Theater: In its 22 years of existence, Palm Beach Shakespeare Festival has already performed the Bard’s Twelfth Night twice, but it is going back to that well again, now that plans to tackle Christopher Fry’s The Lady’s Not For Burning have fallen through. Guest artist director Kevin Crawford was in the previous two production of the comedy about twins separated by a shipwreck, with mistaken identity and gender confusion, but until now he has never played Malvolio, the easily-duped priggish Puritan. And since the Shakespeare Festival always seems eager to improve on its signature playwright, this Twelfth Night opens not with a shipwreck, but an airplane crash. Then, Crawford assures us, they simply do the play without further contemporary revision. As usual, it will be performed in the Seabreeze Amphitheatre in Jupiter’s Carlin Park, free of charge, but a $5 suggested donation will be cheerfully accepted. It opens on Thursday, July 12, and continues through Sunday, July 22. Call the Parks and Recreation Department hotline, (561) 561-966-7099, for more information.
Film: At 76, Woody Allen remains as prolific as ever, churning out a new movie each year, whether he has a good idea for one or not. His follow-up to the Oscar-winning Midnight in Paris continues his European tour, which has included Barcelona, London and now The Eternal City, Rome. Overall, To Rome with Love is awfully disjointed, with a few too many plot threads, the best of which follows businessman Roberto Benigni who becomes a sudden celebrity when he gains the attention of the paparazzi. Allen wrote the movie and directs it, but he also is featured as a retired opera director who returns to work when he discovers an amateur singer with a great voice, but only in the shower. The cast includes an amusing mix of personalities such as Alec Baldwin, Judy Davis, Jesse Eisenberg, Ellen Page and Allen’s latest muse, Penelope Cruz. The screenplay is no award winner, but you will find yourself laughing at To Rome with Love. Opening at area theaters this weekend.
Music: In addition to the Palm Beach Chamber Music Festival, which began Friday night and continues tonight, the South Florida Symphony of Fort Lauderdale is introducing a string quartet to the region tonight at the Arts Garage in Delray Beach. Violinists Whitney LaGrange and Rebekah Durham, violist Marda Todd and cellist Arthur Cook will perform works by Mozart (the Quartet No. 14 in G, K. 387) and Dvorak (the American Quartet, No. 12 in F, Op. 96).
One can’t ever get enough chamber music, and it’s nice that two solid events in the genre are taking place this weekend at this most unlikely time of year. Tickets for the 8 p.m. show are $20-$25 in advance, and $5 additional at the door. Call 450-6357 or visit www.artsgarage.com for more information.