A literary landmark becomes a Broadway play, a jazz pianist explores his Jewish roots, and one of our most acclaimed photographers discusses her craft. Plus, “August: Osage County,” up-cycled art and more in your week ahead.
TUESDAY
What: Sally Mann: “One Story”
When: 3 p.m.
Where: Society of the Four Arts, 100 Four Arts Plaza, Palm Beach
Cost: $50
Contact: 561/655-7226, fourarts.org
The Society of the Four Arts will close its esteemed 2023 O’Keeffe Speaker Series with one of its most important inclusions. Beginning with her first solo exhibition in 1977, photographer Sally Mann has been one of the most dominant and provocative image-makers in the United States. The Virginia native specializes in ethereal and somehow also commonplace black-and-white images, with her own children, in their formative years, often serving as subjects. Later, she turned to eerie and desolate landscapes suffused with death and decay, which led the New York Times to headline a review of her work “Sally Mann’s Haunted South.” In this lecture, the winner of Guggenheim, NEA and NEH grants will examine her work from “the writer Elizabeth Strout’s assertion that we all have but one story to tell, but we tell it a thousand ways.”
What: Opening night of “To Kill a Mockingbird”
When: 8 p.m.
Where: Broward Center for the Performing Arts,201 S.W. Fifth Ave., Fort Lauderdale
Cost: $35-$150
Contact: 954/462-0222, browardcenter.org
The only non-musical in the Broward 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. The show’s Broadway premiere earned nine Tony nominations in 2019. The tour runs through April 9; learn more by reading our interview with Richard Thomas, which appeared in the March issue of Boca magazine.
FRIDAY
What: Opening night of “WORN: Wearable Art & Accessories”
When: 5 to 7 p.m.
Where: Resource Depot, 2508 Florida Ave., West Palm Beach
Cost: Free (recommended $5 donation)
Contact: 561/882-0090, resourcedepot.org
For more than two decades, the nonprofit Resource Depot has been rescuing our excess materials—from carpet squares and craft supplies to paper and other office items—from their otherwise certain futures in landfills or recycling centers, and repurposing them to people and communities that can use them. This includes artists, whose original works made from up-cycled materials are shown in the Depot’s own “GalleRE.” For its latest exhibition opening Friday, the GalleRE will focus on wearable art and accessories. Like in a challenge from “Project Runway,” all 17 artists in this small group show created functional, wearable work from materials in Resource Depot’s inventory. Check out the opening reception, support the Depot’s work with a donation, and/or visit the exhibit on another day before it closes on May 13.
What: Opening night of “August: Osage County”
When: 7:30 p.m.
Where: Palm Beach Dramaworks, 201 Clematis St., West Palm Beach
Cost: $99 (includes pre-show reception at 6:30); $84 for remainder of run
Contact: 561/514-4042, palmbeachdramaworks.org
Most playwrights and directors in recent years have tended toward brevity: The intermission-less 90-minute play has never been more in vogue. In this context, Tracy Letts’ “August: Osage County” is almost the last of its species: a dinosaur of a play, clocking in at north of three hours, with a cast of 13 and with two intermissions to let spectators catch their breath. And they’re going to need that time to decompress, because Letts’ hulking tragicomedy takes a lot out of its cast and audience alike. He chronicles an extended family that is, hopefully, not too much like your own. It’s led by Violet Watson, a cancer-stricken, pill-addicted and probably sociopathic matriarch, during the days following the disappearance of her alcoholic husband Beverly. Three generations of dysfunctional siblings, daughters and grandchildren coalesce in this combustible work that won five Tony Awards on Broadway and led to an Oscar-nominated film adaptation a few years later. Dramaworks’ much-anticipated production runs through April 16.
SATURDAY
What: Opening day of “Akin: Capturing Human Intimacy and Tenderness”
When: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Where: Norton Museum of Art, 1450 S. Dixie Highway, West Palm Beach
Cost: $15-$18
Contact: 561/832-5196, norton.org
Working from the premise that the camera has always, since its inception, served to document interpersonal relationships, “Akin” is an eclectic gathering of photographs, from 1880 to the present day, that reveal, venerate and probe various aspects of these relationships, both inside and outside of traditional family units. The 30 images, drawn from the Norton’s permanent collection, span more than 100 years, from a sublime photo of an American soldier playfully acknowledging the camera in 1951, to a 1990s wedding portrait by Tina Barney, to a proud and intimate shot of queer affection from Lyle Ashton Harris. A mesmerizing photo by Henry Holmes Smith even manages to deconstruct the definition of an intimate portrait. “Akin” runs through July 23.
SUNDAY
What: Tal Cohen Trio
When: 7 p.m.
Where: Arts Garage, 94 N.E. Second Ave., Delray Beach
Cost: $30-$35
Contact: 561/450-6357, artsgarage.org
Like many fellow members of the diaspora, Tal Cohen was born in Israel and now lives in Miami, where he has established a reputation as one of the most in-demand pianists in contemporary jazz. His infectious grooves have led to performances and records with giants such as Terence Blanchard and Joe Lovano. Cohen is a dynamic and riveting player, with dexterity and charisma to spare: I saw this firsthand when he joined bassist Michael Feinberg’s trio at Arts Garage earlier this year. Expect even more of his talent to shine at this performance as bandleader. With the aid of ace sidemen David Chiverton on drums and Dion Kerr on bass, Cohen will play a variegated set featuring his contemporary post-bop jazz with elements of traditional klezmer and Israeli folk music.
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