A literary lion roars onstage, three Chers are ready for their close-ups, and plein air painters exhibit in Delray Beach. Plus, Tovah Feldshuh and more in your week ahead.
TODAY (TUESDAY)
What: Opening night of “To Kill a Mockingbird”
Where: Kravis Center, 701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach
When: 8 p.m.
Cost: $39-$109
Contact: 561/832-7469, kravis.org
The only non-musical in the Kravis Center’s season of Broadway tours promises as much star-studded spectacle, behind of and in front of the stage, as its song-and-dance brethren. Aaron Sorkin scripted this daringly free adaptation of Harper Lee’s signature novel about race and justice in the Deep South, which positions Atticus Finch (played on the tour by Richard Thomas), the crusading defense attorney, as the protagonist, not his daughter Scout. A searing courtroom drama with societal implications that address the here and now, the show’s Broadway premiere earned nine Tony nominations in 2019. The Kravis tour runs through Sunday only.
What: Opening night of “The Cher Show”
Where: Arsht Center, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami
When: 8 p.m.
Cost: $25-$130
Contact: 305/949-6722, arshtcenter.org
The theatricality, the soaring pipes, those sequined and phantasmagorical Bob Mackie dresses—everything about Cher has for so long seemed tailored for Broadway that it was inevitable somebody would put two and two together. That somebody is Rick Elice, who wrote the books for Broadway’s “Jersey Boys” and “The Addams Family” and, in “The Cher Show,” celebrates another cultural touchstone. Three actresses, referred to in the show as Babe, Lady and Star, portray different eras of Cher’s remarkable life, and occasionally interact with each other, temporal logic be damned (she did write “If I Could Turn Back Time,” after all). The music, 35 songs deep, is nearly all Cher’s, and Mackie himself contributed the show’s dazzling costumes, which won “The Cher Show” a Tony in 2019. Other actors portray notable figures in Cher’s orbit, among them Lucille Ball, Robert Altman, Sonny Bono and Gregg Allman. The tour runs through Sunday.
FRIDAY
What: Opening night of “Painting in Paradise” exhibition
Where: Cornell Art Museum, 51 N. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach
When: 6 to 9 p.m.
Cost: Free
Contact: 561/243-1077, downtowndelraybeach.com
The Morikami is no longer than only game in town when it comes to botanical gardens in Delray Beach. Paradise Palms & Sculpture Gardens, a 10-acre property in West Delray, has been the dream of founder Mark Ford since at least 2012, and after nearly a dozen years of work, the property is finally open for private tours. The unique and sprawling space contains gardens devoted to Asia, Australia, Cuba, Florida, Hispaniola, Jamaica, Madagascar, New Guinea, the South Pacific and the Americas; it’s also dotted with a tea house, a koi pond, a workshop, a lake and a “Sunset Shelter”—not to mention some 17 sculptures by artists including John Martini and Frank Lloyd Wright. What does all this have to do with the Cornell Art Museum, you ask? Valid question: “Painting in Paradise” is an exhibition inspired by plein air painters’ visits to those gardens, each offering their distinct interpretations of some of the flora on display. Visit the Cornell beginning Friday to explore the work, then schedule a visit to the actual gardens, or vice versa.
What: Opening night of “La Syndicaliste”
Where: Lake Worth Playhouse’s Stonzek Theatre, 713 Lake Ave., Lake Worth Beach
When: 6 p.m.
Cost: $9
Contact: 561/296-9382, lakeworthplayhouse.org
This fact-based French drama from director Jean-Paul Salomé captures the explosive story of Maureen Kearney, a head union representative for the French multinational nuclear giant Areva. When Kearney, played by the immortal Isabelle Huppert, blows the whistle on the corporation’s illegal backroom deals, she is reportedly beaten and sexually assaulted in her own home—a story that begins to unravel under intense police scrutiny. A thriller set in the intersection of truth and lies, and the personal and the political, “La Syndicaliste” earned a nomination for Best Film at the 2022 Venice Film Festival, and enjoys its exclusive regional run all weekend at the Lake Worth Playhouse.
MONDAY, JAN. 8
What: Opening night of “Tovah Feldshuh: “Aging is Optional”
Where: Where: Delray Beach Playhouse, 950 N.W. Ninth St., Delray Beach
When: 7:30 p.m.
Cost: $75
Contact: 561/272-1281, delraybeachplayhouse.com
Longtime thespian Tovah Feldshuh is living proof of the title of her one-person cabaret show. The ageless 74-year-old Manhattanite, who has displayed equal prowess in comedic and dramatic parts, has earned countless awards in a career that has spanned theatre, the movies and television, such as her recurring stint on “The Walking Dead.” Her versatility has included the title roles in “Yentl,” “Gypsy” and “Hello, Dolly!” and portrayals of Dr. Ruth Westheimer, Tallulah Bankhead and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. “Aging is Optional” is filled with songs, stories and impersonations—with a schtickle of Yiddish—which Feldshuh calls “an hour of Resytlane for the soul, a booster for the heart and a probiotic of laughter.” After a half-century in show business, Feldshush says she’s just getting started, telling audiences at a curtain call on Broadway last year, “I plan to work ‘til they carry me out of here. … I want to be thoroughly used up when I die. The longer I work, the more I live.” The show runs through Jan. 10.
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