Leah Hawkins performed in the Officers Room at the Park Avenue Armory. She mesmerizes for her moment as Strawberry Woman in Porgy and Bess.  You perked up for her Masha in Queen of Spades.  She has performed an off-stage prayer in Aida and graduates to the highly-anticipated title role of the opera in Arizona next spring. A singer who can stop a show in a minute in a 4,000 seat venue, filled the intimate Officers Room room to overflowing. 

Maggie is a heartfelt musical that should appeal to a wide range of audiences. It is the antithesis in many ways of what some would expect of a Goodspeed musical – there is not a tap dance or big dance number in sight.

Alicia Key has created herself as “Ali” in the musical Hell’s Kitchen now playing on Broadway. Keys grew up in the Manhattan Plaza complex, a few blocks from Times Square. Built during one of New York’s deep downturns, the building was supposed to be an upper middle class apartment house. Discounted apartments did rent.  It became one of New York’s most desirable residences for artists. It formed the artist Keys.

Zombie Modernism is Modernism without the authoritative stance of self-consciousness. There is no one home.

In this opera drawn from history, Sweden's Gustavus III loves Amelia, the wife of his friend and ally Renato. When the husband finds out, he joins assassin conspirators from the disaffected nobility. This Verdi masterpiece, replete with dramatic music, is given the finest treatment by accomplished principals and creative staging designers.

Get ready to immerse yourself in the rich tapestry of East Boston’s artistic community at “Harboring Creativity,” an exhilarating two-day art event happening for its second year at the iconic ICA Watershed on November 16 and 17, 2024, from 11 AM to 4 PM with a reception on Saturday from 4pm – 6pm with food donated by local restaurants.

Both Gabrielle Barzaghi and Susan Erony are among the contemporary women artists whose work is on view at the Cape Ann Museum through September 29. They are having solo shows at Gloucester's Matthew Swift Gallery.

Four New York theater performers hope to attract attention for what they purport to be the selfless act of inducing an Indiana high school to reverse the cancellation of its prom because a lesbian student planned to attend with a girlfriend as her date. Based on a true story, the visitors encounter unexpected headwinds. Despite notes of pathos and bitterness, a joyous tone prevails, and the play ends on a hopeful note.

Three Tall Persian Women by Awni Abdi-Bahri, an emerging playwright, is having its world premiere at Shakespeare & Company in Lenox. Three generations of women gather to celebrate the anniversary of the passing of the husband of Nasrin. Her daughter Goinar, a recent MFA graduate, has flown in from New York. Things are not going well when Shayan, a most eligible bachelor, arrives with flowers. All hell breaks out when they drink magic mushroom tea.

Dr. Frederick Frankenstein returns to Transylvania and hopes to improve on his grandfather's flawed creation - "The Monster." He succeeds in producing a new and improved monster but must deal with many zany characters and complications along the way.

The major event at New York’s Little Island this summer is an abbreviated version of Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro with all seven roles sung by premier countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo. It will be performed through  September 22. Zack Winokur produces. 

Colombian born, Carlos Caicedo, is an award winning graphic designer, artist/ photographer, and fashion creator. His remarkable range of skills is on vivid display in a dense installation at the Eclipse Gallery in North Adams.  

Kicking off our visiting artist series, the CenterSeries, is Vuyani Dance Theatre performing Cion: Requiem of Ravel’s Boléro on Thursday, September 26th. Physically charged and visually striking,?the work?is choreographed by South African native and internationally-known choreographer Gregory Vuyani Maqoma.?Cion?draws inspiration from author Zakes Mda’s novel, Cion?, and Ravel’s Boléro. It is, in?Maqoma’s?words, “a lament, a requiem required to awaken a part of us, the connection to the departed souls.” 

Jeffrey Gibson’s POWER FULL BECAUSE WE’RE DIFFERENT is a newly commissioned immersive installation that will occupy MASS MoCA’s signature Building 5 gallery and follows Gibson’s highly celebrated United States representation at the 60th edition of La Biennale di Venezia. The exhibition opens on November 3.

Four young men from different Latin American heritages meet in Omaha, Nebraska. When joined by a young woman, Maria, song breaks out. The plot is superficial, but the song and dance will arouse feelings of nostalgia for those familiar with the music of the region.

When a liberal couple learns that their embryo stored at a laboratory has been mistakenly implanted in a conservative Christian wife, the two couples meet to try to resolve the catastrophe. The story follows the bumps along the way for the following nine months, finding a highly entertaining balance between humor and conflict.

The 36th 'Tanz im August' took place from August 15th – 31st in Berlin. It is the most important European dance festival showcasing contemporary dance tendencies around the globe.

For its final exhibition before shutting down for renovation, the Cape Ann Museum took on but squandered presenting an important subject. Women Artists on Cape Ann: 1870-1970 was curated but under served by curator Martha Oaks. There is no catalogue, critical essay, or check list. Other than wall labels we learn little or nothing about obscure women artists. The museum opted to put minimal resources into what potentially was an important chapter of art history.

Jacob’s Pillow announces the artists selected to participate in 10 onsite residencies this fall through next summer, as part of the Pillow Lab residency program. Artists participating in this series, in chronological order, are: Hélène Simoneau Danse; Emily Coates, Ain Gordon, and Derek Lucci;  Music from the Sole; Andy Blankenbuehler and Kate Quinn; Brinae Ali; dani tirell; Peter Rockford Espiritu and Roberta Uno; Joanna Kotze; The Choreodaemonic Collective; and Rosy Simas. Programming and dates are subject to change.

Island City Stage near Ft. Lauderdale is presenting a deft comedic production of the hilarious parody, Die, Mommie, Die! Prolific and talented playwright Charles Busch penned the play. Busch has fun with Greek tragedy and 1960s melodramatic films known as Grande Dame Guignol Cinema.

Dr. Nathaniel Halper was the first Provincetown arts activist that I interviewed starting in 1982. He died just a year later leaving a distinguished legacy. For a time he was director of HCE then the most prominent of many galleries. In later years he formed a partnership with Mervin Jules to buy and resell from the estate of Karl Knaths. He offered many insights to the prominent arts community.

Yesterday we attended a performance of Dance Theatre of Harlem which concluded the nine week, 2024 Jacob’s Pillow Season. Yet again artistic director, Pamela Tatge, created a stunning festival of world renowned companies.

Tommy and Doc exist on the outside fringe of Irish society. When Tommy saves streetwalker Aimee from a beating by her ex-boyfriend and takes her in to recover from her injuries, new problems follow. Playwright Conor McPherson explores the survivalist lives of Dublin's underbelly, full of challenge but with occasional redemption.

Darrel Ellis & Miguel Ferrando, delves into the intertwined lives and artistic journeys of two figures who were more than just friends—they were creative soulmates. Though their careers spanned only a handful of years (Ellis died of AIDS in 1992 at 34, and Ferrando in 1996, at 38 ), their work, showcased side-by-side, offers a rare glimpse into a  unique artistic creative partnership from the 1980s.

Impoverished Baron Ochs wishes to marry Sophie, from a nouveau riche family. Through Ochs' cousin The Marschallin, young noble Octavian agrees to present the customary silver rose to the intended bride. But alignments of romance and convenience shift in this thoughtful comedy that is Strauss's most endearing work.