On the occasion of the 100th anniversary since his death the Clark Art Institute has organized a scholarly exhibition Renoir: the Body, the Senses. At his best few 19th century masters can match his charm and popular appeal. His greatest works were included in the 1985-1986 blockbuster exhibition Renoir, which was shown in London and Paris before it came to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. It broke MFA records with 500,000 plus visitors. The Clark show by comparison is small and uneven.

Hamlet is tormented to avenge the murder of his father by Gertrude, his mother and her lover Claudius, his uncle. First performed in 1609 they have been scorned by audiences ever since. John Updike's novel Gertrude and Claudius presented their sordid collaboration as a love story. That has been tranformed into a drama directed by Julianne Boyd for Barrington Stage Company. While the production is problematic it is among the best and most intriguing of the many plays of a prolific playwright.

The Brightness of Light by Kevin Puts had its world premiere at The Shed at Tanglewood. Rod Gilfry, baritone, and Puts' collaborator Renee Fleming, sang the baritone and soprano roles of Alfred Stieglitz and Georgia O'Keefe, who were married for twenty-two years. Often living and working in different parts of America, they corresponded. Puts scoured the correspondence to develop an arc for his orchestral song cycle. It is a brilliantly achieved work.

Not since A Strange Loop, through July 28th at Playwrights Horizons, have we come across a many faceted gay character like Usher (the extremely talented Larry Owens). He spares no detail, however raw, intimate, personal, scatological and sordid – in the telling of his life.

With more that 20 bookings no company has logged more appearances at Jacob's Pillow. For the first time in five years Mark Morris Dance Group & Music Ensemble is back this week. In recent years it has been the only dance company to be featured a number of times at Tanglewood. Now sliding past middle age, however, the choreographer is challenged to maintain pole position on the cutting edge. It was heartening to see a new piece in a program of vintage works.

A particular period of Irish history has been the focus of several recent remarkable works of art: two books, one an experimental novel, and the other journalistic nonfiction, plus a much-praised Broadway drama. All of them won multiple awards. I’ll also add a 2008 film to this list of artistic works. They all commemorate the years of the Troubles, that period of history of Northern Ireland in which more than 3500 people died or were disappeared.

At Next Door at New York Theatre Workshop The Hodgepodge Group and Lucy Powis presents, In the Penal Colony, a new and dynamic re-creation of Kafka's story by writer/director Miranda Haymon. What are the personal responsibilities of those who bear witness to the abuse of power? What is the relationship of the victim to the support of breaking institutional norms? What of the admiration for power, and the adulation of murderous solution?. At what point can we shed the reverence for brutal traditions?

Clocking in at three acts and three hours it's a long, tough slog through Thornton Wilder's The Skin of Our Teeth at Berkshire Theatre Group. Having endured an epic assault on the senses we much appreciated the experience. There is far too much relevance to this grim, Pulitizer Prize winning 1942 play. Then America was facing fascism abroad and now we are confronted by racism and fascism within.

Mostly Mozart programmers ask the most obvious question at the start. Why a film about Buster Keaton in this festival related to Mozart? Seeing the film, an easy comparison can be made with Papagano, the physical actor/singer in The Magic Flute, which will play in a charming version at Lincoln Center. Yet it is the quality of the work that is truly similar.

To mark the 500th anniversary of the legendary painter Raphael’s death, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum will bring together - for the first time – Raphael’s portrait of papal librarian, Tommaso Inghirami, from its collection and a painting depicting an episode in his life from the Musei Vaticani in Vatican City.

She Shorts is a series of short plays about women, by women.The series was borne out of a collaboration between Miami's City Theatre and Ft. Lauderdale's Thinking Cap Theatre. She Shorts is empowering, funny and thought-provoking. The inaugural series runs through Aug. 4.

On the specal occasion of its annual Gala there was a special treat for partrons and the general audience. The long awaited and much anticipated Verdi’s Requiem Mass was conducted by Andris Nelsons at Tanglewood.

