Beatles fans enjoy Fab Four fun from Delray to Boca, and Miami City Ballet shakes off winter. Plus, Ari Shapiro and more in your week ahead.
WEDNESDAY
What: Scott Eyman: “Charlie Chaplin Vs. America”
Where: King Library at Society of the Four Arts, 101 Four Arts Plaza, Palm Beach
When: 1:30 p.m.
Cost: Free with reservation
Contact: 561/655-2766, fourarts.org
The Palm Beaches are blessed to have one of the nation’s foremost film historians within its ranks—and ready and able to share his insights at free appearances like this one. Scott Eyman, a former literary and art critic for the Palm Beach Post, has gravitated to the world of classic cinema for most of his 16 books, penning celebrated biographies of John Ford, John Wayne and Cary Grant, among many others. His latest, Charlie Chaplin Vs. America, chronicles the downfall of another titan of the Golden Age of Hollywood. Though a silent star for much of his career, Charlie Chaplin’s outspoken views on politics would make him a chief target of the Red Scare of the 1950s, and Eyman subtly suggests that a similar silencing of views contrary to the prevailing political winds may well be underway today. See him discuss the book as part of the Four Arts’ Florida Voices series.
THURSDAY TO SUNDAY
What: Beatles on the Beach
Where: Downtown Delray Beach, various venues
When: Various event times
Cost: $65-$185.50 for full festival passes, $39.50-$79.50 for Friday or Saturday day passes
Contact: beatlesonthebeach.com
Returning for its beloved blend of “sun, fun, love and music,” Delray’s Beatles-centric festival will be headlined on Friday by Night Ranger, the durable California arena rockers with hits such as “Don’t Tell Me You Love Me,” “When You Close Your Eyes” and their biggest smash, the power balled “Sister Christian.” Saturday will be headlined by “Live & Let Die: A Symphonic Tribute to Paul McCartney,” in which top tribute artist Tony Kishman will perform Sir Paul’s most iconic songs from the Fab Four and beyond, backed by a full orchestra. Among the bevy of Beatles tributes opening things up are Finland’s Beatline and Portugal’s the Peakles. Other prominent speakers and performers include “resident Beatles expert” Tom Frangione, who DJs on SiriusXM’s Beatles Channel; Paul Davie, a musician and Beatle-ologist who has performed with Pete Best and Wings’ Denny Lane; and prominent tributes to Tom Petty and the Eagles. From its nexus at the Old School Square Pavilion, activities will spread out to include a Celebrity Symposium, a Beatles Bar Crawl, Magical Mystery Mini-Golf, Beatles Yoga, a Beatles Art Show, an Abbey Road Replica and Car Show and more.
FRIDAY
What: Beatles Vs. Stones
Where: The Studio at Mizner Park, 201 Plaza Real, Boca Raton
When: 7:30 p.m.
Cost: $69.50
Contact: 561/203-3742, thestudioatmiznerpark.com
It’s still debated whether the rivalry between the aforementioned Beatles and the Rolling Stones was an actual feud or a media fabrication designed to boost record sales. Occasional snide salvos from both camps aside, it was George Harrison’s recommendation that helped get the Stones signed to Decca Records, and they collaborated on projects well into their careers. The nebulous nature of their contretemps is at the heart of this creative concert, in which Sgt . Pepper, a Beatles band, and Jumpin’ Jack Flash, a Stones tribute, each perform, occasionally “dissing” their competition between songs. It culminates, as it should, in a mash-up between the music of both acts, in what is billed as “the greatest show that never was.”
What: Ari Shapiro: Thank You For Listening
Where: Broward Center, 201 S.W. Fifth Ave., Fort Lauderdale
When: 8 p.m.
Cost: $45-$85
Contact: 954/462-0222, browardcenter.org
“Thank you for listening” is a common enough sendoff for a talk-radio personality: Our listening keeps the host in business. But for Ari Shapiro, the three-time Edward R. Murrow award-winning journalist from NPR’s “All Things Considered,” the phrase carries multiple meanings. Shapiro is a big believer in the power of truly listening to one another—an endangered art in the era of media polarization and information silos. This theme undergirds his 2023 best-selling memoir The Best Strangers in the World, about his decades as a news correspondent, and it will be explored further in this eclectic stage show, which features tales from his day job—whether reporting from the Arctic Circle or filing stories from Air Force One—as well as music. Shapiro performs regularly with the genre-hopping orchestra Pink Martini, and on this tour, he’ll perform tunes by Billy Joel, Paul Simon, Taylor Swift, Stephen Sondheim and others, with live piano accompaniment.
SATURDAY AND SUNDAY
What: Miami City Ballet Winter Mix
Where: Kravis Center, 701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach
When: 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, 1 p.m. Sunday
Cost: $40-$180
Contact: 561/832-7469, kravis.org
Winter arrives late in the season for Miami City Ballet’s West Palm Beach engagement, but this eclectic program, divided between classic repertory and a world premiere, will provide chills and thrills no matter the calendar month. Continuing its focus on the commission of new work, the program features the world premiere of “Coincident Dances” from choreographer Pam Tanowitz, a Guggenheim fellow who is arguably the most exciting voice in experimental dance since Pina Bausch. MCB is in esteemed company; Tanowitz, praised by Dance magazine for “dissecting conventions of ballet,” recently completed commissions for Martha Graham’s and Paul Taylor’s dance companies. Her new work joins two classics from the copious canon of George Balanchine: “Walpurgisnacht Ballet” features an all-woman core of 24 dancers moving to wild abandon; and “La Valse,” a meditation on mortality featuring 30 waltzing dancers, and set to a moody score from Maurice Ravel.
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