Kaitlyn O’Neill, Matthew Korinko, Philip de la Cal(Photo by Gemma Bramham)
Theater: The brilliant composer-lyricist Stephen Sondheim turned 80 in March, and did you even send him a greeting card? Well, you can make up for that lapse by attending Slow Burn Theatre Company’s salute to him with its aptly chilly, but well-sung and edgy production of Assassins, Sondheim’s hummable exploration of those warped men and women who tried, and in some cases succeeded, to kill the president of the United States. Told as a musical vaudeville, it begins in a carnival shooting gallery and ends at the Texas School Book Depository for a loopy conspiracy theory on the Kennedy assassination. Through Sunday only at West Boca High School. Call (954) 323-7864. – H. Erstein
Fernando Lujan in Nora’s Will.Film: Any film that opens first in South Florida turns us instantly suspicious, but the Mexican film Nora’s Will seems to be the real deal, having won last year’s Mexican equivalent of the Academy Award for best picture and the Audience Award at the Miami International Film Festival. It is the story of how a woman, married for 30 years and then divorced, tries to bring her family together for her funeral. But having committed suicide just days before Passover, her burial has to be done quickly. Opening today at Movies of Delray and Movies of Lake Worth, as well as several venues further south. – H. Erstein
A sculpture by Nicole Gugliotti.Art: This Saturday is the final public viewing day for Approaching Nature: Provoking an Abstract Reading of Nature in the Whitebox III gallery at Whitespace - The Mordes Collection. Curated by Kara Walker Tomé, this show features four artists who are inspired by nature: sculptors Nichole Gugliotti and Bethany Krull, and painters Rick Newton and Ryan Toth. The viewing lasts from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday at Whitepsace, 2805 N. Australian Ave., in West Palm Beach. Tickets are $12 for a visit to the private museum, and partial proceeds benefit the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties. For information, call (561) 842-4131, or visit www.whitespacecollection.com.
Coming this Thursday, during the Norton Museum’s Art After Dark event, is an exhibit of works in progress sponsored by the Artists of Palm Beach County (APBC) organization. Organized by Talya Lerman and APBC, members of the group will share their work, demonstrate their techniques and do performance art. Terre Rybovich will show how she creates her charcoal drawings using her body to create images, accompanied by a live instrumental synthesizer. Steven Nussdorf ‘s drawings will be accompanied by commentary , and Sharon Koskoff will give a pastel demonstration. Featured photographers are Dan McGavin, Barry Seidman and Elle Schorr. Students from G-Star will also discuss their films. The event starts at 5 p.m. and runs through 9 p.m. It is free to members, $5 for ages 13 to 21, and $12 general admission. – K. Deits
Music: Sunday is Mother’s Day, and if you’re in the mood for taking Mom to some chamber music, three Lynn University Conservatory of Music faculty members might have what you’re looking for. Conservatory chief Jon Robertson joins with his longtime musical partners, violinist Carol Cole and her husband, cellist David Cole, in music by Mendelssohn (the Trio in D minor, Op. 49), Haydn and Turina. The Robertson-Cole Trio appears as part of the Spire Series at Pompano Beach’s First Presbyterian Church, better known as the Pink Church. The concert begins at 4 p.m. and tickets are $10. A reception follows. For more information, call 954-941-2308 or visit www.pinkpres.org.
Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643).Starting next Thursday, the Seraphic Fire concert choir makes a major splash with its performance of the so-called Vespers of 1610, written by Claudio Monteverdi. The group did a reduced version of this work a few years back (and performed it as part of its then-regular series in Delray Beach), but this time, for the 400th anniversary of the work, it will appear with its Firebird Chamber Orchestra and the Western Michigan University Chorale. Seraphic Fire has just recorded this work with the WMU group, and if this season’s stellar readings of Handel’s Israel in Egypt and the Bach Brandenburgs are any indication (and they are), this promises to be a musical highlight for South Florida that will be hard for anyone to top for some time to come.
The concerts begin Thursday and run through next Sunday: Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at St. Christopher’s-by-the-Sea in Key Biscayne; 7:30 p.m. Friday at First United Methodist in Coral Gables; 8 p.m. Saturday at All Saints Episcopal in Fort Lauderdale, and 4 p.m. Sunday at Miami Beach Community Church in Miami Beach. Tickets are $35. Call 305-285-9060 or visit www.seraphicfire.org. – G. Stepanich