A retro circus returns to the Boca big top, alt-rap royalty tours Miami, and Art Nouveau flourishes in Palm Beach. Plus, classic crooner Brian Hyland and more in your week ahead.
THURSDAY
What: Opening night of “The Great Mr. Swindle’s Traveling Peculiarium”
When: 7:30 p.m.
Where: Mizner Park Amphitheater, 590 Plaza Real, Boca Raton
Cost: $52.25-$90
Contact: 561/393-7890, myboca.us/2021/Mizner-Park-Amphitheater
The circus is in town, and it’s so 19th century. “The Great Mr. Swindle’s Traveling Peculiarium,” a traveling circus and vaudeville extravaganza, will bring all manner of shady characters to Mizner Park audiences eager for a nostalgic change of pace in their entertainment diets—all of it presented under a climate-controlled big top tent. Highlights for the 2026 touring edition include the contortionist Serpentina, daredevil cyclist Wheeliam and acrobatic entertainer She Extra. The Drink-Ory Garden, a beer garden inside the tent offering brews, wine, cocktails and chef-curated food, will open an hour before each performance. The production continues through Feb. 22.
FRIDAY
What: Digable Planets
When: 8 p.m.
Where: Miami Beach Bandshell, 7275 Collins Ave., Miami Beach
Cost: $50.66
Contact: miamibeachbandshell.com
With its copious samples from vintage jazz records—culled in large part from the extensive LP collection of vocalist Ishmael Butler’s father—the hip-hop trio Digable Planets set out to chart new sonic territory on its landmark debut “Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Time and Space).” Released in 1993, the album established the group as a major force in conscious rap and jazz rap, the latter all but nonexistent prior to Digables’ innovations, with “Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)” becoming a massive crossover hit. As a live band, the trio would prove to be just as dynamic, performing on acoustic jazz instruments, which melded with programmed beats for a sound that appealed to both hip-hop heads and jazz scholars alike. Digable Planets flamed out after just two albums but are finally revisiting their back catalog for a reunion tour that has spanned more than two years. Like many visionaries, Digable Planets were, and are, ahead of their time. In the genreless world of today’s listeners, they fit in anywhere and everywhere.
SATURDAY
What: Opening day of “The Triumph of Nature: Art Nouveau”
When: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Where: Society of the Four Arts, 102 Four Arts Plaza, Palm Beach
Cost: $10
Contact: 561/655-7226, fourarts.org
From fine art to interior design, Art Nouveau is having a moment. An article last fall in House Beautiful called it “the design style from 1900 that’s suddenly cool again.” Inspired by beauty, mythology and nature—in particular the sinuous curves of the local flora—Art Nouveau caught fire in Western Europe between 1890 and 1910, typified by the ornate posters of Czech artist Alphonse Mucha, whose work is on display at the Boca Raton Museum of Art through March 1. His prints also appear in “The Triumph of Nature,” a major touring exhibition organized by Virginia’s Chrysler Museum, which gathers 120 of the style’s most distinctive pieces for a comprehensive assessment of its legacy. These include not only paintings, sculptures and ceramics but functional objects such as furniture, books, lamps and glassware. It’s no wonder the Germans conceived of Art Nouveau not as a descriptor of individual pieces but as a gesamtkunstwerk—a “total work of art” whose pieces combine to form a cohesive vision. The exhibition runs through April 4.
What: Brian Hyland
When: 7:30 p.m.
Where: The Studio at Mizner Park, 201 Plaza Real, Boca Raton
Cost: $56.05-$92.60
Contact: 954/910-5826, thestudioatmiznerpark.com
Singer Brian Hyland was all of 16 years old in 1960, when he recorded “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini,” a novelty hit that defined a certain kind of carefree, beachgoing irreverence at the dawn of a liberated decade. Pop from smooth-voiced teen idols such as Hyland, whose other hits included “Sealed With a Kiss” and “Gypsy Woman,” forever changed after the earthquake known as the Beatles brought rock ‘n’ roll to the U.S. But Hyland has persevered where his early ‘60s contemporaries have faded. He continues to record and tour, playing his own hits and other from the nostalgic pre-rock era. This special Valentine’s Day performance is subtitled, appropriately enough, “Sealed With a Kiss.”
SATURDAY AND SUNDAY
What: Winter Plant Sale and Festival
When: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday
Where: Mounts Botanical Garden, 531 N. Military Trail, West Palm Beach
Cost: $20 adults, $18 seniors, $13 ages 6-17
Contact: 561/233-1757, mounts.org
We’re at the height of winter vegetable season in South Florida, with the bounty of spring just around the corner. Stock up on plants for these peak growing seasons in the Palm Beaches’ preeminent botanical garden this weekend, where more than 50 vendors will offer myriad artisan goods and plants, including plants, trees, herbs, ornamentals, succulents, cactus, bonsai, butterfly-drawing natives, shrubs and fruit trees, and rare and exotic orchids. Some of these expert growers will be leading presentations on plant maintenance, and all will be available to answer questions to turn your thumbs a little bit greener. Live music will be provided throughout the weekend by Bobby G., Ashleigh & Connor and Marijah & the Reggae All-Stars, six food trucks will be onsite, and children’s activities include arts and crafts and games.
For more of Boca magazine’s arts and entertainment coverage, click here.
