Intrigued by conspiracy theories? You’re no alone. The Vero Beach Theatre Guild lauds Steven Dietz’s “Yankee Tavern” – the second show of the Guild’s 2018-2019 season – as an “edge-of-your-seat thriller,” and quotes a line from Joseph Heller’s 1961 novel “Catch-22” to further peak your interest: “Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not after you.”
With director Jonn Putzke at the helm, the play tells the story of soon-to-be-married Adam, who owns a run-down New York City bar and becomes increasingly entangled in private and national intrigue, stoked by his deceased father’s best friend, barfly and hardcore conspiracy theorist. Amidst the mounting chaos, a stranger appears and quickly blurs the lines between conspiracy theory and reality. Putzke wants audiences to know that, although “9/11 serves as the show’s backdrop, ‘Yankee Tavern’ it is not a story about 9/11.” As the New York Times puts it, “Mr. Dietz likes his symbolism heavy, but in ‘Yankee Tavern,’ he mostly just wants to play with our heads.” Can it possibly be a coincidence that the show opens this coming Tuesday, Sept. 11? I think not. Fierce. Funny. Gripping. Mind-bending. Pick one. I hear the set is fabulous, too. Show times through Sept. 23: Tuesday through Friday, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 2 p.m. Tickets: Adults, $30; students, half price. 772-562-8300.
There’s no subject so insignificant that Jerry Seinfeld can’t get a joke out of it. That sometimes uncanny gift will be on display next Thursday, Sept. 13, when the man himself takes the main stage at the King Center in Melbourne. The man the King Center calls “America’s premier comedian” got his start in the big time in 1981 with an appearance on the “Tonight Show” with Johnny Carson. His career took off like a rocket, hitting the top when he partnered with fellow comedian Larry David to create what many consider one of the greatest and most influential sitcoms ever made – “Seinfeld.” The wildly popular sitcom made a ton of money for NBC (and Seinfeld) for almost a decade and nabbed multiple Emmys, Golden Globes and People’s Choice awards. Show time: 7 p.m. Tickets: $78. 321-242-2219.
A one-of-a-kind biker bar where you don’t have to cruise in on a Harley to enjoy the atmosphere, inside and out, and the great bands: It’s Earl’s Hideaway Lounge and Tiki Bar on the riverfront in Sebastian. You can most always count on cooler-than-average live music under the fronds on the Tiki Bar stage. For example: this Friday, Sept. 7, 8:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m., it’ll be Alex Ivanov and 3 Link Society, billed as “an up-and-coming guitar-driven rock and blues band” out of Orlando. Saturday, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., it’s Brad Sayre, a vocalist and musician who really knows his way around a guitar, and has toured all over the world with numerous artists. Sayre performs covers and his own music. Through the night, til the clock strikes Sunday, it’s an Earl’s favorite, get-down-and-party crew, The Roughhouse Band, taking the stage 8:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. Earl’s Trivia: This place has quite a colorful history. It’s been a landmark on Sebastian’s Riverfront since the ’50s, and was originally founded by Earl Roberts, once the mayor of Sebastian. I’ll bet he had some tales to tell. (There’s food, too.)
The incomparable Canadian pop, folk, jazz, country singer/songwriter k.d. lang comes to Orlando’s Dr. Phillips Center Walt Disney Theatre this Saturday, Sept. 8, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of her Grammy-winning, critically acclaimed album “Ingenue,” with a live performance of the platinum-selling record, in its entirety, which contains the Grammy winning single “Constant Craving.” According to Wikipedia, Lang first earned international recognition in 1988 when she performed as “The Alberta Rose” at the closing ceremonies of the Winter Olympics. Lang received another huge career boost when Roy Orbison picked her to record a duet of his standard “Crying,” which won them the Grammy for Best Collaboration with Vocals in 1989. The opening act will be guitar virtuoso Mak Grgic. Show time: 8 p.m. Tickets from $39.50. 844-513-2014.