Fuse Coming Attractions: What Will Light Your Fire This Week

Arts Fuse critics select the best in film, theater, music, dance, visual arts, and author events for the coming week.

By The Arts Fuse Staff

Film

Boston Area Film Schedules — What is playing today, Where and When

The Naked Kiss
June 22 at 7 p.m.
Harvard Film Archive

Though August 30, the HFA presents The Complete Sam Fuller. It a series well worth checking out. The Naked Kiss, a fevered and stylized story that is both sentimental and sordid, is a favorite of Fuller fans. The director said that a movie should grab you from the very opening and this film has a doozy of a first scene. From Slant: “The Naked Kiss drops it from frame one, with Constance Towers purse-smacking a P.O.V. shot, brandishing a seltzer bottle and upbraiding her pimp, slapping him in the kisser with her smart handbag until he, flailing, snatches the wig from her newly shaved head. She grabs the dough she’s owed and not one buck more, gives him one last shot and collects her broken looks in a mirror.” No one was quite like Fuller.

The Yes Men Are Revolting
June 23 at 7:30 p.m.
Space Gallery in Portland, ME

The Yes Men Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno are pranksters and activists of the highest order. Their clever and bold work, dedicated to undermining corporate malfeasance and irresponsibility, is laudable. Two early films, The Yes Men and The Yes Men Fix the World, documented their hijinks, and they are remarkable accomplishments. This new film, directed by Laura Nix, proffers a more personal touch and focuses on climate change.

Spike & Mike’s Sick and Twisted Festivals of Animation
June 25 at 7:30 p.m.
Regent Theater, Arlington, MA

This perennial gathering of strange animated films from different countries has found a new home in Arlington, MA. Since 1991 the festival has presented movies that, while admittedly odd, are often of remarkable quality. There have been several award winners in the mix. Screenings are recommended for ages 11 and up.

Womanimation! 2015!
June 27 from 4 to 11 p.m.
AS220’s Black Box, 95 Empire Street, Providence, RI

A unique program of international animation created by women. This year’s program is around 80 minutes long and highlights films from North and South America, Europe, and the Middle East. There are also several US premieres as well. All the movies feature a central female character struggling with challenging issues of self-acceptance. Each of the three screenings ( 4 p.m., 6 p.m., and 8 p.m.) will present a slideshow that introduces the filmmakers. Between and after the screenings, DJ Madame B will weave soundscapes created by women across the globe. Audience members will have an opportunity to vote for their favorite films.

— Tim Jackson


Dance

Mark Morris Dance Group performs Cargo at Tanglewood this weekend. Photo: Susana Millman.

Mark Morris Dance Group performs Cargo at Tanglewood this weekend. Photo: Susana Millman.

The Good Parts of Being Alive
June 26 & 27 at 8 p.m.
Mills Gallery, Boston Center for the Arts
Boston, MA

Anna Reyes Dance and Tamara Al-Mashouk (a video artist) have collaborated  and now present a culminating performance for the company’s residency showcase  — the piece entwines live dance with video.

Dancing in the Streets: Weber Dance
Saturday, June 27 at 8:30 p.m.
ArtFarm
Somerville, MA

Weber Dance returns with its highly-praised Of Looms and Lilies, this time outdoors as part of the Somerville Arts Council’s Dancing in the Streets summer series. The production is based, in part, on the life and work of Henry David Thoreau.

The Choreography of Choreography with Liz Lerman
Sunday, June 28 at 7 p.m.
The Dance Complex
Cambridge, MA

Visionary and artistic educator Liz Lerman comes to Cambridge for this special appearance. Enjoy a lecture by this choreographic icon, along with performance excerpts of Peter DiMuro/Public Displays of Motion’s Nearer, Closer…

And further a field…

Mark Morris Dance Group
June 25 & 26 at 8 p.m.
Seiji Ozawa Hall, Tanglewood Music Center
Lenox, MA

The Mark Morris Dance Group brings a world premiere to beautiful Tanglewood this weekend, among older works.  The occasion marks the debut of The, set to J.S. Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 and commissioned by the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Tanglewood Music Center to celebrate Tanglewood’s 75th Anniversary.

— Merli V. Guerra


Theater

A scene from

Charlie Thurston as Frank and Rachael Warren as Tilly in “Melancholy Play: a chamber musical” by Sarah Ruhl and Todd Almond at Trinity Rep. Photo: Mark Turek.

