That’s especially true for James Raymond, the band’s keyboard player and vocalist — and the son of David Crosby.

But for Raymond, the tour’s visit to The Parker in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday, July 20, resonates, much like his father’s high tenor, with the extra-sweet dynamic of the song that gives the tour its name. For it was here that Crosby found his life-altering muse, his beloved Mayan, a 59-foot schooner that he sailed across the Caribbean, the Panama Canal and the Pacific for nearly 50 years and that graced the cover of the 1977 album, “CSN.”

And it was on the Mayan, docked in the city, that the harmonic magic of the legendary supergroup set sail. There, on a night in 1968, Crosby and Stephen Stills wrote their first song together, the classic “Wooden Ships.”

“There’s so many multipronged connections to South Florida,” says Raymond, who didn’t learn of his famous birth father until he was in his 30s and collaborated with him for decades afterward. “It had a very special place in his heart. He felt very at home there. I could feel that when we would go to South Florida to do gigs. It just brought him back to that really happy time in his life when he was making some really great music.”

At one of those shows, Crosby’s last in Fort Lauderdale in 2019, he spoke about his seminal period in South Florida. As part of the nascent ’60s music scene in Coconut Grove, Crosby met and “discovered” Joni Mitchell before becoming one of the most resounding voices of his generation. Later, while recording in Miami, he met another consequential woman, Jan Dance, a Criterion Studios receptionist who would become his wife of 36 years.

“It was in Lauderdale, just off the Intracoastal, on one of those islands. That’s where ‘Wooden Ships’ was written, right in the main cabin of the boat,” Crosby told the Sun Sentinel before another SoFlo performance, in 2018.

Joining Raymond on the family side of the family-and-friends tribute will also be Neil Young’s half-sister, Astrid Young.

“It’s not your typical tribute act,” says Young, a multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter in her own right who will open the show with a solo set before being joined by the tribute band. “Most of these folks were in David Crosby’s touring band. After he passed away [in 2023], they did a memorial show with a few special guests. It went really well and they decided to keep it going.”

Pared down to a semi-acoustic/drumless configuration for the tour’s Florida leg, the band also features Jeff Pevar, Steve Postell, Michelle Willis and Berry Duane Oakley.

“I think we’re really going to be able to present this music in a way that’s not been done before,” says Raymond. “We’re going to stay pretty faithful to the albums. That’s part of the fun of it for us — trying to use those records as a jumping-off point and then just see where we can take it from there.”

As for which of those records will be used, in light of CSNY’s various musical-chairs incarnations, Raymond says: “There are no rules. We’ve got stuff from the Crosby-Nash catalog. We’re talking about doing some solo Crosby stuff and some solo Stills songs. And Astrid is going to be doing some of Neil’s solo stuff.”

Young, however, is the only artist who’ll perform her own material.

“I was really thrilled that they asked me to do that. I played on a lot of Neil’s records and I toured with him for many years and, of course, I knew all the guys since I was a kid,” she says.

And after those many years, Young’s upcoming album features a reciprocal harmonica solo by Neil Young.

“It’s the first time Neil’s played on my stuff. I’ve played on plenty of his, so it was time to pay up,” says Young, who shares the same father as her half-brother.

Though both Young and Raymond have performed extensively with their famous family members, the interplay of genetics presents a fascinating counterpoint to their personal musical journeys.

For example, Raymond, who was adopted after his birth in 1962, started playing piano when he was 6. But it wasn’t until he was an adult that he even learned he’d come from music.

“I grew up not knowing who my biological parents were. When I was 18, my dad took me down to the safe deposit box and showed me all the info that he had. ‘Your birth mother was into the arts and an actress, and your father was a musician.’ And that was kind of it,” he says. “So I think they knew to push me maybe in that direction. They knew they had an artsy kid on their hands.”

As an adult, with the blessing of his adoptive parents, Raymond began searching for his birth parents.

“I saw Crosby’s name on my birth certificate. I was like, no, it can’t be. It’s just another guy with that name. Weirdly, my birth mother [Celia Crawford Ferguson], who hadn’t looked for me in 30 years, was looking for me right then. It was one of those cosmic things. And so we got connected.”

And that’s when Raymond learned he was the child of the man who famously sang “Teach Your Children” — and the man who at that moment in 1994 was about to undergo a liver transplant.

“My parents were telling me, ‘Maybe it would be good for you guys to meet, in case he doesn’t make it through this transplant,’” Raymond says. “Unbeknownst to me, my dad had written a letter to Crosby, and a couple weeks later, Crosby called me.”

They met after Crosby recovered from the operation — on the same day that Raymond’s wife, writer Stacia Raymond, would give birth to their daughter.

“We just hit it off right away,” Raymond says of the first meeting. “And I got to tell him, ‘Oh, by the way, tonight you’re gonna be a grandpa.’ And not long after that, his son Django was born. So we were both new dads together.”

They also made up for lost musical time together, forming the group CPR and playing with each other on tours and albums over the next 30 years.

Young’s kinship with her famous half-brother may be less melodramatic, but there’s a kindred spirit in the rambunctious quality of her music.

“My music doesn’t sound like his, but we think the same way,” says Young. “We’re both of the mind that when the muse speaks to you, you have a responsibility to answer that call.”

