Theater: The idea of a concert reading of a musical sounds like it would be a very static event, but Palm Beach Dramaworks shows us that doe not have to be the case. Thanks to director Clive Cholerton, late of the late Caldwell Theatre Company, the concert of 1965’s tribute to idealism, Man of La Mancha, is extremely moving, both physically and emotionally. The show, with a Spanish-tinged score by Mitch Leigh and Joe Darion, has not lost its impact in the almost 50 years since it premiered, and works well at Dramaworks, thanks to a fine cast that Cholerton had gathered, led by William Michals in the title role of Miguel de Cervantes and his fictional creation, Don Quixote de La Mancha. Alas the concert is only on through next Sunday, July 21. Call (561) 514-4042 for tickets.
Film: As an antidote to the overload, digital effects-reliant, planet-in-jeopardy movie, Pacific Rim, try a small, human-scale, methodically paced character study like This Is Martin Bonner, playing this week at the Mos’Art Theatre in Lake Park. Bonner (played with cool restraint by Australian Paul Eeenhoorn) is a new arrival in Reno, having divorced his wife and left his adult children behind on the East Coast, intending to start a new life working for a Christian charity that assists ex-cons to re-enter society. Bonner is the title character, but the film is as much about parolee Travis Holloway (Richmond Arquette), sprung after 12 years in prison for vehicular manslaughter. The reunion scene between Travis and the teenage daughter he hardly knows is worth the price of admission.
Music: In her day, she was known as Mrs. H.H.A. Beach, and she was a major figure in the genteel American music culture of the early 20th century, both for her stellar pianism and her ambitious composition. Now we call her Amy Beach, and while her reputation disappeared before her death in 1944, today her music is enjoying much more attention. Tonight, the Palm Beach Chamber Music Festival programs Beach’s Piano Quintet (in F-sharp minor, Op. 67), written in 1907. It’s a fine and beautiful work, particularly its second movement, and it will have an all-female ensemble performing it. Also on the concert is another female composer, France’s Louise-Marie Simon, who wrote under the pen name Claude Arrieu; her Dectet for winds shares the first half of the program with Beethoven’s Serenade (in D, Op. 25) for flute, violin and viola. The concert is set for 7 tonight at the Persson Recital Hall on the campus of Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach. Encore shows are planned for 8 p.m. Saturday at the Eissey Campus Theatre in Palm Beach Gardens and 2 p.m. Sunday at the Crest Theatre in Delray Beach. Tickets are $25; call 800-330-6874 or visit www.pbcmf.org.