The world premiere of “Five Ways to Die” took place at HERE in New York. If the subject is “death,” it must be an opera. Tosa jumps to her death from the walls of  Castel Sant'Angelo. Aida and her lover die in an airless Egyptian tomb. La Traviata coughs herself to death in a Parisian garret.  Defying death, all these women sing marvelously.  We suspend disbelief, carried away by gorgeous tunes. Experiments in Opera, a successful and innovative company, takes a different approach.

Though long forgotten, gigantic works by the academic painter Guillaume Guillon-Lethière have been hiding in plain sight at the Louvre. Installed in the 1830s they flank the walls of the museum's gift shop. That will be removed when the first ever major retrospective of the artist moves from Williamstown to Paris. He was born to a plantation owner and slave woman in Guadeloupe. In his day he was respected but less so with time until now. The Clark exhibition makes a less than compelling case for his reevaluation. With more large signature works the Louvre show may better state his case.

The vibrant anti art movement Dada fizzled in Paris in 1922. A number of its exponents, artists and writers, regrouped with the launch of Surrealism just two years later. It broke out in Paris with competing manifestos published by Andre Breton and Yvan Goll. They each led rival factions but the more aggressive Breton prevailed. It proved to be the ,most popular and sustained movement of modernism. There are numerous current exhibitions celebrating its legacy.

“It is a thrill to welcome Camille A. Brown back to the Pillow, this time for the world premiere of I AM,” said Jacob’s Pillow Executive and Artistic Director Pamela Tatge. “Since she received the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award in 2016, she has seen a meteoric rise as a choreographer and director of opera and Broadway productions, from her stunning work on Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up in My Bones, to her Tony nominated work this year on the Alicia Keys musical Hell’s Kitchen. 

Jacob's Pillow launched the 2024 season with serious fun. It's been ten years since the all male, gender bending Trocs have visited Pillow. Remarkably the renowned company is celebrating 50 years of artful parody. Raucous laughter and applause filled the Ted Shawn Theatre.

Gerry McIntyre has directed and choreographed a flawless production of Mel Brooks’ hilarious musical Young Frankenstein. On opening night, it rocked a full house at the Colonial Theatre, where it will be fun, fun, fun until July 21.

Our friends at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute in Lenox are coming out of the holiday weekend with continued fireworks: Ted Rosenthal Trio returns to the Berkshires to perform on July 9, at 7pm.

Surrealism by Provincetown artist Jay Critchley

Before he left for Hollywood, Martin Mull started as an artist in Boston. He partnered with fellow RISD graduate, Todd McKee, as the satirical Smart Duckys. With a twist I covered their first pop-up exhibition for the Boston Herald Traveler. Mull is best known for a long career in film and television. Artist, musician, actor he was a man of many talents.

A Tender Thing, by Ben Power, explores an interesting premise. What if the star-crossed lovers had survived? He assembled the text by reordering and conflating excerpts of Romeo and Juliet, Twelfth Night and a number of sonnets. Hence Elizabethan language has been conveyed in a contemporary context.

This summer, the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) invites you to reimagine the world of maps and globes in an installation conceived by Argentinian artist Agustina Woodgate. In Ballroom, the gallery floor is filled with globes that have been meticulously sanded to remove all traces of information, transforming what were once vital sources of knowledge into mute objects.

Lu Dongbin, also known as Lü Dongbin or Lu Tung-Pin, is a towering figure in Chinese mythology and religion. As one of the Eight Immortals, a revered pantheon within Daoism, he transcends the boundaries of a mere historical figure. He embodies wisdom, benevolence, and mastery of the Dao (the Way), leaving behind a legacy that continues to inspire generations. This exploration delves into the life, legends, and significance of Lu Dongbin, the scholar-immortal who wields both sword and wisdom.

Reacting to the carnage of WWI Dada was spawned at the Cafe Voltaire in Zurich in 1916. The absurdist, anti-art movement was founded by sound and noise poet and performance artist Hugo Ball. He wrote its influential manifesto. The Cafe lasted several months but the spirit of Dada spread to Berlin, New York and Paris. Largely a literary movement its artifacts are rare. They survive as ransom note graphics and raw agit-prop collages, Dada perished in the mayhem of culture wars in Paris in 1922. Many of its artists were absorbed into surrealism which had two published manifestos in 1924.

Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival will bring the acclaimed Social Tango Project—an innovative dance company founded and based in Buenos Aires, Argentina— for an immersive week-long engagement during Week 4 of the Festival. Offering audiences a deep dive into the art of tango, Social Tango Project will showcase this social dance like never before in the historic Ted Shawn Theatre from Wednesday, July 17 to Sunday, July 21. 

The Ulysses Quartet performed Beethoven’s final work, his string quartet in A minor, in the Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York. The classical spirit of Leonard Bernstein, who is buried here atop Battle Hill, pervades the place. Programs are various and always tasteful. The setting enhances the experience

Our lives are filled with memories. Lisa, the main character in 2.5 Minute Ride, wants to share memories of her father, his life, and her relationship with him. The autobiographical play by Lisa Kron is at Hartford Stage through Sunday, June 23.

Most people are unaware of the dedication and sacrifices that actors make to pursue their passion. In this brief insight, we learn of the struggles of one man to put bread on the table while seeking the limelight. We also learn of mental health issues that have plagued his family.

Sandra, the owner of a coffee house/café in New York City, can’t stop thinking about Ethan, her best friend after she receives a phone call: someone needs to get in touch with him, but can’t. She’s listed as his emergency contact.

For over-the-top camp hilarity and flat out fun nothing tops the outrageous musical, La Cage aux Folles, which is getting a swing for the rafters production at Barrington Stage Company through July 6. This is likely to be a boffo summer smash with a too-brief run.

The collaboration between "Astrid Hiemer and Michelle Wiley, Our Surreality" on view at the Eclipse Gallery in North Adams through July 7, is inspired by Dada and Surrealism. In creating this inventive exhibition they have torn up the conventional playbook. Expect the unexpected in this witty and inventive exhibition. The work is engaging, confounding and brimming with life spirit.

Southeast Florida-based New City Players mounted a production of "The Glass Menagerie" in 2016, the company's first year. Today, eight years later, the company will stage a production of another Williams masterwork -- "A Streetcar Named Desire."

The La Jolla Playhouse presents The Ballad of Johnny and June, a musical about the lives of Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash.  Narrated by John Carter Cash, played by Von Hughes, the play begins with John trying to decide if he wants to get married.  John Carter Cash was the only child of the union of Johnny and June.  As John contemplates marriage, he tells the love story of his famous parents and their challenges with fame and addiction. 

In producing a play that is two years older than I am director, David Auburn, has been faithful to the text but made changes, the de rigeur legerdemain that contemporizes the production. There has been gender and race switching with mixed results. Those role changes range from muddled and gratuitous to truly brilliant and inspired. It’s a long evening in three acts that lags as well as has its brilliant and inspired moments.

Wu Wei is a lifelong journey, not a destination. It’s about cultivating a sense of ease and harmony in the face of life’s complexities. By embracing its principles, we can learn to flow with the current, navigate life’s rapids with greater grace, and find a deeper sense of peace and fulfillment along the way.

Toni Stone is a woman who loves to play baseball, and she is very good at it. She is recruited to join the barnstorming Indianapolis Clowns, who tour the region playing mainly white teams. They are expected not only to play baseball (and supposedly lose) but also to dance and sing during the fifth-inning break.  It was unclear if they played in what was considered the Major League of the Negro Leagues or were more like a minor league team.