IF YOU GO

WHAT: “Our House: The Music Of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young”

WHEN: 8 p.m. Saturday, July 20

WHERE: The Parker, 707 NE Eighth St., Fort Lauderdale

COST: Starts at $29.50

INFORMATION: 954-462-0222; parkerplayhouse.com

This story was produced by Broward Arts Journalism Alliance (BAJA), an independent journalism program of the Broward County Cultural Division. Visit artscalendar.com for more stories about the arts in South Florida.

But it’s one that doesn’t really hold in South Florida, does it? For many of us here, the reality is more: “Summer? Meh.”

If you take away the vacations and throw in the H-word, the season just ain’t that special. How could it be when, thanks to our famous year-round clime, we get an all-season pass to get out of the house? Alas, climate change has necessitated a bit of rethinking. Increasingly, summer is becoming for us what winter is for our Northern brethren —meaning, the place to be is the great indoors (for us, in the sovereign A.C.).

Like the weather, South Florida’s arts calendar stays hot now year-round as well. But with highs persistently in the ’90s and the sun often better braved than basked in, the price of any civilized summer ticket best come with air-conditioning, wouldn’t you agree? So here, with apologies to our lovely outdoor stages, we offer a guide to some of the coolest shows of the season — at only those venues where you can, literally, chill.

Candlelight: A Tribute to Taylor Swift June 14, The Sanctuary Church, Fort Lauderdale, $36-$71, feverup.com.

Tortured Swifties who just can’t wait until “The Eras Tour” arrives in October can get a provisional fix in this trendy, atmospheric setting — which, rest assured, will share as much in common with the impending Hard Rock Stadium scene as, say, Taylor’s and Travis’s professions. Conceived as a classical music series, Candlelight Concerts now embrace a variety of genres and are presented in more than 150 cities worldwide. In this one, performed by the Listeso String Quartet, the ear-wormy melodies of Shake It Off, Love Story, AntiHero, etc., will be swathed in churchy resonance and the flickering ambience of thousands of LED candles — and, one presumes, a chorus of whispered lyrics from the audience.

Justin Timberlake June 15, Kaseya Center, Miami, $81-$5,000 (verified resale), kaseyacenter.com.

The R&B/pop singer’s new album, Everything I Thought It Was, has received lackluster reviews. And his bro-bro image has taken recent hits from former flame Britney Spears’ memoir and revisited “Nipplegate” fallout. Yet you couldn’t tell from the ticket sales. A string of sellouts for his “Forget Tomorrow World Tour” has spawned second dates in certain cities as well as the announcement of a second leg in the fall. Maybe the T in JT stands for Teflon?

Les Misérables June 18-23, Arsht Center, Miami, $45-$155, arshtcenter.org.

There are musicals … and then there are phenomena such as Les Mis, one of Broadway’s and, indeed, the world’s longest-running musicals. Next year will mark the 40th since its first English-language production premiered in London’s West End, but the Tony-winner’s distinctions aren’t limited to longevity, of course. “One of the greatest musicals ever created” (Chicago Tribune) and “a Les Mis for the 21st century” (Huffington Post) are among accolades for this staging. As the sung-through score soars over the backdrops of Revolutionary-era France, the impassioned adaptation of Victor Hugo’s classic evokes the spectrum of human emotions in celebrating the survival of the human spirit.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers June 23, Hard Rock Live, $265-$505, casino.hardrock.com/hollywood.

Despite a somewhat punky posture and — let’s call it — “free-spirited” presence (re: Flea), the LA quartet has generated rather mainstream respectability, selling over 80 million records, earning six Grammys and most recently notching two No. 1 albums — Unlimited Love and Return of the Dream Canteen. Fronted by Anthony Kiedis, buttressed by bassist Flea and re-energized by the second-time around return of guitarist John Frusciante, the Californicators have matured into a stylistically ecumenical force to be reckoned with. “The Unlimited Love Tour” breezes down from amphitheater stops in West Palm and Tampa earlier in the week, but this climate-controlled appearance will be the coolest way to see the Red Hots. Flea may even need to keep his clothes on.

Mamma Mia! June 25-30, Kravis Center, West Palm Beach, $40-$120, kravis.org.

The hit ABBA musical may be set on a Greek isle, but the audience will be chill with the shivery harmonies that evoke the Swedish supergroup’s nippy native Stockholm (average June high: 69). The show’s book revolves around Sophie, a fiancée who wants her father to walk her down the aisle — but isn’t sure which of three possibilities he actually is. This is the fourth touring incarnation of the jukebox smash that enjoyed a prodigious Broadway residency of nearly 14 years. It’s at once high-powered and heart-warming, with vocal performances as buoyant as its choreography — such as the show-stopping chorus line high-kicking in wetsuits and flippers! Dancing queens, indeed.

Cirque Du Soleil: Corteo July 11-14 and 18-21, Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise, $64-$139, amerantbankarena.com.