Melancholy Play: a chamber musical by Sarah Ruhl and Todd Diamond. Directed by Liesl Tommy. Staged by the Trinity Repertory Company in the Dowling Theater, Providence, Rhode Island, through June 28.

“Tony-nominated playwright Sarah Ruhl (The Clean House) teams up with prolific composer Todd Almond (New York’s Public Theater) for this world premiere musical directed by Obie Award-winner Liesl Tommy.”

Edith Can Shoot Things and Hit Them by A. Rey Pamatmat. Directed by Shawn LaCount. Staged by Company One at the Calderwood Pavilion in Deane Hall at the BCA, through June 27.

The New England premiere of A. Rey Pamatmat’s satiric (?) coming-of-age play: “With no parents, little food, and nothing in the bank account, 12-year-old Edith, her brother Kenny, and a giant stuffed frog are doing just fine, thank you very much.”

Henry V by William Shakespeare. Directed by Jenna Ware. Staged by Shakespeare & Company in the Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre, Lenox, MA, through August 23.

Those hungry for more history plays by the Bard after Henry VI, Part 2 have an opportunity to continue the adventure with the prequel: “Henry V is rare among Shakespeare’s works because it contains explicit references to true events in England’s history. Following the death of his father, Prince Hal takes on the crown, rallies his exhausted troops and sets forth to repair his post-civil war nation.” Is the text pro-war? Anti-war? A little of both? It depends on where director Ware puts the emphasis.

Shiver: A Fairytale of Anxious Proportions, written and performed by Project: Project at the Boston Playwrights’ Theatre, 949 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA, through June 28.

In this intriguing effort, Project: Project has adapted an off-the-beaten-path Brothers Grimm fairy tale (“The Boy Who Went Forth to Learn How to Shiver”) for the stage. “Stressed-out academic Charlotte travels to an ancient German archive library in order to dig deeper and learn more about the fairytale. However, instead of finding answers in a book, she tumbles into a world of movement, shadow-play and nightmares, as three stories magically intersect across time and reality.”

Dying City by Christopher Shinn. Directed by Cameron Cronin. Staged by the Happy Medium Theatre in Boston, MA, through July 11.

The local staging of this script—a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama—will be up front and personal. Cronin directs the “star power-house Fringe couple, Kiki Samko and Michael Underhill” in a “play about grief, identity, and violence in the human psyche—the lies, betrayal and self-deceptions and the centrality of hate in human existence.”

As for attending the show, please note that the production will take place in the living room of the performers, so special arrangements have to be made: “Due to the loss of the Factory Theater, HMT had to improvise this whole season and after not much deliberation, we collectively decided to still bring this wonderful piece of theater to the community in the most intimate form possible: the actual home of Kiki Samko and Michael Underhill. For privacy purposes, we are withholding the address in our press releases, but it will be provided by sending a reply email to mikeydiloreto@gmail.com.” Arts Fuse review

The Wakeville Stories by Laurence Carr. Directed by Kristin Dwyer. Staged by the Matty Mae Theatre Project at the Davis Square Theatre on June 26 and at the Somerville Veterans’ Memorial Cemetery (1330 Broadway) on June 21, 27, and 28), Somerville, MA.

A first, at least for me — a theater production staged in a graveyard. “It’s a story set in August 1945 about five people in a small Ohio town, all affected heavily by WW2 and trying to build their futures while struggling with memories of the not-too-distant past.” Playwright Carr says, “it’s realism, a bit of magic realism, and comedy.” Let’s hope that the spirits are not disturbed (could there be the grave of a theater critic out there?) or we may have a Poltergeist-like situation.

L-R: Bridget Saracino as Rachel and Tod Randolph as Zelda. Photo: John Dolan.

L-R: Bridget Saracino as Rachel and Tod Randolph as Zelda in the Shakespeare & Co production of “The How and the Why.” Photo: John Dolan.

The How and the Why by Sarah Treem. Directed by Nicole Ricciardi. Staged by Shakespeare & Company in the Bernstein Theatre, Lenox, MA, through July 26.

Dramatist Sarah Treem once told an interviewer that for a good play, “you put people in a room who have very good reasons to be furious at each other and you don’t let them leave. The How and the Why is somewhat based on that principle.” Tod Randolph and Bridget Saracino star in this production of a clash between two highly intelligent female scientists. See the Arts Fuse feature on The How and the Why. And here is the Arts Fuse review.

