busch said, “I’d like to think that within the trappings of camp Hollywood pastiche, [the play] actually says something about families, and how the deepest love can be destroyed by a long-held secret.” The show runs through Sept. 22.
FRIDAY
What: Party in Paradise: Delray’s Tribute to Jimmy Buffett
When: 4 p.m.
Where: Amphitheatre at Old School Square, 51 N. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach
Cost: $20-$60
Contact: downtowndelraybeach.com
In our divided, controversy-courting legislature, it’s a sign of Jimmy Buffett’s universal appeal that when a bill surfaced in the Florida House to honor the late troubadour with a statewide day of remembrance, it passed through our body politic as quickly as a cheeseburger in paradise. Earlier this year, lawmakers declared Aug. 30—364 days after the singer-songwriter’s 2023 death—as Jimmy Buffett Day. Old School Square has its own storied history of honoring the Palm Beach resident, whose sold-out 2021 run of concerts at the venue remains the stuff of legend. At this special event honoring the statewide recognition, the Caribbean Chillers, Florida’s preeminent Buffett tribute, will headline at 8 p.m., endeavoring as always to capture their idol’s breezy island vibe and quirky sense of humor. They’ll be preceded by Jerry Leeman at 6:45 p.m., Cape Universal Band at 5:30 p.m., and a toast to Buffett at 5 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to break out their Hawaiian shirts; the bar, needless to say, will be open.
What: Bush
When: 7 p.m.
Where: Hard Rock Live, 1 Seminole Way, Hollywood
Cost: $65 and up
Contact: 954/797-5531, seminolehardrockhollywood.com
In the genre wars of the clique-ish ‘90s music scene, tastemakers didn’t know how to classify Bush, an English four-piece with crunchy guitar riffs, thunderous drums and often an underlying melodic sweetness. Some called the band post-grunge—others, less charitably, fake grunge—owing to a radio-ready sound that seemed more than a little indebted to Nirvana’s trailblazing formula. Haters gonna hate, but darn it if Bush, despite an eight-year hiatus in the aughts, hasn’t outlasted most of its peers, and contributed at least a half-dozen defining rock songs still beloved in the 2020s: “Comedown,” “Everything Zen” and the flashlight-waving ballad “Glycerine,” to name a few. Favorite cuts from Bush’s 30 years of music are available together for the first time on 2023’s Loaded: The Greatest Hits Album, which Bush will support on this tour appearance, with openers Jerry Cantrell (of Alice in Chains) and Candlebox.
FRIDAY TO SUNDAY
What: Screenings of “The Amusement Park”
When: 6 p.m. Friday; 3, 4:30, 6 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday; 3, 4:30 and 6 p.m. Sunday
Where: Lake Worth Playhouse’s Stonzek Theatre, 713 Lake Ave., Lake Worth Beach
Cost: $9
Contact: 561/296-9382, lakeworthplayhouse.org
Leave it to the cinephile curators of Lake Worth Playhouse’s art-house movie theater to think outside the box and counter-program a cult classic for this weekend’s Labor Day moviegoing. “The Amusement Park” is a 1975 film from the late, great horror maestro George A. Romero that, if you can believe it, was commissioned by the Lutheran Service Society of Western Pennsylvania as a cautionary educational film about elder abuse. Clocking in at just 53 minutes—and shot over three days on a shoestring $37,000 budget—“The Amusement Park” is a surrealist nightmare in which a twisted carnival serves as a metaphor for society’s neglect and abuse of its eldest residents. Ultimately, the film did honor its intentions—perhaps too well for the general public to stomach. “The Amusement Park” was considered “lost” for decades until a 16mm print was discovered in 2017. Enjoy this brief theatrical run, presented in honor of Senior Citizens Month.
SATURDAY
What: Jane’s Addiction and Love & Rockets
When: 8 p.m.
Where: Hard Rock Live, 1 Seminole Way, Hollywood
Cost: $95 and up
Contact: 954/797-5531, seminolehardrockhollywood.com
The influence of Jane’s Addiction is seldom overstated. The band’s 1985 self-titled debut LP, recorded live, captures the inchoate pangs of the early alternative rock boom as much as any album from its time, as well as the inexhaustible energy of the creatively hatted Perry Farrell and his crack band of Dave Navarro, Stephen Perkins and Eric Avery. Remarkably, after some 40 years of hiatuses and side projects, the original lineup remains intact to show the young ‘uns what loud, blistering rock music used to sound like. Just as notable is the opening act, England’s Love and Rockets, whose electronic-tinged post-punk dance music enthralled their country’s early alternative scene in much the same manner; likewise, this riveting power trio’s original lineup is also back at it in full force.
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