On the heels of Echo, an extended Gulfstream Park engagement that closed in April, the company that made the circus cool returns to the other end of the county to reprise an old favorite. First produced in 2005, Cortero has been seen by over 8 million throughout the world. Reformatted from the Big Top to the arena, it features added surprises as it blends the passion of the actor with the power of the acrobat. In this stylistically baroque production, a clown imagines the carnival atmosphere of his own funeral procession. And chilled in this ice-hockey palace, you’ll be able to imagine you’re not in sweltering South Florida.

Zach Bryan July 22, Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise, $95-$634, amerantbankarena.com.

Three years ago I got this text from a tuned-in Nashville buddy named Terry: “This guy is killing me. Still in the Navy. Put him in rotation now. #ZachBryan.” It came with an 18-second clip of a sweaty young man singing and strumming an acoustic guitar with the passion of a young Springsteen. I listened to Bryan’s album, DeAnn, and was most impressed with the songwriting chops and outright earnestness. Yet, I wondered, how could a bare-bones artist with such blatant lack of artifice hope to make it in Taylor Swift’s world? Well, apparently talent this fluid seeks its own level. And now with a fervent following, a chart-topping album and single, and a country-rock band behind those acoustic strums, Bryan is selling out arenas with his “Quittin Time Tour” — and Terry’s earned himself some told-you-so swagger.

Missy Elliott July 25, Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise, $75-$1,250, amerantbankarena.com.

Missy is having a moment — and seizing it with the first headlining arena tour of her three-decade career and her first extensive road work in 20 years. Long overdue, “Out of This World — The Missy Elliott Experience” comes on the heels of recent props for the multifaceted artist: first female rapper inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, in 2019; star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2021; and, last year, first female hip-hop artist inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Featuring Busta Rhymes, Ciara and producer Timbaland, it won’t be a nostalgia tour, Elliott promises. “It’s an experience. I want people to travel to those moments, those (music) videos. I want you to relive it on stage.”

Blake Shelton
July 27, Hard Rock Live, $105-$335, casino.hardrock.com/hollywood.

The Grand Ole Opry member who conquered country then transcended it with TV star power is cultivating quite a barroom persona. He partnered up with the Ole Red honky-tonk chain and quit his 12-year gig as The Voice coach to create and star in the bar-themed game show, Barmageddon. And now comes his “Back to the Honky Tonk” tour. Backed by neon signage, Shelton sidles up to the audience with the stage presence of a boozy good old boy at the bar, cracking one-liners and breaking into jukebox singalongs — among them, nearly 20 country chart-toppers and a live duet with a video of wife Gwen Stefani.

The Marias
July 27-28, The Fillmore, $60.50-$137.45, casino.hardrock.com/hollywood.

The LA indie-pop group takes its name from its Puerto Rican vocalist, and well it should. María Zardoya’s whispery voice is like a tongue tickling your ear. It sophisticates the band’s stylistically and lingually eclectic sonics, which range from Latin pop to dreamy lounge to psychedelic rock and from Spanish to English to the occasional French. Despite having only two albums to their name — 2021’s Cinema and the just-dropped sophomore, Submarine — the Marias’ rizz quotient still merits the uncommon two-night Fillmore stand.

Chelsea Handler July 28, Hard Rock Live, $68-$118, casino.hardrock.com/hollywood.

If by some ostrich-like proclivity you are not familiar with the queen of candor, the naming of her outing as the “Little Big Bitch” tour should tell you all you need to know. With a no-topics-barred, speakfirst-think-later approach to comedy, her 20-year run as an acclaimed stand-up, talk show host, author and activist has made her a pop-culture powerhouse. This tour ranges from deep-dives into her childhood to personal anecdotes about sexual predators, including canceled celebrities with whom she’s had run-ins. “I’ve got a really funny Bill Cosby story — not a lot of people can say that,” she says. As for the naming of the tour, she says the reasons are obvious. “I was this way when I was born.”

Lindsey Stirling Aug. 1, Hard Rock Live, $46-96, casino.hardrock.com/hollywood.

What you get at a Lindsey Stirling concert — you’re just not gonna get that anywhere else: a gifted violinist playing anything from classical to rock to even a little hiphop while simultaneously performing modern and balletic choreography accompanied by a troupe of dancers. And it’s all backed by stunning sets and topped off with acrobatics, costume changes, stage banter and even a few laughs. Almost worth the price of the ticket is the opening act, Walk Off the Earth, an indie-pop outfit known for their spot-on smoosh-up of 20 Beatles songs in four minutes.

The Moody Blues’ John Lodge Aug. 3, Broward Center, Fort Lauderdale, $44.50-$208.50, browardcenter.org.

Mention Days of Future Passed to a boomer of a certain temperament and taste, and you might see the eyes glass over and the attention span succumbed to dreamy, mellotronic reverie. Plenty of that will be on display when one of the responsible parties — vocalist, bassist and songwriter Lodge — revives the landmark 1967 Moody Blues album in concert. Sequencing a day in the life of Everyman, it was one of rock’s first concept albums and, thanks to the breakout single, Nights in White Satin, it segued the Moodies from middling R&B Brits to orchestral art-rock immortals.

International Ballet Festival Of Miami Aug. 4, Broward Center, Fort Lauderdale, $35-$45, browardcenter.org.