Out of Sterno by Deborah Zoe Laufer. Directed by Paula Plum. Staged by the Gloucester Stage Company, 267 Main Street, Gloucester, MA, June 25 through July 18.

This “zany” feminist satire tells “the story of Dotty, who lives a kind of reverse Alice-in-Wonderland existence in the colorful and cartoon-like apartment she shares with her husband Hamel. Dotty’s life in Sterno is a fairy tale despite the fact that, in their seven years of marriage Hamel has forbidden her to leave their tiny apartment or speak to anyone.” The cast includes Amanda Collins, Jennifer Ellis, and Richard Snee.

Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters. Directed by Robert Scanlan. Staged by the Poets’ Theatre at the Modern Theatre, Suffolk University, Boston, MA, June 26 and 27.

A performance reading of a “poetic masterpiece, first published 100 years ago,” that was the inspiration for Thornton Wilder’s Our Town. The cast includes Steven Barkhimer, Marianna Bassham, Benjamin Evett, David Gullette, Caitlin Langstaff, Paula Langton, and Nael Nacer.

The Widow by Amir al-Azraki. Presented by Fort Point Theatre Channel, The Joiner Institute for the Study of War and Social Consequences, The Odysseus Project, and The Center for Arabic Culture at Midway Studios, 15 Channel Center Street, Fort Point, Boston, June 25 at 8 p.m. Free

A reading of a play that “addresses an essential issue: the subjugation of widows in Iraq. Instead of a harmonious society, Iraq is replete with horror stories about violations against widows and divorced women. Al-Azraki depicts the fragile social construct that widowhood has become in this context by revealing the hypocrisy of the so called “Islamic” societies where women are severely victimized by patriarchal ideas, traditional norms, and religious prejudices.”

A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen. A new version written and directed by Robert Kropf. Staged by the Harbor Stage Company at 15 Kendrick Avenue, Wellfleet, MA, through July 11.

As far as I am concerned, you can never have too many productions of Ibsen. Stacy Fischer plays the door-slammer, Nora, in a production which will be an “elegant new version of an enduring classic [that] explores the struggle for authenticity within the confines of an artificial society.”

Thoreau or, Return to Walden, written and performed by David Adkins. Directed by Eric Hill. Staged by the Berkshire Theatre Festival at The Unicorn Theatre (The Larry Vaber Stage), Stockbridge, MA, June 18 through July 11.

Adkins stars in the world premiere production of his homage to the life and thought of Henry David Thoreau. The one-man show is billed as a “dramatic and uplifting tale as he [Thoreau] battles with himself, with his own thirst for blood and for the soul of our American conscience. It’s 1859. The Union is on the verge of civil war over the issue of slavery.” Note that this return to transcendental nature “includes brief nudity.”

Act Without Words I and Come and Go by Samuel Beckett. Short pieces performed with marionettes by Libby Marcus (assistance by Davis Robinson). At the Portland Ballet Studio Theater, 517 Forest Avenue, Portland, ME, June 26 and 27.

An intriguing evening of puppets performing brief works by Modernist master Samuel Beckett — the show includes special appearances by Beckett and W.B. Yeats.

The Gospel According to Thomas Jefferson, Charles Dickens, and Count Leo Tolstoy: Discord by Scott Carter. Directed by Byam Stevens. Staged by the Chester Theater Company at 15 Middlefield Road, Chester, MA, June 24 through July 5.

The East Coast premiere of a script by Scott Carter (Executive Producer of Real Time With Bill Maher) that recycles Sartre’s No Exit. The premise: “an American Founding Father, a British Victorian novelist, and a Russian revolutionary find themselves locked in a room from which there seems to be no exit. How can this trio escape? They will have to collaborate. Discord reveals what happens when great men of history are forced to repeat it.”

Thoroughly Muslim Millie by Ryan Landry. Performed by The Gold Dust Orphans. At the Provincetown Theater, 238 Bradford Street, Provincetown, MA, through September 6.

Leave it to Landry to take musical parody where most American theaters fear to tread. Seen many plays about the Middle East lately? With music? The satiric set-up: “A young girl from a Canadian convent! Thrust across the border into the Middle East and straight into the arms of the Prince of Persia! And what do Dick and Lynne Cheney have to do with all this?” WARNING: This is an ADULT parody! DO NOT BRING YOUR CHILDREN!

