Art: Here’s something unusual and rather precious, which if you think about it is an ideal sort of something for the Christmas season. Britain-based artists Davy and Kristin McGuire spent four months in 2009 creating what can only be described as a multimedia pop-up book. The Icebook tells the story of a princess who lures a boy into the forest so he can warm her heart of ice; it’s told with paper cutouts and light projections, and there’s a trailer on YouTube that can give you the flavor of this conception. The show, which has received a lot of press attention in Britain and France, made its North American debut last week at Florida Atlantic University’s Wimberly Library (FAU is home to the Jaffe Center for Book Arts and a new papermaking lab). It’s returning this Sunday for a number of shows beginning at 1 p.m. and lasting through 3:30 p.m. Tickets are $15; call 297-0455 or visit www.jaffecollection.org for more information.
Film: If ever there were a film tailor-made for South Florida, it is Old Goats, a semi-fictional account of friendships forged in later life. It features Bob Burkholder, Britton Crosl ey and David Vander Wal, all of whom play versions of themselves, interacting and facing the challenges of old age. Taylor Guterson wrote a documentary-like screenplay, shaping the ordinary events of these three lives into a plot-free story that you are likely to find yourself identifying with, regardless of your age. The amazing thing is that Old Goats avoids the obvious impulses to swim in sentimentality or in sitcom. Opening this weekend at the Living Room Theatres in Boca Raton, where it is bound to catch on and be held over.
Theater: This is the final weekend for the delightful production of Meredith Willson’s The Music Man at the Maltz Jupiter Theatre and tickets are justifiably scarce. Surely you have seen this celebration of Midwestern values and the con artist who preys upon the trusting souls of River City, Iowa, somewhere before, but probably not with the emphasis on dance that the Maltz’s version has. The credit goes to choreographer Shea Sullivan, leading man Matt Loehr and director Mark Martino ―the trio that first collaborated on the Maltz’s sublime Crazy for You. They have scored a major coup again, and we have to hope they are huddling together planning their next collaboration. Through Sunday. Call (561) 575-2223 and offer your first-born for a pair of tickets.
Music: The sounds of Christmas are everywhere at this time of year, and there have already been a number of seasonal programs that have helped put people in the proper spirit. This weekend, there are two performances of the Christmas portion of Handel’s Messiah, and next weekend Miami’s Seraphic Fire choir does its version at St. Gregory’s in Boca Raton. But this Sunday, it’s the Masterworks Chorus of the Palm Beaches, which has been presenting this work for more than 30 years at this time of year, and many of those at the Royal Poinciana Chapel in Palm Beach, where at 7 p.m. Sunday the chorus will perform it once again, this time without the singalong section that it has had for years. Soloists are Marie Ashley, Zaray Rodriguez, Christopher Waite and Lloyd Mims; tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door (visit www.masterworkschorusofthepalmbeaches.com).
Earlier in the day, the Lynn Philharmonia travels a little bit south with conductor Jon Robertson to lead a performance of Part I of the oratorio (plus the Hallelujah chorus that ends Part II) at the First Presbyterian Church of Pompano Beach, known far and wide as the Pink Church. Organist Mark Jones joins the Pink Church Choir, guest choristers and soloists for the piece, which begins at 4 p.m. It will be followed by traditional carols and other music of the season. Call 954-941-2308, ext. 112, for more information.
Also on Saturday and Sunday, if you’re on the Treasure Coast and want to hear the Atlantic Classical Orchestra before it opens its season next month, the group will be doing its bit for Handel at the First Baptist Church of Vero Beach, where annual Messiahs have been presented for 43 years. The Treasure Coast Chorale is joined by soloists and led by the church’s music minister, Michael Carter. Performances are at 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Call 772-231-4398 for more information.