Beyoncé brought her spectacular live show to BankAtlantic Center. (Meghan McCarthy / The Post)

Witnessing A Happening: Beyonce concert photos

THE SHOW: Beyoncé at BankAtlantic Center

THE OPENING ACT: RichGirl, a quartet of attractive, tuneful but not-all-that-distinctive young women with standard R&B/pop harmonies, highly choreographed  dances and a very deliberate Beyoncé-lite vibe. Call ‘em “Destiny’s Cousin.”

THE RUNDOWN: The grand glittery spectacle that is a Beyoncé show makes an observer seriously consider both the past and the future. One imagines the big productions that Monday night’s event was clearly based on — Tina Turner/Ann-Margret-style shorter-than-short shiny leotards and hordes of back-up dancers, the Cher-esque costume changes and Barbra Streisand-like devotion to the singular diva.

Then, one thinks five, 10, 15 years into the future, when Tina and Ann and Cher (well, maybe not Cher) probably won’t be performing on that scale anymore (at least without the assistants of bionic limbs and surgery you don’t want to know about). The divas might be gone, but our public desire for sparkle and shine, shirtless dancers and mind-blowing witnessing of A Happening won’t be. And who will be left to give us that, a performer with the natural, unforced presence to thrive in all that spectacle and not be dwarfed or diminished by it?

Beyoncé, that’s who. And from the looks of things on Monday, in comparison to her work just a few years ago, she’s getting better. Shockingly better.
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Adrien Brody took home an Oscar in his role as a Jewish piano prodigy who escaped the Nazis in The Pianist. This time around, Brody is playing rock and roll legend Leonard Chess, the man who changed the beat of American music, in Cadillac Records.

The actor took away a greater appreciation for black music artists of the ’50s — and the memory of a serenade from co-star Beyonce.

Q: This movie is a reminder that more than a few black members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame had to struggle to get their music heard.

A: It was eye-opening for me. Greats like Muddy Waters recorded songs that radio stations labeled ‘race records.’ If you were a black artist in the ’50s, you couldn’t escape segregation, which applied to the airwaves as well. And it was Leonard Chess who helped to get them the attention they deserved.

Q: Some of the artists who got their big break from Chess had a love/hate relationship with him, didn’t they?

A: He was the boss, an incredibly powerful man. He could be tough, which stemmed from his growing up in poverty and then escaping it. Like a lot of businessmen, he could also be selfish and he wasn’t always fair about sharing the wealth.

Q: And there’s nothing phony about your intense scenes with Beyonce, who plays the legendary singer Etta James.

A: She was remarkable and very emotionally open. We went through some tough stuff. There’s one scene where she sings ‘At Last’ directly to me. It was a strange moment that made me sad because it was her last day of filming. I kept thinking, ‘When will I ever have Beyonce sing to me like this again?’

Q: Your new home has been described as a castle.

A: It’s not. I live in upstate New York where people didn’t have to defend themselves from warring countries. It’s actually a barn that’s built in the style of an English castle. When I was a child, my parents had to sell our house in that area to put a down payment on a place in Queens. Growing up as a city kid, I always dreamed of getting away to the country. Now that my dream has come true, I’m facing a lot of renovations. But that’s the price you pay.

Q: How are you coping with fame?

A: When I played a detective in Hollywoodland who was investigating the death of George Reeves, the original Superman, I was struck by how little people really cared about him as a human being, even though he was a celebrity. It made me think about how I need to give a little more attention to my own life beyond just acting. Maybe I was also fortunate to grow up in Queens because it’s very easy to see the pitfalls of going in the wrong direction. I knew a lot of people that fell apart and took the wrong roads. You see the negative effects and none of the glamor.

Q: Do you still ride a motorcycle?

A: I do. I’ve had my share of accidents but I don’t have a death wish. I respect speed. The thing that I fear is other drivers. I guess it’s dangerous, but I love to ride and I could never give it up.

Q: How has winning an Oscar affected your career?

A: What I still crave more of is great roles. I wish the studios would see me in more mainstream movies but there are a handful of actors that routinely get that chance because they are supposedly safe bets. In that sense, Hollywood is a business. It’s not really about the work.