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Chris Larson as Philo Farnsworth and Michael Fisher as David Sarnoff in the Flat Earth’s production of “The Farnsworth Invention.” Photo: Jake Scaltreto.

The Farnsworth Invention, by Aaron Sorkin. Directed by Sarah Gazdowicz. Staged Flat Earth at the Arsenal Center for the Arts in Watertown, MA, through June 27.

Sorkin’s play about treachery and technology focuses on “Philo Farnsworth, a child prodigy raised on a farm in rural Idaho, [who] has overcome adversity to create the world’s first electronic television. Meanwhile, employing the top minds of a generation, self-made media mogul David Sarnoff seeks to uncover the secret to Farnsworth’s groundbreaking device through any means necessary.”

— Bill Marx


Jazz

Duchess performs this week at

The trio Duchess performs this week at the Regattabar in Cembridge.

Duchess
June 23, 7:30 p.m.
Regattabar, Cambridge, MA.

Three expert singers with broad experience in all kind of American jazz, pop, and folk — Amy Cervini, Hilary Gardner, and Melissa Stylianou — channel the girl-group swing of the Boswell Sisters, a ’30s trio known for their rhythmic and harmonic sophistication. And their sense of fun. The singers are backed by pianist Michael Cabe, bassist Paul Sikivie, and drummer Jared Schonig.

Eldar
June 25, 8 p.m.
Scullers Jazz Club, Boston, MA.

Keyboard hurricane Eldar Djangirov blows into town with a trio. The former wunderkind, now 28, still has chops to spare, an encyclopedic vocabulary, and even shows occasional touches of lyrical restraint.

Ingrid Laubrock/Tom Rainey
June 26, 7 p.m.
Lily Pad, Cambridge, MA.

The saxophonist and composer Ingrid Laubrock and her husband, drummer Tom Rainey (of Tim Berne’s Snakeoil, among other projects), come to town in support of their new duo CD, And Other Desert Towns. The mostly spontaneous improvisations range in mood from lyrical delicacy to exuberant, focused sprawl— and not without humor (one precisely overstuffed piece is called “Clown Car”).

Eden MacAdam-Somer
June 28, 7 p.m
Jordan Hall, Boston, MA.
Free

The 36-year-old violinist/violist/singer and New England Conservatory musical polymath Eden MacAdam-Somer celebrates the release of her extraordinary My First Love Story at the venue where it was recorded, Jordan Hall. MacAdam-Somer has a deep love of Appalachian fiddle music, but she can also burn Baroque, free-improv, and jazz, often in the same tune. The CD includes her original setting of texts by Rumi, the Ralph Vaughan Williams song cycle “Along the Field,” a gospel-drenched interpretation of Duke Ellington’s “Jump for Joy,” and a whole lot more.

Ayn Inserto Jazz Orchestra
June 29, 7 p.m.
Lily Pad, Cambridge, MA.

Among jazz orchestra composers mentored by the late, great Bob Brookmeyer are John Hollenbeck, Maria Schneider, Darcy James Argue, and Ayn Inserto. Like her peers, Inserto has her own language — bold, unusual forms, rich in harmonic and rhythmic detail, always unfolding with new events. She’ll lead her orchestra in a Boston premiers of a piece dedicated to Brookmeyer, “Ze Teach and Me,” in two movements – the first about Brookmeyer, the second about her. You can also expect a bit from her latest CD, recorded in Italy with an Italian band, Home Away from Home. But tonight it’s a home team of some of the Boston area’s best: reed players Allan Chase, Kelly Roberge, Mark Zaleski, and Kathy Olson; trumpeters Jeff Claassen, Dan Rosenthal, Pete Kenagy, and Matthew Small; trombonists Randy Pingrey, Tim Lienhard, Garo Saraydarian, and Jamie Kember; guitarist Eric Hofbauer; pianist Jason Yeager, bassist Sean Farias, and drummer Austin McMahon.

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Twins of El Dorado and Jonah Parzen-Johnson
June 30, 8 p.m.
Lily Pad, Cambridge, MA.

