As wonderful as soprano Christine Ebersole cum Elizabeth Arden is – and the lady does have a couple of sensational show stoppers - it is the in-your-face belter Patti LuPone’s Helena Rubinstein who commands the most on stage attention in this show, as Rubinstein did in her every day life with her exotic wardrobe and jewelry, her thick European accent, and fast-flying zingers. “There are no ugly women, only lazy ones,” is one of her more famous quotes.

Not About Nightingales, an early Tennessee Williams script, is a Depression-era tragedy with many elements that foretell Williams’ genius as a playwright. Even though considered a lost work, it helped Williams get started on his illustrious playwriting career. The play was one of a batch of plays sent to a Group Theatre competition in December 1938.

The Broadway revival of Hello, Dolly! tops the list with 10 nominations, while original Broadway musicals Anastasia and Come From Away follow close behind with nine nominations apiece. Lauded off-Broadway shows include the revival of Eugene O'Neill'sThe Hairy Ape, with eight nods, Atlantic Theater Company's production of The Band's Visit, with seven, and Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street at the Barrow Street Theatre, also with seven.

Hearing this perfectly beautiful voice reminds us of all the pleasure Natalie Dessay has given as an opera performer. As a concert artist, she brings dramatic talent to the words of song writers and adds a soupçon of opera to completely satisfy.

With two restaurants in Ohio Tito's has opened in Pittsfield. This is a high concept franchise with enticing decor and intetior design which is a bait and switch offering numbingly mediocre ersatz Tex Mex cuisine.

Boston Baroque's "Giulio Cesare" marked the role debut of soprano Susanna Phillips as Cleopatra in this tale of love and war with Cleopatra and Julius Caesar its central protagonists. Full of ravishing arias and ensembles, the opera is almost an embarrassment of riches. Boston Baroque did it justice if not in the elusive definitive production it deserves.

Matilda dazzles in national touring production. Young and young at heart will marvel at Roald Dahl's Matilda the Musical which features eye popping visuals and engrossing action

For Blake, Christ was both a child and a lamb putting the innocence of the child and the lamb of the poem a priori in the realm of the godly. One cannot be a lamblike or a childlike without that innocence of God, which raises the question: what then is experience without innocence? Experience can only be a loss of innocence. Why do I in my painting linger in this realm of peachy keen colors if not to insist on the importance of this innocence that precedes experience.

The Outer Critics Circle nominees provide a preview of the front runners for Tony Awards. The most nominations went to Anastasia – 13; Hello, Dolly! – 10; The Band's Visit – 7; Come From Away – 7; Indecent – 6; The Little Foxes – 6; Groundhog Day – 5; A Bronx Tale – 4; The Front Page – 4; War Paint – 4; Bandstand - 3; A Doll's House – 3; Holiday Inn – 3; Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 – 3; Oslo – 3; Sweat - 3

The intimate 273 seat theatre at the Sheen Center on Bleeker Street is a perfect setting for chamber music. Anthony Marwood and members of Les Violons du Roy performed Strauss, Mozart and Enescu in the intimate space. Opening out from a sextet to an octet, the group became increasingly animated and in fact agitated in a pleasing style, amusing the audience at the end with their passionate bowing and music making.

As New Zealand's largest city, Auckland offers a distinctive urban landscape with two harbors, modern high-rises, beautiful gardens, and impressive museums. Rotorua stands out with its geothermal activity and predominant Maori culture. Waimangu Volcanic Valley is a wonderland of crater lakes, hot springs, boiling mud pots, and an exuberant nature that has regenerated following the devastation of an eruption.

Danish filmmaker Martin Zandvliet’s 2015 “Land of Mine,” was among the nominees for the 2017 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. The film’s Danish title is “Under sandet,” and it is a shame distributors did not opt for the literal translation “Under the Sand,” which possesses a certain poetry the clumsy, double-meaning “Land of Mine” lacks.

Evening Star Production's 'Waiting for Godot' blends darkness and frivolity. A strong cast anchors a commendable production at South Florida venue.The deft production is marked by strong physical comedy and palpable despair.

While spending time near an Ocean in the USA or Europe, as well as Africa, I have always been drawn to the beach after a storm, while rough weather and high waves were still present. So did I venture recently onto a beach in North Truro, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, in stormy weather and took these accompanying photographs.

Champagne Collet started in 1921 in Ay, France, in the Champagne region. The company has been making exceptional champagne for years and now is available in the American marketplace.

As the music world becomes omnivorous and all-encompassing, it is terrific to spend an evening with consummate young musicians playing whatever their bliss is and making it ours.

Wilco headlines and supports a biannual music and art festival at Mass MoCA in North Adams, Massachusetts. The festival this year takes place from Friday, June 23rd to Sunday June 25th.

Celebrate spring in the Berkshires with the Clark Art Institute’s final First Sundays Free program of the season on Sunday, May 7 from 1–4 pm.

Have you ever been to an Escape Room event? Picture this-you are locked in a room with clues to help you escape. You have 59 minutes and 59 seconds to get out. There are clues to help you escape. The reward-Chablis wine.

Tracey Letts is a master of dialogue and " Linda Vista" sparkles with some terrific character speeches, such as Wheeler’s discourse on his taste in music in act one. He likes jazz and the Talking Heads and hates Radiohead. “I’m a misanthropic piece of shit,” he says later. The play is having its World Premiere at Steppenwolf in Chicago.

After a brief visit to Zacky's wine shop in Westchester, a salesperson sold me on these wines from Casa Abril selections.

Frank Gehry babysat for Michael Tilson Thomas in Los Angeles where they both grew up. Now they are building a new world for classical music together.

MASS MoCA launches into the summer season on May 28 with the opening of Building 6, the third phase of campus development, which encompasses more than 130,000 square feet of interior renovations to its 19th-century mill buildings.

Musical comedy thriller “No Way to Treat a Lady could be funnier. Lead actor James Hansen misinterprets role in Ft. Lauderdale-area production. The staging, however, features entertaining over-the-top theatricality.

Just a hop skip and jump off 495 in Wrentham is Luciano's one of the great Italian restaurants in he Northeast. Founded in 1991 the food and ambiance is on a par with the best of Vegas or New York's Little Italy. The decor is over the top to complement impeccable service and divine cuisine. Be sure to ask for a table with your back to the wall.