Our expert critics supply a guide to film, visual art, theater, author readings, and music. More offerings will be added as they come in.

Film

Boston Jewish Film Festival
Through November 17 in person; 18–20 online
Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, online and other venues

Since 1988, BJFF has featured international award-winning films on Jewish topics and themes. This year there are 15 features and a FreshFlix Short Film Competition. Movies will be shown across West Newton, Cambridge, and Boston. Several have multiple screenings and times. Check here for Film Schedule and Descriptions (Arts Fuse review).

Columbia 100: Noirvember
Through November 13
The Brattle Theatre, Cambridge

Film and culture writer Marya E. Gates will appear with a program of her favorite film noirs released by Columbia Pictures as a part of an extended 100th birthday tribute to that studio.

Time and descriptions linked in film titles.

The Big Heat (Fritz Lang 1953) on November 10

Human Desire (Fritz Lang 1954) on November 10

The Sniper (Edward Dmytryk 1952) on November 11

Underworld U.S.A. (Samuel Fuller 1961) on November 13

The Crimson Kimono (Samuel Fuller 1959) on November 13

The Jenni Olson Queer Film Collection
November 10 through 24
Harvard Film Archive, Cambridge

Queer film historian and archivist, writer, and filmmaker Jenni Olson has been widely acclaimed for her unique approach to cinematic storytelling. She will be in attendance from November 15 through 19 to present a special two-part series. The first showcases a selection of archival 35mm, 16mm, and Super 8 LGBTQ film prints ranging from vintage feature films and ephemeral educational shorts to classic movie trailers and home movies. The second part offers a retrospective of Olson’s own work as an acclaimed experimental filmmaker. Highlights of the series include Olson’s curated vintage 35mm trailer programs: Neo Homo Promo and Afro Promo, offering a whirlwind ride through LGBTQ and Black film history, respectively. They also revel in the rewards of the three-minute cinematic art form. 

The Glassworker
November 15 at 6 p.m.
Bright Family Screening Room, 559 Washington Street, Boston

From Pakistan’s first hand-drawn animation studio and director Usman Riaz comes a stunning and critically celebrated animated feature film. Young Vincent and his father Tomas run the finest glass workshop in the country. But they find their lives upended by an impending war they want no part of. The arrival in their town of an army colonel and his young, talented violinist daughter, Alliz, shakes their convictions and tests the relationship between father and son.

Wicked Queer: Docs
November 15–16

This year’s LGBTQ+ Film Festival documentary selections will be screened at three venues and online.

George Michael: Portrait of an Artist on November 15 at 7 p.m.
Museum of Fine Arts Boston

Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story on November 16 at 2:30 p.m.
Museum of Fine Arts Boston

Seven Films at the Brattle Theatre
November 16 through 18

S/He Is Still Her/e: The Official Genesis P-Orridge Documentary on November 22 at 7 p.m.
Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston

Virtual Screenings : These are “pay what you can” starting at $5. All films are only available to stream in Massachusetts unless stated otherwise. Schedule

Attack of the B-Movies
November 17 at 12:30 and 2 p.m.

With a 2-for-1 price of $5 you get a bargain: a pair of nostalgic throwbacks to the cinematic age of cheap thrills, “when monsters were monsters, and men were badly dubbed.”

The Wasp Woman at 12:30 p.m.
A cosmetics queen is transformed into a murderous monster after she uses an insect chemical to preserve her beauty.

The Monster from Green Hell at 2 p.m.
A scientific expedition in Africa investigates wasps that have been exposed to radiation and mutated into giant killing monsters.

Ester Krumbachová: The Secret Weapon of the Czech New Wave
November 19–21
Brattle Theatre in Cambridge

Through her inimitable work as a costume designer, art director, and screenwriter, Krumbachová was one of the key visionaries of the Czech New Wave of the ’60s and early ’70s. She left an indelible imprint on some of the movement’s defining films, forging a boldly anarchic, surreal, often defiantly feminine aesthetic to match the freewheeling spirit of the times. Her sole directorial effort, the satanic feminist farce Murdering the Devil, is as wickedly subversive as anything the New Wave produced.

Daisies on November 19 & 20

Murdering the Devil on November 20 & 21

A Report on the Party and the Guests on November 18 & 21

Valerie and Her Week of Wonders on November 21

Boston Turkish Festival’s Documentary and Short Film Competition
November 23–December 6
Museum of Fine Arts

The 19th Boston Turkish Festival’s Documentary and Short Film Competition opens with the international premiere of Tears of Cem Karaca, a biopic by Yüksel Aksu about the legendary musician known for his influential role in Turkey’s rock and pop music along with his political activism. Also screening is a remastered version of Fatih Akin’s 2005 documentary Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul, which offers a vivid look at the city’s diverse music scene.