Singer Kristin Slipp and trumpeter Joe Moffett, both former New England Conservatory students, are the experimental duo Twins of El Dorado, mixing sung lyrics, wordless vocals, and original spoken-word texts. With trumpet, of course. They call what they do “art songs.” I’m good with that. There’s a lot of freedom here, but a lot of compositional focus as well. And Slipp’s crystalline soprano is something to behold. (They also have a sense of humor: “I will not sing an Emily Dickinson poem,” Slipp sings.) You can stream their CD Portend the End. Jonah Parzen-Johnson, meanwhile, is a solo baritone-saxophone performer who likes to multiply his voicings with a synthesizer (no loops!). The art-improv double-bill of the week.

Madeleine Peyroux
June 28, 7 p.m.
Berklee Performance Center, Boston, MA.

Singer-songwriter Madeleine Peyroux approaches modern folk and pop covers (Leonard Cohen, the Beatles, Warren Zevon, Ray Charles), as well as her well-turned originals, through the lens of early swing and blues, all delivered in her distinctive Billie Holiday-like purr. She comes to Berklee with bassist Barak Mori and guitarist Jon Herington.

Ghost Train Orchestra
July 1, 7:30 p.m.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA.

With his Ghost Train Orchestra, trumpeter Brian Carpenter has been taking his painstaking transcriptions of pre-swing jazz, early “chamber jazz,” and other novelties into ever more bold re-imaginings — to good effect. The new Hot Town follows up on 2011’s Hot House Stomp, with selections drawn from the likes of Fess Williams (and his Royal Flush Orchestra), Charlie Johnson, and Tiny Parham.

— Jon Garelick


Roots and World Music

Roberto Cassan, John Muratore, and Marco Pignataro
June 23
Lily Pad, Cambridge

The jazz and tango-leaning duo of accordionist Roberto Cassan and classical guitarist John Muratore are joined by saxophonist Marco Pignataro. The set list will include the wistful, sophisticated tango of Astor Piazzolla and Richard Galliano as well as classical pieces by Claude Debussy and Augustin Barrios.

Sleepy LaBeef -- still performing with panache  at the age of 80.

Sleepy LaBeef — still performing with panache at the age of 80.

Sleepy LaBeef
June 25
Narrows Center for the Arts, Fall River, MA

80-year old LaBeef has moved back home to Arkansas, but he’ll always be beloved in these parts for his long-running regular gig at Alan’s Truckstop in Amesbury. LaBeef’s command of rockabilly, classic country, gospel. and blues is second to none, even if his backing bands aren’t always able to follow him through his medley of masterpieces.

Dwight Yoakam
June 28
Indian Ranch, Webster, MA

Honky tonk stalwart Dwight Yoakam hit a creative rut after splitting with his longtime producer/guitarist Pete Anderson in 2002. But his latest LP (Second Hand Heart) is an effective return to his winning formula. Like his Bakersfield hero Buck Owens, Yoakam isn’t afraid to mix in rockabilly and pop sounds while he keeps the lonesome twang front and center. Even a cover of the overplayed “Man of Constant Sorrow” works well in a high-octane rockabilly arrangement. Still a road warrior, Yoakam delivered a sterling show when he was last at the historic Indian Ranch country music park in 2013.

— Noah Schaffer


Visual Arts

Launchpad of American Theater: The O’Neill Since 1964
June 26 – January 10, 2016

The Gaze Returned: Portrait Studio
June 27 – January 10, 2016
Lyman Allyn Art Museum, New London

American playwright Eugene O’Neill wandered for most of his life, butspent summers growing up at his family place in New London, Connecticut, the setting for his most famous play, A Long Day’s Journey into Night. With his widow’s consent, the Eugene O’Neill Theater in nearby Waterford borrowed his name in 1964 for a new regional theatre founded in an unwanted barn. In the half century that followed, the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center developed into a leading training ground for young theatrical talent, a site for ma-jor theatrical conferences, and a place to nurture new plays from rough script to full stage production. Edward Albee, Christopher Durang, Israel Horowitz, August Wilson, and Wendy Wasserstein are just a few of the glittering names associated with the place.

To celebrate the O’Neill’s fiftieth, New London’s Art Museum, the Lyman Allyn, is mounting Launchpad of American Theater: The O’Neill Since 1964, a multi-media display that includes photographs, videos, drawings, interviews, sound, and original scripts. The show is clearly a stop on any America theatre fan’s summer itinerary.

