Playwright Jeanne Sakata, a successful actor herself, premiered Hold These Truths in 2007 at East West Players in Los Angeles. It made its off-Broadway debut in 2012 with the Epic Theatre Ensemble, and has since been performed at numerous regional theatres including Portland Center Stage, the Guthrie Theater, Seattle’s ACT Theatre, and locally by Coachella Valley Rep in Palm Springs.

The current North Coast Repertory Theatre revival production of “The Spitfire Grill”, a musical dramedy written by James Valcq and Fred Alley with music by Valcq and lyrics by Alley, is a shining example of the power some ‘outsiders’ can bring to the table or to a community if just given a chance.

Drag queens are a hoot in GableStage's engaging production of The Legend of Georgia McBride. The energy is palpable in South Florida theater company's production of Matthew Lopez play. The Legend of Georgia McBride will whisk you away from worries for 90 hilarious minutes.

Joined by 100 pairs of hands from th Radio Drama Network, the Ensemble Studio Theatre presents the 36th Marathon of One Act plays. New playwrights are featured and each had a special touch as the series unfolded.

It must be fun for the talented Met Orchestra under Esa-Pekka Salonen to stretch its opera boundaries. From an early Mahler piece, once integrated into the First Symphony, to support of the dazzling Christian Tetzlaff and the quiet lullabies for children sung by Anna Sofie von Otter, the orchestra sang.

Takashi Murakami is best known for his work related to Japanese anime and manga, as well as his sweeps into commercial and pop art and collaborations with artists such as Kanye West and Pharrell Williams. During last week’s press preview, he was articulate in discussing his work and his inspirations with curator Michael Darling (although the artist occasionally needed help from his translator).

Jane Hudson is known to the Berkshire arts community as the other half of the rock duo, Jeff and Jane, as well as for tending shop at various incarnations of Hudson's Antiques. On Sunday, June 17 from 3:30 to 5:30 PM., an exhibition of her abstract works on paper will open at Hudson Art, 112 Water Street in Williamstown.

The evening belonged to Mr. Gilbert, whose taut command of this orchestra over such a long and contiguous work reminded New Yorkers that his departure at the end of this season will be a terrible loss indeed.

In the heart of Noho, the Sheen Center has become a hot venue for new music performed by consummate artists. Gregg Kallor premiered a Quintet honoring Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra is perhaps the best orchestra now playing in New York. Because they have listened to singers for so long, they have a built in lyricism which it tops with superb musicianship. Under the baton of Esa Pekka Salonen and enhanced by the acoustics of Carnegie Hall, the orchestra made a big impact with Schumann and Mahler.

Milford Sound with scenic fjords, national parks with spectacular mountain views and cascading waterfalls, and Dart River with thrilling jet-boat rides are the rewards of South Island. Traveling west across the Southern Alps, the rewards continue with the snow-capped Mount Cook region, Fox and San Josef Glaciers, a craggy coastline with "Pancake Rocks", and the artists' haven town of Hokitika.

This summer the Clark Art Institute features four special exhibitions Picasso Encounters, an exhibition of prints with a few key paintings, as well as Orchestrating Elegance; Alma Tadema and the Marquand Music Room and two focused on prints and paintings by Helen Frankenthaler. The museum launched its expansion with a spate of blockbusters but is now moving into a new era with less hoopla under its reserved and scholarly French-born director Olivier Meslay.

Campra's "Le Carnaval de Venise" sets the theme, but the weeklong festival ranges far and wide, from Mexico to Germany to Rome, Florence as well as Venice. Pergolesi's "La serva padrona"will feature local favorite Amanda Forsythe, and the BEMF orchestra will play Handel's "La Resurrezione." Something for everyone - everyone who loves early music that is.

The exhibition: Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of 'Centerbeam,' A Performative Sculpture by CAVS, can be seen at ZKM, Karlsruhe/Germany, until October 1st. The museum is also presenting in an adjacent gallery Aldo Tambellini’s, 'Black Matters.' He was one of the 21 artists, who participated in the spectacular, collaborative and participatory outdoor sculpture.

As a 91-year-old card carrying member of the Communist Party the always remarkable Annette Miller provides a magnificent performance as Vera Joseph. Her lonely life as a NY widow is disrupted by the middle of the night intrusion of her grandson Leo who has traveled from Seattle by bicycle. A crash of just a couple of days stretches into a month as they clash and argue with loving disaffection. It's complicated. The play 4000 Miles by Amy Herzog launches the season for Shakespeare & Company.

We are on the Hudson River on an aircraft carrier that was used in VIetnam. This is the setting of Tom CIpullo's wrenchingly beautiful opera, Glory Denied, which is performed below deck in the old bunk area by Opera Upper West. The setting almost matches the intensity of this opera.

The Asolo region in Veneto is known for superior proseccos. The town is charming and the wines are amazing. Take a short journey to Asolo with us.

A preview of the Crypt Session was live streamed a 3pm on the afternoon of the concert, and immediately got 100,000 hits. Not only is the venue and the food and wine delicious in the series mounted by Unison Media, but tickets are hot as Hades.

The exhibition Reconstructions by Sarah Fagan at the Eclipse Mill Gallery through June 24 combines abstract works on paper and modular geometric objects. The artist created the works over several months while focused on applying to graduate school. She will enroll this fall in the MFA program at the University of Texas in Austin.

Actors find humanity in a South Florida production of Martin McDonagh's darkly comic play. The Cripple of Inishmaan is unpredictable, entertaining and accessible. This stellar production is on-stage through June 4.

It was a challenge to find a legal parking space anywhere near the museum in North Adams. On Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, from dawn to dusk, there were long lines and a constant stream of visitors. There may have been some 6,000 during the day and another 10,000 attended the rock concert by Cake on MASS MoCA's Joe Thompson Field.

As part of the dawn to dusk celebration of the launch of Building Six of MASS MoCA there was a titubating parade of the Sound Suits of the artist Nick Cave. The event was choreographed by Williams College professor Sandra Burton. Cave was present for the occasion.

With their 1969 debut album the Allman Brothers, based in Macon, Georgia, launched the unique genre of Southern rock. On tour they were an immediate hit as an opening act at the Boston Tea Party. They were invited back for a later gig. The band opted to hang out rather than travel to home and back. They melded into the then emerging Boston music scene. Legendary lead guitarist, Duane Allman, died at 24 in I971. Now Gregg, the lead vocalist and keyboard player, has passed at 69 following several years of failing health.

Watching works in process at the New York Theatre Workshop provides special drama. The shows are mounted to perfection and the acting is superb. It must be as helpful to a young playwright crafting her work as it is engaging to audiences when theatre like the Ekpeyoung Saga begins to unfold.

The New York Theater Workshop mounts consistently first-rate productions of interesting plays, some new and some old. Two parts of a projected nine play saga of a Nigerian family that comes to America are now playing. As we consider immigration to this country it is well to be reminded in emotional detail of our welcoming country.