Tears of Cem Karaca on November 23 at 2 p.m.

Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul (Fatih Akin) on November 24 2:30 p.m.

Competition Finalists Streaming Online
November 25–December 6

Winners
November 24 at 11 a.m.
Coolidge Corner Cinema

The Goethe-Institut Boston presentation tells the inspirational story of an 11-year-old Kurdish girl, Mona, a Syrian refugee who belongs to a Kurdish family of seven who escaped from Syria and now live in Berlin. “She’s still learning German and misses her hometown and playing soccer with her friends. Chaos is the order of the day at her new school, where most of the teachers are worn to a frazzle and the students are just as frustrated with their teachers. When Mr. Che, the coach of the girls’ soccer team, sees Mona’s soccer skills, he puts her on the team. Although they are training for an upcoming tournament for all of Berlin’s schools, the team is anything but harmonious. Mona is singled out and blamed for the team’s troubles. With the tournament quickly approaching, they realize that if they want to win, they must stop fighting, treat each other as equals, and learn the true meaning of teamwork.”

Pick of the Week

Blue Jean (2022)
Hulu, Amazon, Free on Hoopla

It is 1988 and a law stigmatizing gays and lesbians is about to pass during the rise of Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government. A closeted gym teacher goes to extremes to hide her sexuality. Generating mounting tension, the film details the cost of living with fear under systemic bigotry. Director Georgia Oakley’s first feature evokes the period brilliantly, with sound bites from the era and a dreamlike landscape rendered in gorgeous compositions that are saturated in hues of blue. Rosy McEwen gives a brilliant lead performance as Jean, supported by a terrific cast.

This month’s Wicked Queer Docs program, the Jenni Olson series at the HFA, and Daniel Craig (James Bond) starring in the soon-to-be-released film Queer (Luca Guadagnino’s adaptation of William S. Burroughs’s novella of the same name) are reminders that stories that highlight LGBTQ+ humanity are needed at a time when repression and intolerance are likely be on the rise.

— Tim Jackson

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Popular Music

Adrianne Lenker with Suzanne Vallie
November 12 and 13 (shows at 8)
Shubert Theatre (Boch Center), Boston

Given that Adrianne Lenker’s decade-long success shows no signs of abating, Bright Future could be interpreted as an ironic, optimistic, or — to the more cynical–– falsely modest title. Her latest is her fifth solo album since 2014, during which time she has also released the same number of LPs with her massively acclaimed band, Big Thief. (Click here for Paul Robicheau’s Arts Fuse coverage.) “Evol,” “Free Treasure,” “No Machine,” and “Donut Seam” are standouts on an album with no want of amazing songs. The 2012 Berklee grad will perform back-to-back shows at the Schubert Theatre on November 12 and 13.

Marshall Crenshaw with James Mastro 
November 13 (doors at 5:30/show at 7:30)
City Winery, Boston

Marshall Crenshaw (click for my 2014 interview) has maintained an admirably consistent career since releasing his eponymous debut in 1982. While his profile is comparatively low (presumably on purpose) and his commercial success unremarkable, the Motor City native has always managed to land on his feet in a manner that not only sustains him but allows him to thrive on his own terms. Soundtracks have proved to be a particular cash cow, as he contributed to the double platinum La Bamba soundtrack in 1987, co-wrote a top 10 hit — “Til I Hear it From You” — with Gin Blossoms for the 1995 movie Empire Records, and earned Golden Globe and Grammy nominations for co-composing the theme song to 2007’s Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. In 2017, he became — along with Gin Blossoms’ Robin Wilson — one of the guest vocalist for The Smithereens, taking over for the late original singer, Pat DiNizio. On Wednesday at City Winery, he will draw upon his treasure trove of solo material, which includes “Someday, Someway,” “You’re My Favorite Waste of Time,” “Whenever You’re on my Mind,” and “Calling Out For Love (At Crying Time).”

Ratboys and Palehoud with youbet
November 15 (doors at 7/show at 8)
The Sinclair, Cambridge

In April, I saw Ratboys headline a sold-out show at the 300-capacity SPACE in Portland, Maine. Less than one month later, I was present when the Chicago quartet opened for The Decemberists at Roadrunner, which accommodates 3,500 attendees. (Click here for my review of that show.) Now, as 2024 nears its end, they will be co-topping a bill at The Sinclair with Palehound, the 2015 winner of the Boston Music Award for New Artist of the Year. Shepherded by the unique vocals and sharp lyricism of Julia Steiner, Ratboys is clearly on a slow but certain rise and will likely to be alone atop the lineups of the shows they will play in 2025.

