Film: Writer-director John Michael McDonagh gives us a present called Calvary, the second installment in a projected trilogy after the considerably lighter The Guard of a few years ago. Both star the impeccable Brendan Gleeson, seen here as the priest of a small, destitute Irish village. He is having trouble herding his flock, a challenge that is intensified by his own crisis of faith and by the death threat delivered to him by a parishioner in the confession booth. The film is a series of encounters with the villagers that has a cumulative effect leading to an inevitable conclusion that is extremely powerful. Calvary is a film that is hard to shake off. It opens this week at theaters throughout the area.
Theater: Encased in a fat suit, Gregg Weiner plays a morbidly obese teacher of online English classes who is slowly dying of congestive heart failure in Samuel D. Hunter’s The Whale, ending its run at Coral Gables’ GablsStage this Sunday . But before he wheezes his last breath, he wants to reach out to the teenage daughter (Arielle Hoffman) he barely knows, make peace with his estranged wife (Deborah L. Sherman) and learn from a proselytizing Mormon missionary (Karl Skyler Urban) what upset the overweight man’s gay partner so much at a Mormon service that he stopped eating entirely, leading to his death. Hunter’s themes are not always clear, but he knows how to write compelling characters and how to set them into conflict. And of course, director Joseph Adler knows how to get the most drama from the script and his cast. Call (305) 445-1119 for tickets.
Art: Running now through Oct. 18 is the 63rd annual edition of Boca Raton Museum of Art’s All-Florida Juried Exhibition, this time featuring about 100 works of art from creators all over Florida. Curating the exhibit this year is Brooklyn-based artist Trong Gia Nguyen; the show runs concurrently with the Boca Museum Artists’ Guild Biennial Exhibition. Tickets for the museum are only $8, but if you can spare a Thursday, the museum is offering free admission all this month. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and noon through 5 p.m. Sunday. Call 561-392-2500 or visit www.bocamuseum.org for more information.
Music: The Miami-based timba band Tiempo Libre is one of the most muscular bands you can hear live, with a collection of music that covers everything from traditional Cuban folksongs to the music of J.S. Bach. It’s filtered through a sound profile that pays tribute to their youthful music idols while studying at Cuba’s chief music conservatory, including the horn section of Earth, Wind and Fire. The band is giving two shows at Delray Beach’s Arts Garage; today’s show is at 8 p.m. and Sunday’s at 7 p.m. Tickets start at $25; call 561-450-6357 or visit artsgarage.org.