The Six Best Things To Do in South Florida This Weekend

The weather outside got frightfully cold this week – even Floridians must endure the occasional cold snap. But the chilly nights won't last. And unlike the folks up north, who are feeling the true wrath of winter, we in South Florida have plenty of options for things to do beyond board games and jigsaw puzzles, however below 70 the temperatures might dip.

For local entertainment, comedy seems to lead the list of upcoming offerings, with a couple of funny plays taking the stage. A singer from South Carolina is bringing her mix of vocals to stages in both Broward and Palm Beach counties, and a comic of note – the Diceman himself – will cut loose in Coral Springs.

Here’s the best of this weekend’s agenda.

Friday, December 6

When television was in its infancy, few actors were as beloved as Gertrude Berg and few shows as popular as The Goldbergs, the gentle comedy series about a middle-class family that she created, starred in, wrote, and produced.

After its debut in 1949, The Goldbergs quickly became a huge moneymaker for CBS. Then, in June 1950, a pamphlet was issued called "Red Channels: The Report of Communist Influence in Radio and Television," listing 151 artists and broadcasters accused of being "Red Fascists and their sympathizers."

Among those ensnared was actor Philip Loeb, who played Jake Goldberg on the broadcast series. When CBS demanded Berg fire Loeb, she refused. As a result, the show was taken off the air.

The aftermath of that decision, and the consequences of McCarthyism and anti-Semitism on Berg, Loeb, and the Goldberg "family," are at the center of Joseph McDonough’s Ordinary Americans , a co-production with GableStage that was commissioned by Palm Beach Dramaworks.

The play opens at Dramaworks this weekend and will move to GableStage in January. 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday (through January 5) at Palm Beach Dramaworks, 201 Clematis St., West Palm Beach; 561-514-4042; palmbeachdramaworks.org. Evening and matinee tickets are $77; student tickets $15; pay-your-age tickets available for those 18-40.

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The West Boca Theatre Company opens its performance season this weekend. The company, which performs in the Phyllis and Harvey Sandler Center at the Adolph and Rose Levis Jewish Center off Glades Road in West Boca Raton, will tap a local playwright and winner of many Carbonell Awards and nominations to stage the first production of its season.

Michael McKeever wrote and stars in the WBTC's Charlie Cox Runs with Scissors, which runs through December 22. The award-winning comedy tells the tale of a man who, diagnosed with a terminal illness, hits the road desperate to find some meaning in his life. He accidentally stumbles on the one great love of his life.

Love and Death, personified with glorious irreverence, battle for his soul. Directed by another Carbonell winner, Stuart Meltzer, Charlie Cox Runs with Scissors shows how sometimes all it takes is a little death to show us how to live. 7:30 p.m. Thursdays and Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays at Levis JCC Sandler Center, 21050 95th Ave. South, Boca Raton; 561-558-2521; levisjcc.org. Tickets cost $30 to $40.


Long live the 1960s. With tribute bands popping up all over the map, chances are this culturally and musically iconic decade will live long and prosper right into the 21st century.

Sounds the '60s arrives Friday night when the Beatlemaniax bring their tribute to the Fab Four to Old Town Untapped in Pompano Beach.

The four mop-tops do a fair job of capturing the look of John, Paul, George, and Ringo — however much older this Floridian Fab Four are than the 20-somethings they're paying homage to — and they even play the same brands and models of the instruments the Beatles played.

Their appearance in Pompano is sponsored by the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency, which presents Old Town Untapped the first Friday of each month. The events often draw thousands to downtown Pompano Beach to enjoy live music, art exhibitions, beer tastings, food trucks, and a creative mix of vendors.

Because of on-going renovations in that part of town, the bands will perform on the stage in front of the fountain, while vendors will wrap around First Street and Flagler Avenue. 6 to 10 p.m. Friday, Old Town Untapped at Bailey Contemporary Arts, 41 NE First St., Pompano Beach; 954-786-4016; pompanobeachfl.gov.


Southern songstress Angela Easterling will bring her melodious style to Broward County on Friday and Palm Beach on Saturday.

The Greenville, S.C. native is on her first jaunt to South Florida, where she’ll be performing with partner Brandon Turner.

She embellishes her songwriting chops with rootsy, refreshing, homespun tunes. Her backing band, the Beguilers, master many complex styles, with instrumentation that fleshes out the stories in Easterling's songs and adds some rocking fun. Their act is not quite country, not quite folk, but is altogether engaging.

The Boston Herald named her song "The Picture" its Best Political Country Song in the paper's best-of honors. Roger McGuinn, of the Byrds, called her "a bright shining star on the horizon." 9 p.m. Friday at the Broward Folk Club, 4385 NW 88th Ave., Sunrise; and 7 p.m. Saturday at MacArthur Beach State Park, 10900 Jack Nicklaus Dr., North Palm Beach. Admission is free for Broward show; the North Palm Beach show is free to members, $5 for non-members via angelaeasterling.com.

Saturday, December 7

The first annual Jingle Jam Fest at Mizner Park Amphitheatre on Saturday night will get you into the holiday spirit.

The event will feature live entertainment, food trucks, and a VIP tent, with guests dolled up as Santa Claus, Hanukkah Harry, and Mrs. Claus — so feel encouraged to bring donations (from a list of suggestions) to benefit the HomeSafe and American Association of Caregiving Youth's Holiday Party for families and children in need.

The music lineup includes party band Krazy Train, DJs Ben Nigrelli and JAYR. As a special treat, YouTube star Michael Constantino will reprise his annual end-of-the-year Songs Mash-Up with the best of 2019. 5 to 11 p.m. Saturday at Mizner Park Amphitheatre, 590 Plaza Real, Boca Raton; JingleJamFest. Tickets cost $25 to $50 via eventbrite.com.


One of America's bluest comedians is headed for Florida's politically bluest counties as Andrew Dice Clay takes the stage in Broward this weekend at Coral Springs Center for the Arts.

Clay, born Andrew Clay Silverstein, rose to prominence by cussing a blue streak as the douchy "Diceman" and he carved a niche all his own as one of America’s most controversial and outrageous comics. Is his stage persona an act or true-to-life? The Brooklyn native, at 62, has been around for long enough for us to know.

In 1990, "the mouth that roared" became the first comedian to sell out Madison Square Garden two nights in a row. That same year, he played the lead in the comic mystery The Adventures of Ford Fairlane and appeared in numerous classic '80s films, including Pretty in Pink and Casual Sex as well as landing roles more recently in Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine (2013) and last year's Oscar-nominated A Star is Born, staring Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga.

Clay launched the podcast I'm Ova Hea' Now in September 2018 and this past June announced a comedy tour with fellow lib-hater Roseanne Barr. 8 p.m. Saturday, December 7 at Coral Springs Center for the Arts, 2855 Coral Springs Dr., Coral Springs; 954-344-5990; thecentercs.com. Tickets start at $71.