Theater: Miami’s Mad Cat Theatre Company has figured out how to attract young people to sit for live shows, and it is not to offer them “well-made” plays like their grandparents craved. Instead, they have carved out their niche with non-linear absurdist fare like So My Grandmother Died, Blah Blah Blah, written and directed by Paul Tei, who founded the troupe. At its core, it is the tale of an unsuccessful Hollywood comedy writer named Polly, who returns to her family in Hollywood, Fla., when her grandmother dies and she is enlisted to write the eulogy. But the plot is really secondary to pop and high culture references that get inserted throughout the evening. (Polly is one of three sisters who yearn to go to Miami, for you Chekhov fans.) It doesn’t all work, but the cast is very game and there are intermittent rewards for those who jump in with both feet. Goldman Warehouse, 404 NW 26th St., Miami. Through Sept. 10. Call (866) 811-4111 for tickets.
Film: One good sign that we have left the summer movies behind is the arrival of The Debt, a thriller to be sure, but one that is smarter and more complex than most of the films of the past three months. It is the story of three Israeli Mossad agents sent to Germany to track down and capture the so-called “Surgeon of Birkenau” to bring him back to Israel to stand trial. Their plan is a bit too Mission: Impossible, but the nuances kick in once the scheme breaks down and they have to cover up their botch job. The film, directed briskly by John Madden (Shakespeare in Love), bounces back and forth between the mid-‘60s and the late ‘90s, when the older versions of the agents (Helen Mirren, Tom Wilkinson, Ciaran Hinds) have to assess the debt — the toll this assignment has taken on them. Seen last year locally in the Palm Beach Jewish Film Festival, this is involving enough for those looking for an action picture as well as those who want something to discuss and debate afterwards. Opening in area theaters on Friday.
Art: Six artists are featured in an exhibit opening this weekend at Delray Beach’s Arts Garage. The show, called 3 on 3: Photographs and Paintings, runs through Sept. 24 at the Garage at 180 NE 1St St. in downtown Delray Beach, and showcases works by Alan Stewart, Amy Pasquantonio, Ioana Toader, Lauren Shapiro, Russell Levine and Richard Tobias.
The show is billed as a look at how six artists treat similar themes in radically different ways, and it marks another moment in the Garage’s rapid expansion as a presenter of arts activities. For more information, visit www.delraybeacharts.org.
Music: It’s a pretty quiet week for music, as everyone takes a holiday before the season really starts cranking up – and it’s going to be a good one. In the meantime, we can look ahead to a concert coming up in October, but only because a limited number of tickets are available, and would-be concertgoers have to sign up now.
That’s because Florida Atlantic University is going to get a visit from the U.S. Marine Band, the oldest formal American musical organization and one of the best wind ensembles anywhere. Anyone who’s ever worked with military musicians will tell you that these are some of the best players anywhere, and that the country is well-served by its official bands.
Here’s the deal: The concert is set for 7 p.m. Oct. 13 at the Kaye Auditorium on FAU’s Boca campus, and if you want to see them, you can send away for four tickets, maximum, to FAU Bands/Department of Music, 777 Glades Road, Building 52, Boca Raton, FL 33431. You’ve got until Sept. 30 to send in your requests.