The only one of four contemporary programs performed in Broward, this eclectic fusion of dance styles and music features modern and contemporary companies from Switzerland, France and Colombia as well as the United States. Hosted annually by Miami Hispanic Ballet, the festival brings to South Florida performances by over 100 principal
dancers representing more than 20 ballet companies, as well as a range ofcomplementary events.

Maren Morris Aug. 18, Hard Rock Live, $56-$106, casino.hardrock.com/hollywood.

As an artistic choice, the singersongwriter’s new cover of the Billy Idol hit Dancing With Myself sounds like quite the double entendre. Signifying the general schizo state of country, Morris recently disowned the genre over political differences. But “culture wars” are nothing new for the Nashville malcontent with a rock ’n’ roll heart. A couple of years ago, Tucker Carlson branded her a “lunatic country music person.” Her response was to raise more than $100,000 for transgender youths by selling T-shirts bearing the epithet. As a Highwomen’s distinctive take on outlaw country, Morris’s “RSVP Redux Tour” promises to be a feisty affair.

Die, Mommie, Die! Aug. 29-Sept. 22, Island City Stage, Wilton Manors, islandcitystage.org.

And now for something completely different … a piece of theater featuring murder by poisoned suppository and confession via LSD. The 1999 black comedy by female impersonator Charles Busch was adapted into a 2003 film in which he starred. Equal parts updated Greek tragedy and campy Hollywood satire, the satirical plot centers on a fallen pop diva with a younger lover who murders her film producer husband (re: suppository). Conspiring to avenge their father’s death, her two children induce her confession (re: acid trip). And then the bombshells really start to pop.

Herbie Hancock Sept. 13, Broward Center, Fort Lauderdale, $55-275, browardcenter.org.

It’s a rare and rarified occasion when a jazz giant of such sway makes a Broward County appearance. A recent Chicago Tribune review nailed it: “If jazz’s boundaries seem especially porous today, Hancock punched many of those holes himself.” Making his bones with straight-ahead Miles in the ’60s, Hancock ventured off into Headhunters funk, Future Shock electro and explorations beyond. His North American tour covers all the bases, taking off with an ingenious, career-spanning Overture before stretching out into longform improvisational excursions with a different crew at every stop. The kick of the night, however, may be witnessing the 84-year-old luminary rise up from the keyboards, take center stage with his signature keytar and shred like a rock star.

Editor’s note: Because of weather and scheduling issues, please confirm events prior to attending.

One artist who didn’t make the list — and only because his concert happens the day before the issue comes out — is French singer-songwriter Francis Cabrel. Of a style that might be described as the French equivalent of Americana, his artistry transcends language barriers.

That he released an album of translated Bob Dylan covers, Vise le Ciel (Aim for the Sky), should tell you all you need to know. Especially for Francophiles and lovers of popular music par excellence, his first-ever appearance June 8 at the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami is not to be missed.

Look for the Summer Issue of City & Shore magazine, in print, digital and online. on June 9.

What also came from Waterbed City?

CITY Furniture — which emerged from the South Florida waterbed brand in 1994 and, under the leadership of CEO Andrew Koenig, has developed into one of the top 20 furniture retailers in the country.

Now, everything from the mattress on the bed to the decor on the wall are sold in the family-owned company’s 23 showrooms across the state — as well as via an interactive e-commerce site that gives shoppers an augmented-reality projection of how any of its items will actually look in their home. Plus, the company operates 14 Ashley Home Store showrooms as the brand’s licensee in parts of Florida.

Koenig is the son of Keith Koenig and nephew to Kevin Koenig, the founders of Waterbed City. Beginning his full-time CITY Furniture career unloading containers in the Receiving Department in 2006, he has worked his way up through almost all divisions of the company.

Before coming on board, Koenig became a devotee of Lean Philosophy, which he’s described as “based on principles such as eliminating waste, creating knowledge and respecting people.” He studied the methodology at Toyota’s headquarters in Japan and learned from other companies here and abroad. Koenig brought Lean Thinking home to CITY Furniture in 2007, and since then, he and his team have created breakthroughs in streamlining operations, customer experience, safety and other areas.

Going hand-in-hand with Koenig’s Lean emphasis is good corporate citizenship.

“In the past year, we remained true to our Corporate Social Responsibility goals, reaching significant milestones across various initiatives,” Koenig said recently in releasing CITY Furniture’s annual CSR report, which reviews sustainability, giving and other programs.

“The hard work and dedication of our team, combined with our focus on customer satisfaction and sustainability, have been crucial to our success. We are committed to positively influencing our community and the planet, and we’re excited to keep pushing forward.”

For example, Koenig noted the company’s commitments to give back to the community more than 5 percent of annual profits and to offset its carbon footprint by 2040, leveraging smart facilities, recycling efforts and a delivery fleet that was named the Greenest Fleet in America in 2021 and No. 7 last year.

Koenig, 41, who received his MBA from Nova Southeastern University, lives with his wife, Deana, and their three children in Plantation. He took a few moments to lean in to our standard set of Quote Unquote questions.

Aside from the weather, what do you enjoy most about South Florida?

Dinner with my wife and kids at Livia Bar & Grill in Fort Lauderdale or Vivace in Plantation. There’s nothing as relaxing as a good dinner with family, maybe not so much with the kids. Ha ha!

