Best Things to Do in Broward and Palm Beach This Week

Thursday, June 9

For Gen-Xers, Heathers was one of the defining films of the 1980s—a coffin-black satire about the cruel, libidinous cesspool that we call public high school. The lead character, 17-year-old Veronica Sawyer, has recently been invited to join her school's elite clique of much-feared mean girls—the "Heathers"—until her attraction to an enigmatic rebel-with-a-cause prompts her to see the light, and both decide the Heathers are better off dead. The messages about bullying, empowerment, the quest for self-actualization and the segmentation of students into us-versus-them continue to resonate, and they take center stage in the critically acclaimed musical adaptation by composer-lyricists Laurence O'Keefe and Kevin Murphy. The movie's most iconic elements—the murder via drain cleaner, the red scrunchie as status symbol—join newly incorporated scenes and characters, connected by more than 20 pop-flavored tunes with instantly enticing titles: "Dead Girl Walking," "Prom or Hell?" and "My Dead Gay Son." Given O'Keefe and Murphy's track record at adapting cult movies for the stage, we should be in good hands; they previously created Reefer Madness: The Musical.

Check out the South Florida premiere of Heathers: The Musical, courtesy of Slow Burn Theatre Company, Thursday through June 26 at the Broward Center, located at 201 SW Fifth Ave. in Fort Lauderdale. Tickets cost $45, and show times are 7:30 p.m. Thursdays to Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays. Call 954-462-0222, or visit browardcenter.org.

South Florida has become a thriving landscape in which artists of all mediums can ply their trades. But not all artists are able to successfully jump from creative to business with lucrative results, and as such there's a wide gulf in how locals make their livings. For eight years, Doing Business as Artist Entrepreneurs (DBA) has worked with rising locals to showcase the entrepreneurial side of the arts, and this year's all-media exhibition, Catalyst, collaborates with community, business, and civic partners to further explore the connections between these worlds. The DBA artists are challenged with putting forth artistic creations that will relate to the business acumen they've learned through workshops. Monetizing their work is a key to success, and as president and CEO of ArtServe Jaye Abbate says, "We delve into all aspects this month from the nuts and bolts of branding, pricing, and selling to the joy of witnessing how local artists have put best practices to use to thrive and produce vibrant art." Co-curated by Michael Harris and Timothy Leistner, this year's exhibition features the works of Andrew Brown, Pedro A. Figueredo, Sylvie Fournier-Popov, Gianna D, Robert Grauer, Eliane Harvey, Andrea F. Huffman, Deborah LaFogg Docherty, Mai Yap, Adam Collier Noel, Phoenix, and Marilyn Walter. 

Catalyst runs through June 24 with a free reception at 6 p.m. this Thursday at ArtServe, 1350 E. Sunrise Blvd., Fort Lauderdale. Call 954-462-8190, or visit artserve.org. To learn about DBA, visit artists-doing-business-as.com. 

With a cushy seat on the faux anchor desk that has held the much-loved longest-running sketch in Saturday Night Live's history, comedian Colin Jost delivers expertly dry commentary alongside Michael Che in the latest incarnation of "Weekend Update." But the current news cycle (thank you Florida Man, thank you 2016 election) provides so much more fodder for punch lines than the usual quick quips the show allows. If you've ever wanted to see Jost's material in longer format, he is taking his act on the road with a handful of shows at the Fort Lauderdale Improv Thursday through Saturday. The Staten Island-raised Harvard graduate is the winner of a Peabody Award and several Writers Guild Awards for his writing on Saturday Night Live. In his spare time, Jost creates Mocktails (artwork he doodles on bar napkins that is available for purchase on his website) and recently wrote and starred in Staten Island Summer.

The Fort Lauderdale Improv is located at 5700 Seminole Way, Hollywood. Showtimes are 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 10:30 p.m. Friday, and 7 and 9:30 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $22 with a two drink minimum. Call 954-981-5653, or visit ftl.improv.com. 

Saturday, June 11

Now that summer is finally here, it's officially barbecue season. That means plenty of pulled pork, brisket, jerk chicken, and ribs. It's also perfect timing to celebrate the Riverwalk Fort Lauderdale's annual Smoke on the Water BBQ Fest taking place Saturday at Esplanade Park along the city's New River. South Florida residents and tourists alike can find barbecue specials grilled and smoked up by a number of local restaurants serving a selection of $5 dishes of barbecue bites perfect for sampling and sharing. This year's participating restaurants include Voodoo BBQ & Grill, Smokey C's Catering, M.E.A.T. Eatery & Tap Room, Kingzz Jerk Juice, Georgia Pig, Mr. Cobbs Barbecue, Gibson's Smokehouse, and Hot Dog Hound. The family-friendly event is free and open to the public, and will feature food, beer, live music, and — of course — plenty of 'cue. Those 21 and over can also enjoy a beer garden provided by Stephens Distributing.

The fourth-annual Smoke on the Water BBQ Fest will take place from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday at Esplanade Park, located at 400 SW Second St. in Fort Lauderdale. Admission is free. Pre-sale passes for the beer garden will be available until 10 p.m. on Friday for $20, which includes a small sample cup for unlimited beer refills. Entry to the event can be paid at the gate and is $25 per person.

Three years of brewing is just as good a reason to celebrate as a one- or ten-year anniversary, which is why Funky Buddha Brewery in Oakland Park is not holding back for its Three-Year Anniversary Festival. What started as a simple brewpub and hookah lounge in Boca Raton is now a full-on production brewery that makes some of the highest-rated beers on the internet. Between the accolades and awards, the brewery seems to get bigger every year, hence a reason to celebrate each passing day. As in past years, this year's anniversary party will be flowing with beer, food, and music. Catch some of the all-day tunes, including performances from South Florida's SoleMark, Miami's Problem Kids, and South Carolina's JL Fulks. Grab some grub from South Florida's finest food trucks: Box of Chacos, Fat Boyz BBQ, and Sidecar Kitchen. Now for the beer: nearly 100 limited beers on draft. New this year is the nearly 1,000 square feet of tented space to escape the blistering sun. The party is just bigger in general: more tables, more chairs, and more points of distribution to get cold beer.

The event will be held rain or shine on Saturday from 2 to 10 p.m. at Jaco Pastorius Park, located directly adjacent to the brewery at 1098 NE 40th Court in Oakland Park. General admission on the day of the festival is $8, and you must be 21 or older to get in. Call 954-440-0046, or visit funkybuddhabrewery.com. 

Sunday, June 12

We throw the phrase "living legend" around a little too often, but Dick Gregory should fit anybody's definition. A track star in college in the early 1950s, the St. Louis native eschewed running shoes for microphones and dimly lit clubs, contributing to a mini-renaissance of pioneering African-American comedy. But while fellow standup Bill Cosby pandered to white audiences by addressing family values (cue your gag reflex) and the universality of parenthood, Gregory's comedy has always confronted racism head-on—not to mention issues related to feminism, animal rights, government conspiracies (he's a 9/11 Truther), and America's global hegemony. And he doesn't just talk the talk: He's known to engage in 50-day hunger strikes to make his points. With 15 books and a health food company to his name, comedy isn't the only thing that pays the bills for Gregory, though we're privileged the 83-year-old provocateur still graces the occasional club. In contrast to the aggressive movements and machine-gun banter of many modern comics, Gregory speaks with low, slow authority, choosing his words carefully and transitioning passionately from joke-telling to truth-telling and back again.

See him in a rare performance at the Fort Lauderdale Improv, located at 5700 Seminole Way in Hollywood, at 7 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets cost $22 with a two-drink minimum. Call 954-981-5653, or visit improvftl.com.