Theater: For more than 25 years, Lou Tyrrell has been producing new work by emerging young playwrights, but I cannot remember him being as excited over a relatively unknown talent like he is about composer-lyricist Daniel Maté. He is so excited that he has devoted two of the slots in The Theatre at Arts Garage’s season to shows by Maté — a song cycle on contemporary relationships called The Longing and the Short of It (opening this weekend) and a quirky new take on Kafka’s Metamorphosis, The Trouble with Doug, opening in April. The Longing … shows off Maté’s eclectic musical styles, sung by a cast of six, a quasi-world premiere before a hoped-for New York showcase. The Longing … opens tonight at 7:30 and continues through Nov. 24. Call (561) 450-6357 for tickets.
Film: OK, it’s not art, but if you wants some laughs, particularly if you are a Baby Boomer or beyond, take a look at Last Vegas, opening wide this weekend. It will inevitably be described as a geriatric Hangover, since it stars four Academy Award winners — Morgan Freeman, Robert DeNiro, Michael Douglas and Kevin Kline, ranging in descending age from 76 to 66 — as childhood pals throwing a bachelor party for Douglas, the last of the quartet to get hitched. Instead of the raunch of The Hangover series, the movie has prostate and Lipitor jokes and the final reel gets a little sappy. Still, watching these veteran actors having fun chewing the scenery is likely to put you in a forgiving mood. It will be interesting to see how well Last Vegas performs at the box office, whether anyone below 50 bothers to see it, and whether it demonstrates the buying power of seniors like The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel did.
Music: The New Riders of the Purple Sage sprouted from the psychedelic San Francisco scene of the 1960s as a spinoff of The Grateful Dead, and they kept at it until finally splitting up in the late 1990s. They regrouped in 2005, and while founder John Dawson died in 2009, this version of the band keeps on trucking, and Saturday night they’ll be at the Bamboo Room in Lake Worth. No doubt, you’ll be singing along with Panama Red by the end of the evening. The concert starts at 9 p.m., and tickets are $37. Call 585-2583 or visit bambooroomblues.com.
Art: Video and photography, once lightly regarded by art museums, has more than come into its own in recent years, and on Thursday, the Norton Museum of Art opens two new exhibits showcasing these art forms, both of which run through Jan. 12. New Works/New Directions: Recent Acquisitions of Photography features pieces just added to the collection but not yet exhibited, and L.A. Stories: Videos from the West Coast offers work by four Los Angeles-area artists: Eileen Cowin, Mark Daybell, Judy Fiskin, and Julie Orser. One of the works new to the collection is a series of motion studies by the great photographic pioneer Eadweard Muybridge, so that speaks to the seriousness with which the Norton’s curators are approaching their task of widening the collection. Admission: $12 adults; $5 ages 13-21. Hours: 10 am-5 pm Tuesdays-Saturdays except Thursday 10 am-9 pm; 11 am-5 pm Sundays; closed Mondays. For more information, call 561-832-5196 or visit www.norton.org.