Aside from the weather, what do you dislike most about South Florida?

I really love everything about South Florida. I’m a huge fan. However, if I had to pick something, it would be the traffic. That’s never fun.

Are you a beach person or a pool person?

I’m a hot tub person. There is nothing better than going into a hot tub after a long day, relaxing and having my wife and kids hang with me.

When in your life are you or have you been the happiest?

When I got married and then had three kids back-to-back-to-back, all within a span of 26 months. Life was a whirlwind of diapers and laughter. It was chaotic, but undeniably enjoyable. Now, as the kids grow older, the dynamic has shifted, offering a different kind of joy that I cherish just as much.

What do you do when you’re stuck in a traffic jam on I-95?

Listen to Bloomberg, CNBC or take work calls. I don’t like any waste of time. If I’m not learning something I kind of freak out.

What music are you listening to now?

I’m a little behind on what’s cool. I listen mostly to business, podcasts, book tapes, etc. I’m always trying to learn and grow as a person. Little nerdy but that’s me.

Are you a fan, and if so, of what?

I’m a big South Florida sports fan — Dolphins, Panthers, Heat, Inter-Miami and Marlins.

If you had to choose: Beatles or Stones?

Neither. Sorry.

What are your social media usernames?

@therealakcity55 on Instagram and TikTok and @akcity55 on X. Andrew Koenig on Linkedin and Facebook.

Apple or Android?

Apple. I love Apple’s focus on design, cutting-edge technology, and top-notch quality, best-in-class experience, etc. One of the best brands of all time or maybe the best that’s ever existed on this planet.

Who is your real-life hero or heroine?

My dad. He’s the man. He has worked so hard for his family, friends, our company and our community. He has won almost every award available — Horatio Alger being the most recent. Goes to church every week. Never misses a sporting event with my kids.

What car are you driving now?

Tesla Model S. Since 2013. I was a first believer. I have visited the Gigafactory in Reno and the other factories several times. A lot of good business learnings about innovation, disruptive thinking, brand purpose, etc.

If you had to choose: Rocky or Raging Bull?

Definitely Rocky.

What do you like most about yourself?

I like to consider myself a good family man — approachable, kind to others, and just a decent person overall. Hopefully, that’s how people, especially my wife, would describe me. Ha.

What places in South Florida do you recommend to guests visiting from out-of-town?

Las Olas nightlife, bars and restaurants are always fun. Las Olas always has good energy, so much to do and lots of good people around. I love Las Olas and Fort Lauderdale. Blessed to have grown up down here.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

I wish I’d learned technology (i.e., software engineering, AI, tech architecture, etc.) at an earlier age. I’m catching up now thanks to my amazing CITY Tech Team.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

When my dad passed the reins of the company on to me and made me CEO, that was the proudest day of my life. I had this goal to be CEO my whole life and I achieved it within a few months of my goal timeline. It was very cool to get his approval but it also reinforced for me the importance of goal-setting, meticulous planning, unwavering dedication, and putting your heart, blood, sweat and tears into your dream; being humble along the way by understanding that you don’t know everything and learning as much as you can from everyone on the journey, outworking and outlearning your competition, etc. If you do that, you can achieve whatever your dreams are — or at least that’s what it has taught me.

For more than six decades, as a photographer for Vanity Fair, Time and other magazines, Graham’s portraits shared a candid quality textured by the intimacy of black-and-white.

An exhibition at the Norton Museum of Art, “Ellen Graham: Unscripted,” showcases her remarkable ability to disarm and unmask her famous subjects. Incorporating several of Graham’s gifts to the Norton, the exhibition runs through Sunday, July 7.

The Norton Museum of Art is at 1450 S. Dixie Highway, West Palm Beach. For more information, visit Norton.org.

Traversing her fifth decade as a theater critic and journalist — mostly for the Miami Herald but now for artburstmiami.com — Dolen has played an offstage role as enduring, definitive and acclaimed as any in the tri-county theater community. One number pretty much says it all: 3,000. That’s the estimated total of regional productions she’s reviewed — not counting the over 1,000 Broadway and off-Broadway shows she’s taken in.

Late last year — for the second time — Dolen was honored with the George Abbott Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Arts from the Carbonell Awards, which annually honor excellence in resident professional theater and the arts. In its 46 years, the only two-time recipients of the award are Dolen and Jack Zink, the late Sun Sentinel theater critic and Carbonell Awards founder.

In presenting her with the award during the November ceremony at the Lauderhill Performing Arts Center, celebrated Cuban-American playwright Nilo Cruz delivered an anecdote that intimates Dolen’s influence in South Florida theater — an attribute affirmed by her recognition as one of the country’s 12 most influential theater critics by American Theatre Magazine.

“When I thought that I was going to be an actor,” Cruz said, “I acted in a theater company here called S.E.A.T., South End Alternative Theater. And Christine gave me a bad review! But that bad review was a blessing, because then I decided to be a playwright and also to be a director. Much later, years passed, I invited Christine to a reading of my play, ‘Anna in the Tropics.’ And she came to that reading. And it was Christine who suggested to a judge for the Pulitzer Prize to nominate my work.”

