Art: The Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale received a major bequest almost 20 years ago from Ira Glackens, who at his death in 1991 left the estate of his father, William Glackens, to the museum. This has formed the basis of a major collection of work by a group of American painters known as The Eight, who in addition to Glackens includes George Luks, Maurice Prendergast and Robert Henri. Like American composers who were working at the same time – the early 20th century – they produced important work that made a strong contribution to the art of their country, yet they are too little known to the general public. Last week, the museum brought new focus to the work of Glackens and his colleagues in an exhibit called An Intimate Look at William Glackens and the Eight that runs through Jan. 9. It provides a good opportunity to immerse yourself in this period of American art history, which somehow seems more poignant every time elections roll around. Admission to the museum is $10; it’s open daily from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., longer on Thursdays when it’s open until 8 p.m., and closed on Mondays. Call 954-525-5500 for more information.
Theater: The grisly theatrical sensibilities of GableStage artistic director Joe Adler and the twisted, darkly comic tales of Irish playwright Martin McDonagh are a terrific match, as Adler previously proved with The Pillowman and The Lieutenant of Inishmore. He dips into that macabre well once again with the writer’s most recent Broadway script, A Behanding in Spokane, the only play of his to date that is set in the United States. And you thought the Irish were weird? The sublime Dennis Creaghan plays a justifiably miffed guy whose hand was severed decades earlier and ever since he has been roaming the land in search of his hand. Currently holed up in a seedy Washington state hotel, he is confronted by a pair of grifters who insist that they possess his hand. Opens Saturday evening at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables. Call (305) 445-1119. – H. Erstein
Film: Lawyers are an easy target of derision, but you will be rooting for Betty Ann Waters (two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank), a high school dropout who is determined to earn a law degree, for the sole reason to exonerate her irresponsible brother Kenny (Sam Rockwell), who she is convinced has been wrongly convicted of murder. Conviction is based on a true story, and if it veers from the facts — which is likely — you will not want to know where. Director Tony Goldwyn gets us on Betty Ann’s side with ease, as he relates her relentless quest without any filmmaking flourishes, letting the story do all the work. Well, Swank’s dogged performance helps, and look for some solid scene-stealing by Juliette Lewis and the crafty Melissa Leo. Opening in area theaters Friday.
Music: Iris van Eck has been running her Chameleon series at Fort Lauderdale’s Josephine Leiser Opera Center for eight seasons now, and to start its ninth this weekend, the cellist joins the Amernet Quartet for two string quintets: one by Schubert and the other by the Russian composer Sergei Taneyev, who studied with Tchaikovsky. Schubert’s is the sublime Quintet in C (D. 956), with its great slow movement, but poor Taneyev has been overlooked for decades by performers and audiences alike, and he was a rewarding composer who deserves more frequent outings. Here’s your chance to hear what you’ve been missing as the musicians tackle Taneyev’s String Quintet No. 1 (in G, Op. 14). 3 p.m. Sunday. Tickets: $35, and there’s always a nice reception nosh for everyone afterward. Call 954-761-3435 or visit www.chameleonmusicians.org.
Carlos Rafael Rivera just moved back to Miami after years in Southern California, where he earned a master’s and doctorate in composition at USC’s Thornton School and began writing works that showcase his instrument – the guitar – and that take advantage of different rhythms and folk sounds from around the world: pieces such as a four-part orchestral essay called Popul-Vuh, based on the Mayan creation myth of that name. On Sunday, his new trumpet concerto, called Concierto de Miami, gets its world premiere at the Adrienne Arsht Center’s Knight Concert Hall with the great Cuban jazz master Arturo Sandoval as soloist (interestingly enough, Sandoval is a new resident of Los Angeles, having lived in Miami for years). Eduardo Marturet leads the Miami Symphony Orchestra, and also will conduct Ravel’s Bolero and the Seventh Symphony (in A, Op. 92) of Beethoven. Tickets: $24-$154. Call 305-949-7622 or visit www.arshtcenter.org.