The Wick revives the greatest Marx Brother, brat summer spills into autumn in West Palm Beach, and a new movie recalls the bumpy start of “Saturday Night Live.” Plus, David Sedaris and more in your week ahead.
THURSDAY
What: Opening night of “Groucho”
Where: The Wick Theatre, 7901 N. Federal Highway, Boca Raton
When: 7:30 p.m.
Cost: $119
Contact: 561/995-2333, thewick.org
Actor Frank Ferrante and his onstage inspiration, Groucho Marx, have been inextricably linked since Ferrante was still in short pants. To wit, Ferrante was studying drama at the University of Southern California in 1985 when he was discovered by Arthur Marx, Groucho’s son, who found in Ferrante the ideal comic talent to play his preternaturally gifted father. The rest is history: Ferrante found his muse, and he has continued to tour as Groucho Marx for nearly 40 years. He has synthesized all things Groucho in this one-man show (accompanied by an onstage pianist), featuring songs the Marx Brother popularized, such as “Hooray for Captain Spalding” and “Lydia, the Tattooed Lady,” alongside stories from Marx’s career in show business, his most beloved one-liners and more. Ferrante’s “Groucho” tours the Wick through Nov. 3 as its season-opening production.
What: An Evening With David Sedaris
Where: The Parker, 707 N.E. Eighth St., Fort Lauderdale
When: 7:30 p.m.
Cost: $69.75
Contact: 954/462-0222, browardcenter.org
My experience with humorist David Sedaris is mostly confined to his periodic essays for The New Yorker, which are infused with his signature droll wit and stealth poignancy regardless of the topic. His more committed fans have been blessed with 11 story collections he has published since 1994, including his latest work, 2022’s Happy-Go-Lucky, whose essays address the topsy-turvy tumult of the COVID and Trump years, his personal midlife adaptations, and the people in his orbit, including, most memorably, the last days of his 98-year-old father, whose relationship with his son was a fractious one. (David: “I don’t think the coffin could have been any uglier.”) But there’s no better way to burrow inside Sedaris’ headspace than to hear him read his own words; on this tour, he’ll premiere new stories and recollections, sign books and field questions from the audience.
What: Opening day of “Saturday Night”
Where: Cinemark Bistro Boca Raton, 3200 Airport Road, Boca Raton
When: 2, 4:45, 7:30 and 10:15 p.m.
Cost: $13.75
Contact: 800/246-3627, cinemark.com/theatres/fl-boca-raton/cinemark-bistro-boca-raton-and-xd
As an American pop-culture institution, “Saturday Night Live” is as close to a well-oiled machine as anything in the world of live entertainment, from the timed-to-the-second pacing of its live bits, its musical performances and its integration of pre-recorded sketches. But as this documentary about its formative years—indeed, its formative hour—reminds us, this wasn’t always the case. When it debuted on Oct. 11, 1975, the program then known as “Saturday Night” consisted of unknown comedians with little to no TV experience, and the result could have been a catastrophic embarrassment for NBC. This biographical drama recounts the 90 minutes before the premiere of the pilot episode, with all of its attendant high jinks and crises. Gabriel LaBelle, as Lorne Michaels, leads an ensemble cast of, appropriately enough, largely unknown actors to play future stars Dan Aykroyd, Chevy Chase, Gilda Radner and more, with bit parts from Willem Dafoe, J.K. Simmons and others.
SATURDAY
What: Brat-o-Ween: Brat Season Dance Party
Where: The Banyan Live, 8199 Southern Blvd., Suite B, West Palm Beach
When: 9 p.m.
Cost: $15
Contact: 561/855-0626, thebanyanlive.com
Though it mostly blindsided and confused music listeners of a certain age (myself among them), Charli XCX’s sixth studio album Brat became the year’s defining LP when it dropped to widespread critical acclaim and, soon enough, full-spectrum cultural dominance, this past June. The instant electropop classic redefined the title word for at least a generation, with its creator defining the “brat” ethos as “me, my flaws, my fuckups, my ego all rolled into one.” After Charli XCX (positively) deemed Kamala Harris “brat,” it was off to the races, and “brat summer” was hatched. This very online trend has extended into autumn (Charli XCX is releasing a remix album this Friday), with live events like this one. Costumes are encouraged at “brat-o-ween,” which features DJ selections from the Brat album and like-minded stars such as Billie Eilish, Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter and more.
SUNDAY
What: “Being Somebody”
Where: Arts Garage, 94 N.E. Second Ave., Delray Beach
When: 7 p.m.
Cost: $35
Contact: 561/450-6357, artsgarage.org
A living embodiment of the adage that age is just a number, Howard Mase began his acting career last year at age 87. You could certainly say he caught the bug: He’s still acting, alongside his daughter and theatre professional Marla Mase, in the show in question, “Being Somebody: Growing Up in Brooklyn …. A Father-Daughter Tale.” In his ongoing day job, Howard Mase has been an organizational psychologist for decades, lending his executive coaching expertise to institutions from NYU to Citibank. But “Being Somebody” focuses on his formative years as he navigated puberty and found himself in postwar Brooklyn—a life that contrasts with that of his daughter Marla’s coming-of-age in the disco era of the 1970s. The Mase kin wrote the play together, integrating memories, song, dance and projections for a singular multimedia experience.
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