HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGE IMPROV COMEDY SHOW: The Intelligent Fools improv comedy troupe presents their sketch comedy show dedicated to the Black college experience, Sunday Feb. 18 at 7 p.m. at the Arts Garage, 94 NE 2nd Ave. in Delray Beach. The groundbreaking performance will celebrate Black History through improv, step, dance, and music. Improv members include founder Ernest Mitchell, Ben Dexter, Ryan Julias, Tiffany Piters, and DJ Marion Reid. The evening will also include performances by the SOS Marching Band and the All of Nothing Dance Company. Tickets $30, call 561-450-6357 or visit artsgarage.org.

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“SISTER ACT”: Slow Burn Theatre Company presents the divine feel-good musical comedy smash hit through Sunday, Feb. 18, in the Amaturo Theater at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, 201 SW Fifth Ave., Fort Lauderdale. Based on the hit 1992 film, the musical follows Disco Diva Deloris Van Cartier, who witnesses a murder and is placed in protective custody in the one place the cops think she’ll never be found – a convent. It seems like she’s made a deal with the devil until she begins to make friends with the sisters and starts to shake things up. Tickets online at BrowardCenter.org or Ticketmaster.com, by phone at 954-462-0222, or at the Broward Center’s AutoNation Box Office.

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“I DREAM A WORLD”: New World Symphony’s third annual festival returns to Miami through 25, with a series of programs that honor the life and work of the “first lady of jazz,” legendary pianist and composer Mary Lou Williams. The festival, titled “Mary Lou’s Harlem,” features a roster of acclaimed artists uniting to celebrate the lasting legacy of one of the most influential, yet least known jazz artists of all time. Festival highlights include:

• The world premiere of Mary Lou Williams’ “History: A Wind Symphony.” Recently discovered in the archives at Duke University, the unfinished work will be re-orchestrated by composer and Duke University professor Dr. Anthony Kelley.

• A spectacular screening of “Mary Lou Williams: The Lady Who Swings the Band” (2015) on the soaring, 7,000-square-foot projection wall of the Frank Gehry-designed New World Center, home to NWS.

• A cabaret-style performance of Williams’ piano-centric music featuring Grammy Award-nominated pianist Aaron Diehl and his jazz trio that invokes the energy and activity of Williams’ apartment, which became the meeting place for the generation of musicians and intellectuals that birthed the modern jazz movement.

• A chamber music concert at The Black Archives Historic Lyric Theater in Overtown, featuring the music of Thelonius Monk, Valerie Coleman, David Baker and more.

• A performance by New World Symphony with the Aaron Diehl Jazz Trio, Grammy Award-nominated vocalist Carmen Lundy, the Ambassador Chorale of Florida Memorial University and the Jazz Vocal Ensemble of Florida International University, led by guest conductor Andrew Grams, in a program of selections from Williams’ “Zodiac Suite”, selections from Williams’ “Mass,” and the aforementioned world premiere of “History: A Wind Symphony.” During this concert, Mary Lou Williams’ recorded voice and video footage will be woven into the performance to narrate her own personal story. (Diehl was nominated for a 2023 Grammy for his recording of Williams’ “Zodiac Suite.”)

• A collection of Mary Lou Williams artifacts at New World Center. Tickets to New World Symphony concerts start at $10 can be purchased online, or by calling 305-673-3331 or visiting the box office. Visit nws.edu/harlem for other information and to purchase tickets.

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“BLUE WHALES: RETURN OF THE GIANTS”: The first giant-screen film on the subject continues at the AutoNation IMAX Theater at the Museum of Discovery and Science, 401 SW 2nd St. in Fort Lauderdale, included in the MODS Discovery Pass, an all-in-one ticket that includes museum exhibitions, live science demonstrations and one IMAX documentary film. Visit mods.org/tickets or mods.org/showtimes.

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“(IN)VISIBLE: NEPANTLA”: Black women and women of color are placed in the forefront of the viewer’s gaze, so they can be fully recognized, in the “(in)visible: Nepantla” exhibit now on display through March 15 at the Spady Cultural Heritage Museum 170 NW 5th Ave., Delray Beach. Tayina Deravile, a first-generation Haitian-American cultural art practitioner and arts professional, curated approximately 30 original works created by Fort Lauderdale-based artist Kandi G Lopez, circa 2013. Lopez specializes in collage work and uses a mix of materials to create a space for Black women and women of color to be represented. The show includes mixed media, stained glass, printmaking works on paper, ink on repurposed doors, and fiber art pieces, showcasing the diverse range of Lopez’s work. Visit spadymuseum.com

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