Bass player Ron Carter at 82, still performing around the world – will bring his trio to the Newport Jazz Festival Saturday, August 3rd at Fort Adams. He shared some thoughts about performing, music and musicianship.

April Matthis, as Toni Stone (1921-1996) the first woman to play professional baseball in the Negro League, is knocking it out of the ballpark every night at New York's Laura Pels Theatre through August 11.

Acquanetta, the video opera by Michael Gordon, a multi-dimensional composer on the contemporary scene, was premiered as grand opera in Aachen, Germany in 2006. Commissioned in chamber form by Beth Morrison Productions, it now is mounted at Bard SummerScape. Grand or not grand, the sound in this version, with members of the Bang on the Can Ensemble, is big. Loud was the word used in warning. The nature of the production, details of which remain closely held, enables the electronic bass and also the string instruments to resound throughout the hall. The music makes the show, as it should in opera.

With promises of visas and relocation to the United States the mlitary recruited interpreters in Afghanistan. That promise was reneged on when America started to withdraw and wind down in 2011. The world premiere play Selling Jabul by Sylvia Khoury focuses on the fate of one individual and his family who was left high and dry.

Mark Morris is as serious about music as anyone. A questioner dared to state that of course music performed for dance was not up to concert expectations. Morris quickly took exception. His standards are the highest. He expects the music to be performed as written by the composer. He decried excessive rubatos. Yet Morris is as impish as Eric Satie. Satie's Sports and divertissements inspired a world premiere commissioned by Mostly Mozart.

From the High School of Music and Art the young Arthur MItchell rose to become a principal dancer in George Balanchine's New York City Ballet. Responding to the death of Dr. Martin Luther KIng, Jr., fifty years ago with Karel Shook they founded Dance Theatre of Harlem. The company first appeared at Jacob's Pillow in 1970. This week they returned with a diverse program in tribute to Mitchell who passed away last September.

For a change of pace Barrington Stage Company has opted not to give us yet another social justice scolding. Summer escapism with a belly full of laughs is provided by David Ives's Time Flies and Other Comedies. An all star cast of Barington actors are off the leash with total gonzo performances. They are anchored by the comedic genius of Debra Jo Rupp. Just wait till you see her paired with Cary Donaldson. With wings and buggy butts as Mayflys they wll be born, meet, mate, hatch and die all on one hilarious day. And that's just the first of six outrageous skits.

Berkshire Theatre Group and its Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield is producing the world premiere of Rock and Roll Man: The Alan Freed Story. The jukebox musical, rumored to be headed to Broadway, has a book by Gary Kupper, Larry Marshak and Rose Caiola with original music and lyrics by Gary Kupper. A cast of nineteen performs some 47 musical interludes. The music was fun but the long and often slow production needs a lot of work.

So, a Bertolt Brecht play can actually be fun! The play’s central theme is about goodness, something that would seem intuitively straight forward, but the playwright examines the concept from many sides, resulting in more questions than answers.

The Scottsboro Boys is getting a terrific production at Playhouse on Park through Aug. 4. Previously the show won acclaim, nominations and awards off-Broadway, on Broadway, in London and other places.

For his centennial Jacob’s Pillow presented three dances by the avant-garde choreographer Merce Cunningham (1919-2009). The “music” featured his collaborator and life partner John Cage (1912-1992). In July, 2009 we attended the final performance at Jacob’s Pillow by the Merce Cunningham Dance Company. Several days later, on July 26, he passed away.

Ronald K. Brown’s classic Grace was mounted in the Sosnoff Theater at the Fisher Center of Bard. For the first time, accompanying music was live, an adaptation of the tapes usually run with the dance. Grace was followed by a world premiere of Mercy, a work commissioned by SummerScape at Bard among others.

You may have seen Twelfth Night, perhaps a dozen times. But don't miss one more sharply directed by Allyn Burrows at Shakespere & Company in Lenox. What a hoot yet again to see the absurd Malvolio, a love sotted fool, decked out in yellow stockings with crossed garters. Expect a raucous night of fun, fun, fun.