Art: A stunning series of space shuttle photos by photographer Mark Widick opens Saturday at the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County’s Lawrence A. Saunders Foundation Gallery in Lake Worth. The exhibition runs through May 18. The International Panoramic Photographic Society, Digital Imaging Association, and Google Earth have each published Widick’s photography. His photography has also been featured in Art & Culture Magazine, Florida Trends, Sport Diver and South Florida Opulence. Admission to the Cultural Council, which is located at 601 Lake Ave. in Lake Worth, is free and open to the public Tuesdays through Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, visit palmbeachculture.com.
Film: Some people are just too giving. Consider the case of the main character in Starbuck, who was a sperm donor back in the 1980s, and now finds out that the avocation resulted in 533 successful pregnancies. Even worse, over a hundred of these offspring are now suing the fertility clinic to find out the identity of the donor, whose code name brings to mind that overpriced latte emporium. Yes, the movie is a comedy, but with a dry humor that we can rarely muster in this country. This is a French-language film from Canada with the agile Patrick Huard in the title role, and you might as well see it now, because director Ken Scott has already announced plans to remake the movie in Hollywood, starring Vince Vaughn. Playing at area theaters beginning this weekend.
Theater: This is the final weekend to catch Avi Hoffman in the one-man play An Iliad, a contemporary, conversational take on Homer’s epic Greek poem about the Trojan War. Co-adaptors Denis O’Hare and Lisa Peterson cover the match-up between Achilles and Hector, but they also widen the focus to indict all wars throughout civilization, right up to those twin conflicts of terrorism and nation building, Iraq and Afghanistan. Hoffman gives a fevered, full-throttle performance as The Poet, a war correspondent destined to recite the horrors of war until we get the message and lay down our arms. Actually, An Iliad only lasts 100 minutes, but even that is quite a workout for Hoffman and for the audience. At Outré Theatre Company in Mizner Park, Boca Raton, through Sun., April 21. Call (866) 811-4111.
Music: The brass band is a staple of British musical culture, but it’s not that well-known on our shores. Thanks to Michael O’Connor of Palm Beach Atlantic University, though, Palm Beach County has one to call its own. On Saturday night, the Orchid City Brass Band performs a concert of British music at the Duncan Theatre, including works by Vaughan Williams, Elgar, Holst, Alford and Gregson. O’Connor contributes an arrangement of Julian Nott’s theme for Wallace and Gromit. The concert starts at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $25. Call 247-4078 or write to info@orchidcitybrass.org.
It’s always good to see cellist Ian Maksin back in town from Chicago, where he’s been living since leaving South Florida, where he was a founding member of the Delray String Quartet. This Sunday, he and pianist Ani Gogova play the Music at St. Paul’s series in Delray Beach with music by Ravel, Falla, Ginastera, Piazzolla and Cassado. Tickets for the 3 p.m. concert at $15-$20. Call 278-6003 or visit stpaulsdelray.org.
For some reason, the Dvořák Violin Concerto doesn’t get the performances it deserves, but it’s one of the supreme examples of the genre. This Sunday, the Boca Raton Symphonia wraps its season with violinist Ilana Setapen of the Milwaukee Symphony performing the Dvořák under the baton of Constantine Kitsopoulos. Also on the program are Lawrence Dillon’s whimsical Amadeus ex Machina and the Symphony No. 8 (in F, Op. 93) of Beethoven. The concert starts at 4 p.m. in the Roberts Theater, St. Andrew’s School, Boca Raton. Tickets: $33-$59. Call 866-687-4201 or visit www.bocasymphonia.org.