A.C. Newman with Landlady (solo)
November 20 (doors at 5:30/show at 7:30)
City Winery, Boston

Singer and songwriter A.C. Newman (aka Carl Newman) was already something of a veteran of the Canadian indie scene by the time The New Pornographers firmly established themselves as a critical and fan favorite in the early aughts. His two former bands, Superconductor and Zumpano, each released two LPs in the early and mid-’90s. In the wake of the acclaim afforded by The New Pornographers LPs Mass Romantic (2000) and The Electric Version (2003), Newman recorded his first solo effort, The Slow Wonder, in 2004. This collection kept his winning streak unabated, with the power pop gems “Miracle Drug” and “On the Table” lining up comfortably alongside slower, reflective numbers like “Drink to Me Babe, Then” and “Come Crash,” the buoyant “Secretarial” and “35 in the Shade,” and the rockin’, uptempo “The Town Halo.” Whichever your personal favorites might be, Newman will be playing them when he celebrates The Slow Wonder’s 20th anniversary at City Winery on November 20.

The Smithereens ft. guest vocalist Robin Wilson (Gin Blossoms)
November 22 (doors at 5:30/show at 7:30)
City Winery, Boston

Between 2011 and 2017, The Smithereens released their first album of original material in 12 years (2011), opened for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (2013), and returned to headlining in their own right (including 2015 shows at Johnny D’s and Larcom Theatre, the latter of which I reviewed). Sadly, lead singer and songwriter Pat DiNizio died in 2017. Determined to not deny fans live access to their amazing catalog of songs, guitarist Jim Babjak, drummer Dennis Diken (click for my Arts Fuse interview), and bassist Mike Mesaros decided to continue touring by enlisting Marshall Crenshaw and Gin Blossoms singer Robin Wilson as guest vocalists. While you can catch Crenshaw at City Winery on the 13th, Wilson will be taking the mic at the same venue when the 2018 New Jersey Hall of Fame inductees take the stage alongside him on the 22nd.

Steve Forbert 
November 22, The Center for the Arts, Natick (show at 8)
November 23, Shalin Liu Performance Center, Rockport (show at 8)

Steve Forbert’s six-decade-spanning career has been marked by some interesting highlights. Music observers mentioned him among several contenders for “the new Bob Dylan” at the time of his 1978 debut, Alive on Arrival. Thirty-six years later, a cut from that album, “Grand Central Station, March 18, 1977,” was included on Village Voice’s 2014 list of “The 60 Greatest Songs Ever Written About New York City” (not bad for a Mississippi native).

In 1979, Forbert missed the top 10 by one spot with what would become his trademark single, “Romeo’s Tune,” which Keith Urban covered in 2007. In 1983, he appeared in the unforgettable video (man in tux at 3:44) for Cyndi Lauper’s timeless single “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.” Twenty-one years later, the then 50-year-old received a Best Traditional Folk Grammy nomination (his first) in 2004 for Any Old Time: Songs of Jimmie Rodgers. More recently, Forbert became a published memoirist when Big City Cat: My Life in Folk Rock appeared in 2018. His latest offering, Daylight Savings Time, arrived in September. Highlights on this stripped-down 10-track set include “Purple Toyota,” “The Blues” (which namedrops Janis Joplin and Amy Winehouse), “Simon Says” (which cleverly quotes a classic song by Free), and the album-closing “Guilt Tripper.”

Shemekia Copeland
November 24 (doors at 5:30/show at 7:30)
City Winery, Boston

Shemekia Copeland has earned seven Grammy nominations between 2000 and 2024. Although she has yet to take home a trophy, she will be in contention at the 2025 ceremony Best Contemporary Blues Album and Best American Roots Performance, both for the LP Blame It On Eve. (These are her fourth nomination in the former category and her first in the latter, in addition to two for Best Blues Album.) While a Grammy has eluded her, she has been much more successful with awards devoted specifically to the blues, garnering dozens of awards and nominations at the Blues Music Awards and Living Blues Awards. Her upcoming show at City Winery will showcase Blame It On Eve, which became her second Billboard Blues Albums chart-topper in September.

— Blake Maddux

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Visual Arts

Back in January, Trevor Fairbrother wrote in these pages about the public controversies and commentaries around Cyrus Dallin’s monumental sculpture, Appeal to the Great Spirit, long a prominent fixture at the Huntington Avenue Entrance of the Museum of Fine Arts. In some ways the institutional and individual ruminations over the meaning of Dallin’s sculpture of a mounted Native American that Fairbrother describes — tribute or colonialist stereotype? authentic empathy or patronizing pastiche? — now seem to belong to a distant past moment, a “Lost Age of Woke.” The MFA has, however, kept the conversation going with Huntington Avenue Entrance Commission: The Knowledge Keepers, opening November 14.