Also opening at the Lyman Allyn this week is The Gaze Return: Portrait Studio, a summer show featuring more than two dozen portraits from the museum’s permanent collection. The offerings range from the 16th century to the present, as far away as Italy to the museum’s home turf of southeastern Connecticut.

Photo: Courtesy of the Clark Institute

A view of Thomas Schütte’s “Crystal” on the grounds of the Clark Art Institute. Photo: Courtesy of the Clark Art Institute.

Thomas Schütte: Crystal
Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, MA

Düsseldorf-based sculptor Thomas Schütte’s sculpture ranges from the miniature to the ironically monumental: he specializes in small men stuck in mud as well as grotesque bronze figures that tower nearly six meters above the earth. His creations have also included scale-model houses and idealized buildings whose function is contemplative or conceptual or just evasive.

The Clark’s recently-opened Crystal, Schütte’s first full-scale architectural work in the United States, is located on the Clark’s idyllic rural campus outside Williamstown. From its perch at the top of a hillside meadow above the main museum complex, the pavilion-like structure overlooks groves of wild cherry and ash and the Hoosac mountains. It takes the form of a gigantic, asymmetric crystal, wood clad on the inside and sheathed with zinc-coated copper on the outside. Aside from framing the view, the small structure has no obvious purpose, allowing visitors, the museum says, “to construct their own meanings for this newly made place.”

Annual Juried Exhibition: Picture This! 2015
though September 20
Danforth Art Museum, Framingham, MA

Grown from community grass roots, the Danforth is housed in a recycled school in Framingham. Much of the museum’s programming focuses on juried special exhibitions (which revolve around unusual topics) of New England artists. Picture This! is the museum’s annual exhibition of children’s book illustrations, this year ranging widely in styles, media, and genre. The juror was Cathryn Mercier, who directs the Center for the Study of Children’s Literature at Simmons College as well as the school’s graduate degree programs in the Master of Arts in Children’s Literature, the Master of Fine Arts in Writing for Children, and dual degrees involving children’s literature, library science, teaching or writing. Clearly, this will be an exhibition not just for grade school consumption.

— Peter Walsh


Classical Music

Rising Star: Matthew Aucoin & Friends
June 23 at 7:30 p.m.
At the Shalin Liu Performance Center, 37 Main Street, Rockport, MA

Composer, conductor, poet, and pianist Matthew Aucoin leads an evening of his works: the musicians include violinist Keir GoGwilt, cellist Andrew Janss, bassist Lizzie Burns, countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo, mezzo-soprano Tynan Davis, and pianist George Fu.

Prèire
June 23 at 8 p.m.
At St Peter’s Church, 320 Boston Post Road, Weston, MA
Same program on June 24 at 8 p.m. at the Chapel at West Parish, 129 Reservation Road, Andover, MA and on June 25 at 8 p.m. at the Lindsey Chapel at Emmanuel Church, 15 Newbury Street, Boston, MA

The Society for Historically Informed Performance presents a joint project between Tramontana and Long & Away:  performance features some of the most sublime French sacred music of the 17th century by Charpentier, Lully, Dumont, and Marais – all composers associated with the court of Louis XIV.

Boston Symphony Chamber Players with pianist Emmanuel Ax
June 25 at 8 p.m.
At the Shalin Liu Performance Center, 37 Main Street, Rockport, MA

On the program: Schumann’s Adagio and Allegro for horn and piano, Op. 70 and Piano Quintet in E-flat major, Op. 44; Mozart’s Quartet in F major for oboe and strings, K.370.

Chopin & His World
June 27 at 7:30 p.m.
At the Rivers School Conservatory, 333 Winter Street, Weston, MA

The young artists of RSC’s Chopin Institute join forces with guest artists Gila Goldstein, Ya-Fei Chuang, and Antonio Pompa-Baldi in performances of works for solo piano, piano four hands, two pianos, and two pianos/eight hands. On the program: wirks by Chopin, Schumann, Mendelssohn, Liszt, Onslow, Schubert and Moscheles.

Hello

Cuarteto Latinoamericano will perform in Rockport this week.

