Art: This coming Tuesday, the Boca Raton Museum of Art offers a view of American painting when it brings in 36 works from the Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio. These are pictures by some of the most celebrated American artists – Robert Henri, Andy Warhol, George Bellows, Thomas Eakins, among others – but it’s still true that many of their names and works aren’t widely known to the general public. Visiting this exhibit, called American Treasures, is a good chance to change that and doff the hat to the Butler, which for more than 90 years has been focusing only on American art, to the great benefit of our cultural history. The show runs through March 18. Admission: $14 adults, $12 seniors, $6 students (through April 17). Hours: 10 am-5 pm Tuesday, Thursday and Friday; 10 am-9 pm Wednesday; 12 pm-5 pm Saturday and Sunday. Closed Mondays and holidays. Call 561-392-2500, or visit www.bocamuseum.org.
This coming Thursday, the Norton Museum of Art opens Cocktail Culture, which taps into the current Mad Men-inspired nostalgia for the days when the business and social worlds were a little more well-oiled than they are now. Beginning with the Jazz Age, the cocktail hour developed its own set of rituals, objects and fashions, and this show takes a loving look at it. Admission: $12 adults; $5 ages 13-21. Hours: 10 am-5 pm Tuesdays-Saturdays except Thursday 10 am-9 pm; 1 am-5 pm Sundays; closed Mondays. For more information, call 561-832-5196 or visit www.norton.org.
Film: On now and continuing through Dec. 18 is the 22nd annual Palm Beach Jewish Film Festival, in six locations throughout the county, from Delray Beach to Palm Beach Gardens. This year, 33 films will be unspoiled in 44 screenings, with an emphasis on movies from the past that illuminate some aspect of the Jewish experience. For instance, you have a rare opportunity to see 1961’s Judgment at Nuremberg on the big screen or my personal favorite Woody Allen film, Crimes and Misdemeanors. It is a crash course in film history as well as Jewish culture. For more information, call (561) 740-9000, ext. 224.
Theater: Currently in pause mode between productions, Boca Raton’s Caldwell Theatre Company is flinging wide its doors on Wednesday, Dec. 14, from 1 to 8 p.m., for an open house to better acquaint the community with what it does and how one can partake of the company’s programming. There will be tours of the complex at 7901 N. Federal Highway, a talk-back session with artistic director Clive Cholerton from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. and 7 to 8 p.m., and excerpts from such upcoming shows as The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity and the musical revue, Working. In addition, playwright Chris Demos Brown will discuss his new script, Our Lady of Allapattah. There will be door prizes, refreshments and, if you were so inclined, opportunities for you to make a donation to the Caldwell coffers. For details about the open house, call the box office at (561) 241-7432.
Music: There’s been a good deal of new music around here in the past month, and tonight, the Palm Beach Atlantic University wind ensemble offers a healthy dose of contemporary and 20th-century American works. On the program are Zion, by Dan Welcher; Mark Camphouse’s Tribute; Ron Nelson’s Mayflower Overture; and William Schuman’s classic George Washington Bridge. Carl Ruggles’ Angels is also on the program, along with a transcription of the first movement of the Brahms German Requiem (Blessed Are They). The concert starts at 7:30 tonight in the Borland Center in Palm Beach Gardens. Call 803-2970 or visit www.pba.edu/performances.