Cruz went on to win the 2003 Pulitzer for that play, which he’d written as a playwright-in-residence at the New Theatre in Coral Gables.

“That I landed at the Miami Herald and became its theater critic in 1979 was such a blessing,” said Dolen as she accepted the Abbott award. “Along with Jack Zink and others, I got to tell the story of South Florida’s theatrical evolution. Show by show, story by story and review by review, we helped theater-loving audiences understand the region’s evolution.”

Dolen’s association with Abbott extends well beyond her acceptance of the award named in his honor. The American theater luminary known as “Mr. Broadway” lived in Miami Beach for nearly the last third of his 107 years.

“I spent a lot of time interviewing Mr. Abbott during the last decade of his very long life,” she said. “His late wife, Joy, and I became close friends, and for many years we presented the Abbott Award together. So this feels beautifully personal as well as professional.”

Dolen’s fascination with theater runs in her blood. Her father, Bill Hindman, was an actor who appeared in numerous movies and plays, including an off-Broadway production of “The Iceman Cometh,” replacing Jason Robards in a lead role.

“I fell in love with theater as a kid,” said Dolen, who grew up in Ohio. “I was amazed by the actors who rehearsed one play during the day, performed another one at night, then moved on to yet another play the following week. What theater artists do seemed magical. It still does. I don’t possess that skill set. But after discovering in high school and college that I can write, I found a different way to play a role in the theater community.”

Before stepping into that role as the Herald’s theater critic in 1979, Dolen was a pop music writer for the Detroit Free Press. Among her most memorable assignments involved a day spent at the circus with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.

Dolen, who was a contributor to the Sun Sentinel for three years after leaving the Herald in 2015, is the wife of former Sentinel arts and features editor John Dolen. The Davie residents are the parents of Sean, a teacher in Fort Lauderdale.

The critic did us the honor of turning her esteemed critical eye inward to answer our standard set of Quote Unquote questions.

Aside from the weather, what do you enjoy most about South Florida?

I love that the state is green year-round, that the sunsets so often look like vividly colored paintings.

Aside from the weather, what do you dislike most about South Florida?

I dislike the abundance of under-construction roads, a population that has grown way too large for the infrastructure and censorship that purports to be anything but political.

Are you a beach person or a pool person?  

I am a pool person, 100 percent. Although I love looking at the beach and hearing the sound of the waves, I will NOT get in that water with its assorted hidden creatures.

When in your life are you or have you been the happiest?  

I’ve been happy in many different periods, but I have to say that the falling-in-love days with my husband, John, and the birth of our son were pretty spectacular.

What do you do when you’re stuck in a traffic jam on I-95?  

I listen to talk radio, call whomever I’m meeting to say I’ll be late, realize there’s nothing to be done so I try to chill.

What music are you listening to now?  

Billie Eilish, Bruno Mars, Bruce Springsteen, anything by Marvin Gaye, the cast album of ‘Hamilton.’

Are you a fan, and if so, of what?  

I’m a huge fan of theater (obvious but true) and movies.

If you had to choose: Beatles or Stones?  

Beatles for the way they changed music (but props to the Stones for their fierce and thrilling tenacity).

What are your social media usernames?  

Facebook: Christine Dolen.

Apple or Android?  

Apple.

Who is your real-life hero or heroine?  

My late mother, who showed me that meeting the very difficult day-to-day challenges of raising and providing for her children on her own was her unwavering commitment.

What car are you driving now? 

Hyundai Sonata.

If you had to choose: ‘Rocky’ or ‘Raging Bull’? 

‘Raging Bull,’ because of Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese.

What do you like most about yourself?  

I like that I have just as much enthusiasm for watching and writing about theater as I did when I started, while still at The Ohio State University.

What places in South Florida do you recommend to guests visiting from out-of-town?  

I always suggest Key West, Vizcaya, the Pérez Art Museum (and NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale, plus the Norton in West Palm Beach), Frost Science Museum, Little Havana, dining at a restaurant overlooking Fort Lauderdale Beach. And theater – lots and lots of theater.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? 

I would be 100 percent healthy.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?  

I’m proud to have helped illuminate the work of so many South Florida theater artists for more than four decades.

Fleming’s unparalleled contributions had earned the soprano America’s highest honor for an individual artist. But it was her down-to-earth dynamic, accessibility and artistic versatility that had already pinned the catchphrase to her persona like an operatic nametag:

“Hello, My Name Is Renée, The People’s Diva.”

Like a crossover soprano, she and her illimitable, crystalline voice have commanded the attention of untold people who, far from being opera buffs, couldn’t tell an aria from a cantata. She’s gone on to sell well over 2 million records and has been nominated for 18 Grammy Awards. She’s won five, including last year’s Best Classical Solo Vocal Album for “Voice of Nature: The Anthropocene.” In 2015, her place in the operatic pantheon secure with over 50 international leading roles, Fleming graced the Broadway stage for the first time in the comedy “Living on Love,” earning a Tony nod three years later for her role in “Carousel.”

