The New Victory uses every imaginable tool to go to the depths of the ocean in a 19th century submarine. Jules Verne tells his story with present references to the throttling of the sea by plastic and a case for democratic leadership.

I think because the writing was solid, not “trendy”, and always very relatable. I recently put together a clip reel for a concert appearance I was doing, and I had to sit down and watch over 100 hours of “Barney Miller” episodes. I was amazed at how substantial they were, and that they still hold up almost forty years later.

“October Sky” is an uplifting, feel-good type of musical that boasts 19 songs with such numbers as “Look to the Stars”, “We’re Gonna Build a Rocket”, “Stars Shine Down”, “The Man I Met”, and “The Last Kiss Goodbye”, the latter number being especially poignant as sung by the miners’ wives and girlfriends.

While huge opera houses are the dinosaurs of the 21st century, smaller venues for the presentation of the original multi-media art form are thriving. Opera is alive and well in every nook and corner of the world. Even in grand ballrooms of exclusive Manhattan Clubs like the Harmonie.

An independent country since 1990, Mongolia is a vast land situated between China and Russia. It has retained its centuries old nomadic life style and culture, despite 80 years under socialism. Ulaanbaatar , the capital city, is a vibrant metropolis with temples and museums, and is quickly establishing itself in the world community. Gorkhi-Terelj National Park boasts a landscape of forests, granite hills, rivers and meadows. It is home to 550 nomadic families and a favorite vacation spot for city dwellers.

The Last Wife premiered last year at the Stratford Festival in Ontario and Timeline snagged it for its first US production. The 2.5 hour play is smart and funny and will have you turning on your phone at intermission to look at Katherine Parr’s Wikipedia page.

Mahabharata is older and many times as long as the Bible. Its message of man's impulsive thrust to war and destruction is as fresh today as it must have been when it was first composed. Brook has tackled the piece before. This short form packs a powerful punch.

Calixto Bieito restores the sexuality long-missing to "Carmen" - but it is the guys, the half-naked soldiers in Spain's North Africa outpost, who are hot. His Carmen is a cool existentialist, half in love with easeful death. Her murder by a spurned lover on an empty stage outside the bullring could have been staged by Samuel Beckett. This is a controversial production for the expanded Boston Lyric Opera.

Never has the disconnect between glorious singing and a production been so clear. To put Tristan and Isolde in trenchcoats isn't even a starter in a Wagner opera. Stuart Skelton, Nina Stemme, Rene Pape, Ekaterina Gubanova and Evgeny Nitikin are all superb in their roles. It is an insult to put such world class singers on this set. Do not be tempted by the HD. Listen on the radio where you can enjoy the opera's glories.

Michael Cristofer’s Man in the Ring, having its world premiere in Chicago, is a play about boxing with a dark and riveting under card.

In ‘The Cocktail Hour’ A.R. Gurney hits the vanishing cultural nail of privilege right on the proverbial head.

Opera Philadelphia is leading the way in America, as it presents adventuresome new operas by contemporary composers exploring subjects of interest. Breaking the Waves is the most ambitious in its complex subject matter. The director, composer and librettist have joined forces to present a wrenching work which is very much embedded in opera tradition, but stretches the form musically and dramatically.

‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’ now on the boards of the Mark Taper Forum is fabulously acted and brilliantly staged by Tony winner Phylicia Rashad.

“A Public Reading of an Unproduced Screenplay about the Death of Walt Disney,” by playwright Lucas Hnath, turns upside down the positive image of the man popular culture has ingrained in our minds.

The Pasadena Playhouse has produced a lively version of the longest running musical The Fantasticks. Even if you have seen it this is a woderful chance to again be enchanted and "Follow, Follow, Follow."

During our recent visits including a residency at the Gloucester Writers Center we encountered the author Peter Anastas. He is an activist and author of novels based on Gloucster. In particular we are interested in his relationship with Charles Olson and his influence on the rich literary culture of Cape Ann. With permission we are reposting an excerpt of a long interview between Anastas and Karl Young.

Traveling with friends is fun. So is stopping along the way and having spontaneous picnics and impromptu meals together. Wine is always important for these events. How do you determine what wine to bring with you when you travel?

The cutting edge, Dutch director Ivo Van Hove has transferred his stark and riveting production of Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge from Broadway to LA. With cast changes there is the same stark staging that reworks a classic Miller play.

Inspired by the presence of Fashion Week in Lincoln Center, the New York City Ballet inaugurated a Fall Fashion Gala. Fashion Week was kicked out of the arts center by the New York City Parks Department, complaining among other issues about the number of spike heels. Although the event left, the Fashion Gala continues. A wonderful case is made for the use of high fashion costumes in ballet.

I happened on the Berkshire Theatre Company production on East 13th Street in New York and was entranced. Packed into a small stage and directed to perfection by Bob Moss, the intimate setting works perfectly for this musical portrait of an oversized man.

Bad news continues for the arts community. The Boston Globe has announced that it is elminating Cate McQuaid's weekly gallery column. Kington Gallery is circulating a petition to have the vital coverage reinstated.

Life Sucks is Aaron Posner’s sort-of adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya, that often-performed masterpiece in which members of the rural bourgeoisie loll about, falling in love with the wrong people and longing to change their miserable lives. What is the play about? Love, longing and loss, as the characters tell us in their prologue. The basic elements of the human condition.

Since 2009 when Freud's Last Session opened at Barrington Stage there have been annual meetings and numerous e mails with playwright Mark St. Germain. We met recently at Dottie's for brunch to talk about current projects. In Pittsfield there is a revival of Camping with Henry and Tom. At TheatreWorks in Hartford is a production of Relativity about Albert Einstein that stars Richard Dreyfuss. He is also adapting Freud, which has had 200 plus global productions, as a screenplay. He ranks at 14 on the 2016 list of most produced American Playwrights. That does not include his global productions.

The plays by the 35-year-old Pulitzer Prize winner, Annie Baker, can be long, and with their pregnant silences, exasperating for audiences. Patience, however, is rewarded by enduring Circle Mirror Transformation which is having its regional premiere at the renowned Area Stage Company in Coral Gables, Florida.

Audience members play a pivotal role in any show, but especially this one. That’s because the fate of a musical by characters Doug and Bud rests in the pocketbooks and banks of the producers.