Cuarteto Latinoamericano
June 28 at 5 p.m.
At the Shalin Liu Performance Center, 37 Main Street, Rockport, MA

This award-winning ensemble from Mexico was formed in 1982 and consists of the three Bitrán brothers, violinists Saúl and Arón and cellist Alvaro, along with violist Javier Montiel. Their CD Brasileiro, works of Mignone won a Latin Grammy for Best Classical Recording in 2012. On the program: Francisco Mignone’s Quartet No. 2; Manuel Ponce’s Estrellita and Gavota; Astor Piazolla’s Four for Tango; Villa-Lobos’ Quartet No. 5; Alberto Ginastera’s Quartet No. 2.

Chopin & His World
June 28 at 7 p.m.
At the Rivers School Conservatory, 333 Winter Street, Weston, MA

The program, presented by the RSC’s Chopin Institute, is entitled ‘Chopin at the Salons Pleyel’ — the evening will be a re-enactment of Chopin’s 1832 debut concert in Paris.

— Susan Miron


Rock

Rush
June 23
TD Garden, Boston, MA

Prog-rockers Rush are one of those bands that you either get or you don’t. Frankly, I don’t. That said, ever since I saw the excellent Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage documentary a few years ago, I’ve refused to belittle them or their very (very) committed fan base. In the film, the members of Rush come across as down-to-earth guys with not one oversized rock star ego among them. Maybe it’s because they’re Canadian. This is not only the group’s 40th anniversary tour, it is also (so they say) their last tour.

Morrissey
June 24
Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts, Worcester, MA

The Moz returns. Last time he was in our area he ended up hospitalized and cancelling the remainder of his tour. Hopefully, things will go better for the indie-legend this time, as he continues to promote his latest release, 2014’s World Peace Is None of Your Business.

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Buffalo Tom
June 26 and 27
The Sinclair, Cambridge, MA

Boston-legends Buffalo Tom play not one, but two shows at the Sinclair this month. The group’s shows are few and far between so if you’re looking for a nice trip down memory lane, this might be one of your final chances for a while.

Huey Lewis and the News
June 27
Indian Ranch, Webster, MA

Speaking of trips down memory lane…Huey Lewis and the News! “The Power of Love”…“I Want a New Drug”…“If This is It”…the group have never exactly been “cool,” but they know the songs you want to hear (again), and they’re not at all opposed to playing them.

Melvins
June 27
Paradise Rock Club, Boston, MA

Before fellow Aberdeen, Washington-native Kurt Cobain come up with his world-conquering sound, the Melvins mixed metal, punk, and everything in between to help create the template for what would become grunge. Unlike so many of their contemporaries, the group still makes new music (2014 brought Hold It In) and tours extensively.

Upcoming and On Sale…

Brian Wilson (with Rodriguez) (7/2/2015, Blue Hills Bank Pavilion); U2 (7/10, 11, 14, 15/2015, TD Garden); Green River Fest (featuring Steve Earle, Punch Brothers, and tUnE-yArDs) (7/10-12/2015, Greenfield Community College); Mudhoney (7/11/2015, Brighton Music Hall); Billy Joel (7/16/2015, Fenway Park); Raekwon & Ghostface Killah (7/17/2015, Paradise Rock Club); Foo Fighters (7/18-19/2015, Fenway Park); Neil Young + Promise of the Real (7/22/2015, Xfinity Center); Modest Mouse (7/23/2015, Blue Hills Bank Pavilion); Interpool (7/23-24/2015, House of Blues); Greg Trooper (7/25/2015, Atwood’s Tavern); Bombino (7/27/2015, The Sinclair); X (7/30/2015, The Sinclair); Veruca Salt (7/30/2015, Paradise Rock Club); (the) Thurson MoOre Baand (8/2/2015, The Sinclair); Brandon Flowers (8/3/2015, House of Blues); Jamie XX (8/9/2015, The Sinclair); Dick Dale (8/15/2015, Middle East-Downstairs); Willie Nelson & Family (8/21/2015, Blue Hills Bank Pavilion); AC/DC (8/22/2015, Gillette Stadium); Counting Crows (8/23/2015, Blue Hills Bank Pavilion); Social Distortion (8/23/2015, House of Blues); J. Geils Band (8/27/2015, Blue Hills Bank Pavilion); The Vaccines (8/30/2015, The Sinclair); Death Cab For Cutie (9/11/2015, Blue Hills Bank Pavilion); Rancid (9/15/2015, House of Blues); Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters (9/20/2015, Blue Hills Bank Pavilion); Albert Hammond Jr. (9/20/2015, The Sinclair); Bob Mould (9/23/2015, The Sinclair); Frank Turner & the Sleeping Souls (9/25/2015, House of Blues); Boston Calling (featuring Avett Brothers, Alt-J, and Alabama Shakes) (9/25-27/2015, City Hall Plaza); Ghost (9/28/2015, House of Blues); The Jesus and Mary Chain (9/29/2015, House of Blues); Kurt Vile and the Violators (10/2/2015, Paradise Rock Club); Kraftwerk (10/3/2015, Wang Theatre); Ride (10/3/2015, Paradise Rock Club); Mark Knopfler (10/9/2015, Orpheum Theatre); Catfish and the Bottlemen (10/16/2015, Royale); Garbage (10/21/2015, Orpheum Theatre); Ringo Starr and His All Star Band (10/23/2015, Citi Performing Arts Center); The Who (10/29/2015, TD Garden)