However, and here’s the thing, she’s also showed up in the least diva-esque of places: singing Letterman’s Top 10 list; recording a “Lord of the Rings” soundtrack in the original Elvish; classing up the Super Bowl as the first opera singer to deliver the National Anthem at the game; releasing an indie rock album and performing a duet with, uh-huh, Lou Reed; and rotating in outer space as “31249 Renéefleming,” an actual asteroid named in her honor. That’s some literal star power, there.

And still, beyond all this, Fleming is now influencing people’s lives in ways that transcend art for art’s sake. In ways that reinterpret music as therapy. In ways that bring deeper meaning to the term, “the people’s diva.”

Her more recent collaborations with the scientific and medical communities investigating and espousing the healing power of music — indeed, her international championing of its acceptance as a clinical therapy — have developed into a side-by-side symbiosis with her musical career. Such is the case when she performs a recital at Festival of the Arts Boca on March 3 and returns the following night to host a presentation and panel discussion with local health practitioners titled, “Music and Mind.”

Fleming comes by her interest in the topic painfully.

“I was especially interested because I had bouts of horrible stage fright,” she says. She also suffered somatic pain, which she’s previously described as “pain that your brain and body are making up so that you can be distracted from what’s distressing you, which in my case was performance pressure.”

“So,” she says, “I just started reading things that I could find about the mind-body connection.”

Her research reached a turning point with a 2015 dinner-party introduction to Dr. Francis Collins, then director of the National Institutes of Health.

“I said, ‘Hey, do you think we could create a platform for science? Because I really think the public would be really interested in knowing about the benefits and the research around music and health.’”

The chance meeting initially resulted in intensive workshops at which scientists explored ways to bring neuroscientists and music therapists together. Fleming even took to singing in an MRI machine to help identify the parts of the brain activated by music.

Fleming had already been appointed Artistic Advisor At Large for the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts when, in 2016, her collaboration with Collins evolved into a partnership between the Center and the NIH to explore and promote the health benefits of music. Named Sound Health, the interdisciplinary, fund-raising initiative sponsors a series of live and online panel discussions, performances and other endeavors.

“So we’ve been doing this now for seven years, and it has just exploded,” Fleming says.

Thanks in no small part to Fleming’s advocacy, Sound Health has raised upwards of $20 million for research into music and its connection to children’s disorders, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other neurological conditions.

Fleming herself has become the face of the issue. As with her Boca Raton appearance, she performs concerts in tandem with panel discussions. She’s hosted a free online series of conversations with scientists and health practitioners, accessible at Kennedy-Center.org, and is also the editor of a new book that reflects her work. “Music and Mind: Harnessing the Arts for Health and Wellness,” a collection of essays from leading scientists, artists, therapists, educators and healthcare providers, will be published in April.

Also, her altruistic efforts have now made her a player on a different kind of international stage. She was recently appointed Goodwill Ambassador for Arts and Health by the World Health Organization.

“The audiences in Florida and especially southern Florida are reminiscent of the audiences in New York and the major Eastern capitals,” says Fleming, who lives outside Washington, D.C. “So I feel like I’m at home.”

It’s those audiences, she says, that keep her coming back — this year’s double-bill marks her second return trip to Festival of the Arts Boca since christening the inaugural event in 2007. The already distinctive program, which runs through March 10 at Mizner Park Amphitheater in downtown Boca Raton, now boasts the added prestige of a Kennedy Center honoree.

Fleming spoke with us just after the telecast of the 46th Kennedy Center Honors in December, in which she was among five honorees — with Dionne Warwick, Queen Latifah, Barry Gibb and Billy Crystal — celebrated for their enduring contributions to American culture.

“Basically I was trying to keep from breaking down and just sobbing outright because, you know, it was just such an overwhelming experience,” says Fleming, a mother of two daughters, who turned 65 last month.

The tribute featured performances of signature Fleming pieces, highlighted by a bravura “Song to the Moon” performed by a soprano quartet of Julia Bullock, Ailyn Pérez, Angel Blue and Nadine Sierra. Also Susan Graham, Tituss Burgess and Christine Baranski joined voices for “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” and Dove Cameron sang “The Light in the Piazza.”

“She uses her voice to call out for change, helping us understand the intersection of music, health and neuroscience,” said actress Sigourney Weaver in a presentation honoring Fleming’s non-diva accomplishments. “It all springs from that amazing voice. And yes, it is a God-given gift. But it’s what you’ve done with your voice, Renée, that brings all of us here to the Kennedy Center tonight.”

Our conversation picks up with her impressions of the show.

Each time they showed a closeup of you in the audience, I wondered what must have been going through your mind as you took it all in.

Yeah, it was incredible. Because I’ve performed on Broadway as well as my constant touring and opera, I’ve made friends in various worlds. Christine Baranski and Sigourney Weaver. And Vera Wang made my dresses. I mean, I have a lot of fabulous women friends. And I was just really, really blown away to see them there.

You managed to control yourself pretty well.

Oh, God. Wasn’t easy. I knew that the camera was going to be close because it was right in front of me. I just thought, oh gosh, my cheeks are shaking. [Laughs.]

If you yourself had been part of the tribute, what would you have performed?

