Film: Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner first collaborated in 2005 on Munich, and now they work together again on an even more successful look back, this time on Lincoln, a chronicle of the final months of our 16th president. It is a word-heavy history lesson, but a fascinating one, as Honest Abe juggles the endgame of the Civil War with pushing through a constitutional amendment to end slavery in America. Apparently political deal-making has not changed much in 150 years. How the amendment came to pass is interesting enough, but the most compelling reason to see Lincoln is the performance of Daniel Day-Lewis in the title role, to which he brings his usual intensity plus a genuine folksiness. This two-time Oscar winner moves to the top of the pile for another statuette. Opening at area theaters this weekend.
Theater: Previously, Manalapan’s Plaza Theatre has served up a fairly steady diet of uninspired musical revues, so it has to be considered a risk for the company that it opts to produce a comic drama, and Alfred Uhry’s 1988 Pulitzer Prize winner, Driving Miss Daisy, no less. This simple, but affecting tale of a growing friendship between a crotchety old Jewish matron from Atlanta and a proud, though illiterate, black man hired to be her chauffeur is elevated by being played out against the evolving civil rights movement. Michael Leeds has been brought in to direct and he in turn has assembled a first-rate cast, led by John Archie, with Harriet Oser and Ken Clement. Continuing through Nov. 18. Call (561) 588-1820.
Music: An unprecedented tour stops in West Palm Beach this weekend when the National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba plays two concerts at the Kravis Center. Founded in 1960, the Havana band of 70 players has never been to these shores, but they have played over the decades with a surprisingly strong list of first-rate guest artists and conductors. Tonight’s concert features pianist Nachito Herrera, well-known in his adopted city of Minneapolis as a jazz standout. He’ll play his own Tribute to Lecuona on a program that features Gershwin’s Cuban Overture and the Schubert Fifth Symphony as well as works by Cuba’s Jorge Lopez Marin and Guido Lopez-Gavilan, the conductor on this tour. Sunday afternoon, Lopez-Gavilan’s son, Philadelphia Virtuosi violinist Ilmar Gavilan, performs the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto on a bill with the same composer’s Fourth Symphony, Lopez-Gavilan’s Guaganco, and two works by Ernesto Lecuona. The shows at the Kravis’ Dreyfoos Hall begin at 8 tonight and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets start at $25. Call 832-7469 or visit kravis.org.
Art: Sporting endeavors are a relatively unusual subject for art, for some reason, and when it comes to golf, rarer still. But PGA master and golf teacher Gary Wiren has assembled a treasure trove of artistic expression connected with the game of the links. This weekend, the Delray Beach Center for the Arts at Old School Square opens The Seagate Hotel and Spa World of Golf: The Gary Wiren Collection, an exhibition featuring one of the largest collections of golf memorabilia in the world. Included are 16th-century game implements, collections of golf-oriented sheet music and historic putters, as well as a collection of oils and acrylics from the Academy of Golf Art. The exhibitions run through April 21 at the center’s Cornell Museum of Art and American Culture. Admission is $10. For more information, visit www.delraycenterforthearts.org or call 243-7922.