— Adam Ellsworth


Author Events

Juniper Institute Reading Series
James Tate, Yannick Murphy, Joy Williams, Eula Bliss, Brian Evenson, and others
June 21 – 27 at 7:30 p.m.
Integrated Sciences Building at Umass Amherst, Amherst MA
$5 tickets per evening

As part of its summer literary festival, the Juniper Institute at Umass-Amherst gathers together a superb collection of poets. Each night features multiple readers, ranging from widely anthologized poets like James Tate to acclaimed fiction writers like Joy Williams and Brian Evenson.

Author Vendela Vida --

Author Vendela Vida — reading from her third novel this week at the Harvard Book Store.

Vendela Vida
The Diver’s Clothes Lie Empty
June 23 at 7 p.m.
Harvard Book Store, Cambridge MA
Free

The acclaimed author and scriptwriter will read and sign copies of her third novel, which concerns a woman on a trip to Morocco whose possessions are stolen from her hotel room. The loss initially strikes her as liberating, but the  loss of her identification also brings a whirlwind of possibilities, narrative and existential, comic and tragic. Arts Fuse review.

Harvard Book Store Summer Warehouse Sale
Saturday June 27 to Sunday June 28 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Harvard Book Store Warehouse, 14 Park St Somerville MA
Free

It’s the most wonderful time of the year for book collectors, bargain shoppers, and the curious bibliophile. The Harvard Book Store opens its summer warehouse, chock full of used, remaindered, and collectible titles to choose from. Tweet your favorite finds using the hashtag #HBSWarehouseSale and you could win a $25 gift card.

Communal Reading of “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”
June 28 at 4 p.m.
Underground Railroad Site at 25 Frederick Douglass Ave, Brockton MA
Brockton, MA
Free and open to the public

Be inspired by Frederick Douglass’s fiery speech of July 5, 1852, where Douglass took exception to the country’s commemorating the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The event is free and open to the public; it will begin at the Underground Railroad site in Brockton and then travel to the Frederick Douglass Neighborhood Association garden.

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Ann Hood
Providence Noir: Readings by Hood and selected authors
June 28 at 2 p.m.
Newtonville Books, Newton Centre MA
Free

Akashic Books continues its popular city noir series, this time supplying a richly shaded alternative view of the city of Providence. Ann Hood, the volume’s editor, and other contributors will read “stories to make you shiver, stories to make you think, stories that will show my beautiful, noirish city in a way it’s never been highlighted before.”

Tracy Slater
The Good Shufu: Finding Love, Self, and Home on the Far Side of the World
June 30 at 7 p.m.
Newtonville Books, Newton Centre MA
Free

Shufu is Japanese for “housewife” and this is the last thing Tracy Slater ever thought she’d be. A Boston- raised writer and academic, Slater’s life went topsy-turvy once she fell in love with an Osaka man who barely spoke her language. In the release party for her new memoir, Slater takes us through her unlikely story of discovering love, identity, and fulfillment through domesticity.

Jessica Fechtor
Stir: My Broken Brain and the Meals That Brought Me Home
June 30 at 7 p.m.
Harvard Square Books, Cambridge MA
Free

At 28, Jessica Fechtor was happy and looking forward to life after grad school. Going for a run one day, an aneurism burst in her brain, robbing her of her sense of smell, the sight in one eye, and nearly killing her. Her psychological recovery began in the kitchen, where she drew strength from cooking and baking. The writer of the popular food blog Sweet Amandine will read and sign copies of her memoir.

— Matt Hanson

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