Well, I think [Dvořák’s] “Song to the Moon” and [Puccini’s aria] “O mio babbino caro,” which they worked into the film [“Now You See Me 2”], are kind of the two hit pieces. “You’ll Never Walk Alone” [from “Carousel”] was also really inspired because it’s so popular anyway. But to have been in “Carousel” on Broadway was a really special experience. So I think they got it right, honestly.

Your accomplishments are so boundless. Is there something you want to do that you haven’t tried before?

Not at this point. I am doing a really interesting new project. I’m touring a film that “National Geographic” has created for me based on my Grammy-winning album last year, “Voice of Nature: The Anthropocene.” It’s absolutely beautiful, and I hope to be touring that for quite some time.

Can you describe it?

Basically, I gave them the track list that I’ll perform with either orchestra or piano. And they created films that correspond with each of the pieces. It’s about 30 minutes long, and it’s very beautiful. The idea, and the idea behind the original album, is our relationship to nature — you know, a hundred years ago, when every human emotion by poets and composers was about basically our relationship to nature and how the lens of nature is how we viewed ourselves. And then juxtaposing that with our relationship to nature now, which is not so great. We have not had a great influence on the planet. It’s meant to encourage people to stay involved in climate and caring about climate.

Will that be the program of your recital in Boca?

No, the recital in Boca is more general. It starts with Handel arias, and then I have some French song and arias, Italian arias, and then I go to the American Songbook. And I have an aria from “A Streetcar Named Desire.” It’s a broad spectrum of music, which is typically what I do now when I’m touring, because that’s the way my whole career has been, to share that and talk to the audience.

What can you tell us about the following night’s program?

I typically give a presentation, an overview of the intersection of the arts and health, and especially music and health, because there’s been so much research done about the benefits of engaging with music, from children to creative aging and various disorders in between — disorders of aging in particular, like Parkinson’s and stroke. So it’s really informative-gathering. I always invite scientists, researchers and healthcare providers who are nearby to present their work. People often are thrilled to learn that these things exist and that they work. The field is growing exponentially.

What first inspired your interest in this?

What inspired me was really just, first of all, being fascinated by how music has affected me over my lifetime, from a very young age.

Was it a health benefit?

It’s a developmental benefit. If you’re a child, playing an instrument can really change your brain. You’ll find that so many people who work in the medical profession are amateur musicians. CEOs have often had some kind of music training as children. It definitely makes a difference because now we’re unfortunately in a place in time where we’re too often parking children in front of screens. And whereas playing an instrument or actively engaging with music or drawing or any of those things develops the brain further. Because you’re also using hand-eye coordination, creativity and on and on.

From your discussions with doctors, what are some specific instances of music therapy helping patients?

We just had a large summit, as it were, with the NIH. And we discovered that if you’re somebody who has Parkinson’s and can’t walk anymore, or is freezing up — it’s such a debilitating disorder — that just singing a song in your head, like When the Saints Go Marching In, can enable you to walk fluidly and cross the street. It’s just really incredible things like that. Or if you’ve had a stroke and you can’t speak, one session with a music therapist can start you speaking again through singing, because singing takes place in a different part of the brain. So it drains our brain’s plasticity and enables some of these therapeutic values to take place in a way that’s quick and it works. And the other thing about these therapies is they’re low-cost. They’re non-pharmaceutical, they’re non-invasive. And if you’re working with creative arts therapists, you have a face-to-face human contact, which is very beneficial for healing. And most people don’t know about it. Wouldn’t occur to them to try.

Has there been any progress in getting more insurance companies to cover these therapies?

Yeah, there is. In Texas, for instance, just now they’ve decided they’re actually going to put it on the ballot. And the other thing about this is it’s totally bipartisan. People on both sides care about healthcare. And once they learn of the benefits and that it’s also cost-reducing, they get very excited. It’s all over the country. There are 12 states that are much further along. Most of it is covered philanthropically. But it’s definitely moving along. The main thing that convinces people quickly is how much money it saves. Mainly insurance companies.

One last question, off-topic: Do you know of any other opera singers who’ve recorded a rock album, like you did in 2010 with “Dark Hope”?

There was a German tenor who did one, but it is pretty rare. I didn’t know the music and I love learning about new things, trying new things, working on the voice. I have eclectic taste in music. It was a really interesting project.

Festival of the Arts Boca tickets range from $15 to $150 and are available by calling 561-757-4762 or at festivalboca.org. Also, at 3 p.m. March 5, Fleming will give a lecture, “My Life in Music: An Afternoon With Renée Fleming,” for the Society of the Four Arts in Palm Beach. For more info, please visit fourarts.org. The event, however, is fully booked.

The major fundraiser now through March 17 for Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club and Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach doubles as a monthlong showcase for 23 celebrated designers and architects and their show-stopping transformation of a stunning property in the “SoSo” area of West Palm Beach.

Highlighted by an inviting and spacious layout, the two-story home boasts 8,589 square feet of living space with 5 bedrooms, 6.5 bathrooms. The second level features a breathtaking 4,500-square-foot rooftop entertainment terrace.

The showhouse is at 230 Miramar Way, West Palm Beach. General admission tickets start at $50. For tickets, please visit kipsbaydecoratorshowhouse.org/pbplanyourvisit.

Watch for a complete report — full of design ideas — in City & Shore’s annual HOME issue, coming up on April 7.

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