TEDx Boca Raton makes its impactful return, Island City Stage opens a world-premiere play, and a supergroup jazzes up the Grateful Dead. Plus, James Van Praagh, the Psychedelic Furs and more in your week ahead.
THURSDAY
What: Opening night of “Tracy Jones”
When: 7 p.m.
Where: Island City Stage, 2304 N. Dixie Highway, Wilton Manors
Cost: $40
Contact: 954/928-9800, islandcitystage.org
This latest comedy from playwright Stephen Kaplan features not just one title character but four of them. The central Tracy Jones, played by Niki Fridh, is a lonely 40-something with an unfulfilling bank job who is managing a midlife crisis that has something to do with her extremely common name. To find some answers, she invites fellow Tracy Joneses from around the country to a beer-and-chicken-wings soiree at her local Jones Street Bar & Grill. When a couple of recipients respond, it sets in motion a “story of individual connection in an increasingly complicated world.” Island City Stage marks one of three theaters producing this “Rolling World Premiere” from the National New Play Network. Co-starring Matthew Buffalo, Irene Adjan and Sara Grant, “Tracy Jones” runs through June 18.
FRIDAY
What: Jazz is Dead
When: 7 p.m.
Where: Revolution Live, 200 S.W. Third Ave., Fort Lauderdale
Cost: $27.50
Contact: 954/449-1025, jointherevolution.net
As the genre-defining jam band of its era, the Grateful Dead seldom played their tunes straight-up or album-perfect. Extended improvisatory interludes struck at the heart of their expansive mission, making each concert (and each bootleg) a cherished and unique event. In that sense, the group’s connection with jazz, with its own rich history of exploratory improvisation, was never far from its consciousness. So a jazz tribute to the Grateful Dead seems not so much a generic deviation as a continuation of the cult band’s legacy. The longtime tribute Jazz is Dead is just that; returning on tour for the first time since 2015, this supergroup, featuring founder Alphonso Johnson alongside Steve Kimock and Bobby Lee Rodgers, will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Dead’s seminal Wake of the Flood LP by performing instrumental jazz interpretations of its classics. Joining the quartet on drums is Pete Lavezzoli of South Florida’s own Dead tribute Crazy Fingers, who, in a recent interview, enshrined the Grateful Dead in the “modern Great American Songbook.” Amen to that.
SATURDAY
What: TEDx Boca Raton
When: 3 to 6 p.m.
Where: Boca Raton Innovation Campus, 5000 T-Rex Ave., Boca Raton
Cost: $60
Contact: tedxbocaraton.com
Boca’s very own, homegrown edition of a TED conference returns with another diverse lineup of speakers this year, all clustered under an umbrella theme of “Impact.” The presenters will speak about making an impact in such fields as health care, finance, cybersecurity and wellness, with BRIC—the 1.7-million-square-foot former home of IBM—making for an ideal backdrop for their disruptive ideas. This year’s speakers are Steve Edwards, military veteran and tech entrepreneur; Michelle Grant, entrepreneur and community builder; Natasha Graziano, author, influencer and coach; Joy McAdams, influencer podcaster and 12-time Ironman competitor; Dr. Margaret Rutherford, author, psychologist and podcaster; Sean Shea, tech entrepreneur and philanthropist; and Marc Nudelberg, coach, author and entrepreneur. Festivities start at 2 p.m. Saturday with networking, refreshments and “lite bites.”
What: An Evening with Newsted
When: 7:30 p.m.
Where: Revolution Live, 200 S.W. Third Ave., Fort Lauderdale
Cost: $25
Contact: 954/449-1025, jointherevolution.net
Once a metalhead, always a metalhead. It’s been 10 years since former Metallica bassist—and Jupiter Inlet Colony resident—Jason Newsted played a full-throated, full-throttle metal set with his eponymous heavy-hitting quartet, a dry spell that the bandleader and vocalist will break on Saturday. The one-off concert—the only appearance the group has slated—marks a departure of sorts for Newsted. Last time we checked in on him, he was fronting the Chophouse Band, an acoustic group then tackling folk-based originals and covers from the likes of Tom Petty, John Prine and Woody Guthrie. Perhaps this gig, which hopefully will feel every bit like riding a metal bike, will reignite the flame of speedy riffs, growling vocals and double kick drums.
What: James Van Praagh
When: 8 p.m.
Where: The Parker, 707 N.E. Eighth St., Fort Lauderdale
Cost: $26-$125
Contact: 954/462-0222, browardcenter.org
One of the top celebrity mediums for the past 35 years, James Van Praagh has enjoyed a career spanning TV, radio and print, having penned a dozen international best-sellers about his connection to the afterlife and the evidentiary information he has been able to bring forth. He was the subject of a television miniseries about his life—“Living With the Dead,” starring Ted Danson—and he executive-produced the CBS hit series “The Ghost Whisperer.” He also teaches the cultivation of mediumship and other abilities, and his admirers include Shirley MacLaine, Jennifer Love Hewitt and Gabby Bernstein. Of course, as with most mediums that have achieved fame, Van Praagh has come under fire by skeptical researchers for using “hot reading” or “cold reading” techniques. We’re not validating or debunking his work, though if you believe in mediumship and would like to experience Van Praagh in action—and possibly receive a reading yourself—this “Evening of Spirit” may offer a prime opportunity.
What: The Psychedelic Furs
When: 8 p.m.
Where: Miami Beach Bandshell, 7275 Collins Ave., Miami Beach
Cost: $44.50
Contact: miamibeachbandshell.com
No longer just a legacy act, British new-wave progenitors the Psychedelic Furs in 2020 released their first album in 19 years. Opening with the muscular banger “The Boy Who Invented Rock & Roll,” Made of Rain more than made up for lost time, not so much picking up where 1991’s World Outside left off but improving on the group’s now time-honored, hook-laden formula. Of course, expect to hear the band’s iconic hits as well, and prepare those dancing shoes, as “Heartbreak Beat,” “Love My Way” and “Pretty in Pink” are bound to make their usual appearances, still performed with room-swaying gusto by founders (and brothers) Richard and Tim Butler, and their four-piece backing band. Definitely arrive early for a rare solo set from Evan Dando of ‘90s alt-rockers the Lemonheads, who performers not only his own songs but inspired covers by the likes of Gram Parsons, Lucinda Williams and Fred Neil.
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