Theater: Douglas Carter Beane’s sly comedy on the intersection of show business, the art of negotiation and sexual orientation, The Little Dog Laughed, is receiving a savvy and sexy production by Island City Stage at Empire Stage in Fort Lauderdale, through May 17. This is due largely to Chris Crawford as a sexually confused television star trying to make the leap to the movies in a hit Broadway play in which he would play a gay man and to Mia Mathews as his cutthroat lesbian agent who feels certain that would be career suicide. Credit is also due to director Michael Leeds who wrings the script for all of its humor and pathos, but mainly humor. The theater is tiny, the play is popular, so call soon for the few remaining seats, at 954-519-2533.
Film: Palm Beach’s own Iris Apfel, the 93-year-old fashion icon, instantly recognizable for her oversized, round eyeglasses, bold patterned wardrobe and attention-getting costume jewelry, has been further immortalized in a new biographical documentary called simply Iris. It follows her and her ever-patient husband Carl in their daily life and flashes back to the creation of an exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute on Apfel and her winning sense of style. The film is directed by the legendary Albert Maysles (Grey Garden, Gimme Shelter) in his final solo effort before he passed away two months ago. Opening this weekend at area theaters.
Music: Gian-Carlo Menotti won every award in sight, and got an eight-month Broadway run to boot, when his opera The Consul opened in 1950. Something similar isn’t too likely to happen today, to put it mildly, and the opera had retreated in recent years to being a useful source for vocal students at universities. But the opera has been getting second looks in recent years, particularly a well-received version last year at Seattle Opera, and this Saturday, Florida Grand Opera closes its 74th season with five performances of this bleak tale of dissidence, secret police and an unfeeling bureaucracy all conspiring to ruin a family’s life. Kara Shay Thomson stars as Magda Sorel, Keith Phares is her husband John, and Victoria Livengood, a longtime Menotti collaborator, is John’s mother. Carla Jablonski sings the role of the secretary, and Andrew Bisantz conducts a production borrowed from Seattle, with David P. Gordon’s striking set. All five performances are at the Ziff Ballet Opera House in Miami; opening night is 7 p.m. Saturday. Call 800-741-1010 for tickets or visit fgo.org.
Art: The Armory Art Center has been doing good work in fostering local visual art for decades from its modest building on Parker Avenue in West Palm Beach, and proof of that is on view through May 16 with the center’s annual student and faculty exhibition. Seven student winners picked up gift certificates for Amory classes; the winners were Elaine Siegel, Dorina Scalia, Marthe Hallwell, Mark Cohen, Naomi Alexandroff-Brestof, Hillary Putnam and Gail MacMillan-Levitt. Best of show went to Patricia Erichsen, and the Rubinow Scholarship went to Isabella Fox. The free exhibit is on display from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday at the Armory. Call 832-1776 or visit armoryart.org for more information.