Night & Day

Monday
March 16
Roald Hoffmann, the 1981 Nobel Prize-winning chemist from Cornell University, will speak today at Florida Atlantic University. We know what you're thinking: "Great, another dry science lecture." Well, not exactly. The award-winning chemist has also published three books of poetry that, as might be expected from a scientist, "explores the complex and lyrical structures of the world around us." The 1993 volume, Chemistry Imagined, for example, is a collaboration between Hoffmann and artist Vivian Torrence that reveals the creative and human sides of molecular science. Hoffmann will no doubt keep listeners wide awake when he speaks as part of the FAU English Department's "Lectures in the Disciplines" series. The event is free and takes place at 3 p.m. in the General Classroom South Building, Room 116, on the FAU Boca Raton campus, 777 Glades Rd., Boca Raton. Call 561-297-3830.

Tuesday
March 17
Two things are immediately apparent about the touring revival of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein's smash Broadway musical The King and I. Actor Vee Talmadge brings a lot more hair to the role of the King than Yul Brynner did in the original 1951 version; and Hayley Mills brings a little more cleavage to the role of English governess Anna Leonowens than Gertrude Lawrence did opposite Brynner. This is, after all, the '90s, a decade of inventions like the Wonderbra, and this isn't The Parent Trap, in which a teenage Mills starred in 1961. The story is, however, a tender account of the relationship between a domineering nineteenth-century Siamese king and the widowed governess brought in to tutor his kids. The show, which is chock full of classic tunes like "Getting to Know You" and "Shall We Dance," opens tonight at 8 p.m. at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, 701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach. It continues through March 22 with performances every night at 8 pm, and matinees Wednesday, March 18; Saturday, March 21; and Sunday, March 22 at 2 p.m. Ticket prices range from $39 to $55. Call 800-572-8471 or 561-832-7469.

Wednesday
March 18
You ever trip over a footstool? If so, you probably haven't been practicing the fine art of feng shui. The 5000-year-old Chinese art purports that the correct placement of objects in a home will provide optimal physical and spiritual health for its occupants. Even Donald Trump had the Trump Towers feng shuied, and anything good enough for the Donald.... Feng shui consultant Deborah Walston of Lighthouse Point will conduct a class on the subject today at Archives Bookcafe (1948 E. Sunrise Blvd., Fort Lauderdale). She'll teach the art as it's practiced by the Black Hat sect of Tibetan Buddhist monks, with primary consideration given to the balance of five elements: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. Been feeling uptight lately? Perhaps you have too many plants and too much wooden furniture in your house. What you need to do is balance the wood with metal objects. Walston will dispense such advice and more from 7 to 9 p.m. Reservations are required for the $18 class. Call 954-764-8212.