The MFA commissioned The Knowledge Keepers from Alan Michelson, a Mohawk member of the Six Nations of the Grand River, who studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts. The installation will consist of two monumental works for the empty plinths behind the Dallin work. They would seem to be intended as a kind of corrective for the cultural and political ambiguities Fairbrother identified. The piece “is the first of a new series of annual commissions that engages artists to create site-specific artworks for the Museum’s Huntington Avenue Entrance.”

Two exhibitions opening at the Florence Griswold Museum on November 16 continue the theme of historic images vs. contemporary Native American artworks. Native Prospects: Ingenuity and Landscape juxtaposes works by Hudson River School painter Thomas Cole, including American landscapes and native figures, with historic Native American objects and, most importantly, contemporary works by Native American artists. The show and its catalogue were assembled by an impressive all-native list of curators, scholars, writers, and artists.

The Griswold’s Naquitwowok/Continua: Connecticut’s Tribal Communities Create was gathered to complement Native Prospects. It is being curated by representatives of Connecticut’s five recognized tribes. The show “will contain work representing an array of media as well as contributions from adults and youth, in keeping with the theme of continuity through time.”

The RISD Museum’s The Road Less Traveled: Edo’s Nakasendo, opening November 16, is about just that: the less traveled of the two main highways that connected Edo, the modern Japanese capital (now Tokyo) with the ancient capital of Kyoto during the Edo Period (1650-1868). In contrast to the more congested coastal Tokaido highway, the Nakasendo followed a leisurely, scenic route through the central plains and highlands of the island of Honshu, past snow-covered mountains and serene lakes. The RISD show features an 1819 map by Katsushika Hokusai “that details the Kakasendo route and its 69 post stations,” accompanied by 15 woodblock prints of the road’s most famous views, including the floating castle of Lake Suwa.

At the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield, Connecticut, Martha Diamond: Deep Time opens on November 17. The show, which was on view at the Colby College Museum of Art last summer, surveys Diamond’s work from 1969 (when she set up her Manhattan studio) to her death in 2023 at the age of 79. It proposes “deep time” as a way to understand the totality of her work. “Your life is defined in time,” Diamond says. “The way I relate to this in my work is by thinking of infinity: to the time of religion, of history … using shapes that have been significant to people for thousands of years.”

Out on Cape Cod, the Cape Cod Museum of Art’s off-season show, Think Big, Work Small, is a collaborative group exhibition of artists who call themselves ArtSynergies. The quartet uses printmaking methods with photography and digital methods to create “stylistically diverse imagery.” The show opens November 21.

As a literary metaphor, wallpaper often suggests actors in the background, albeit sometimes with sinister undertones. The examples in The Art of French Wallpaper Design, opening November 15 at the RISD Museum, will have none of that. Featuring more that 100 samples, wallpapers and related, collected by Charles and Francis Hubbard in the 1920s and 30s, and now in the care of the museum, the exhibition shows off the elaborate designs, some inspired by ancient Roman wall murals, that surely were scene stealers wherever they were installed. Created by elaborate technical processes, the designs also illustrate the impressive skills needed to create them.

— Peter Walsh

Given where American politics is headed, artists and the rest of us will have to pick up pointers on the demands of organizing and protest. The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study‘s Rhyme, Rhythm, and Resistance: Enacting the Art of Dissent (at the Lia and William Poorvu Gallery, Schlesinger Library, 3 James Street, Cambridge, through March 23, 2025) comes along at a propitious time. “Drawn from the Schlesinger Library’s extensive collections, the show explores the people behind protest songs, poetry and spoken word, musicals and plays, and the movements that made them. Rhyme, Rhythm, and Resistance follows a centuries-long effort in the United States to reconcile a poor regard for women’s experiences with a lack of care from parties in power. Using affect theory as a framework, we aim to provide space to take women’s words as seriously as their actions and a critical feminist lens through which to view motivations for speaking up.”

— Bill Marx

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Theater

COVID PROTOCOLS: Check with specific theaters.

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein by David Catlin. Directed by Brian Isaac Phillips. Produced by the Merrimack Repertory Theatre in partnership with the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company at the Nancy L. Donahue Theatre at Liberty Hall, Lowell, through November 24.

According to the MRT publicity, this stage version “elucidates not only the fictional story of the novel, but also the true events of how the book came to be written. Brace yourself for an adventure into the heart of darkness with this fresh interpretation of the legendary tale. As the theater darkens, you will find yourself questioning: what makes us monsters?” Arts Fuse review

Pru Payne by Steven Drukman. Directed by Paul Daigneault. Staged by SpeakEasy Stage Company at the Roberts Studio Theatre in the Stanford Calderwood Pavilion
at the Boston Center for the Arts, 527 Tremont Street, Boston, through November 16.

The East Coast premiere of a dramedy that “tells the story of Prudence ‘Pru’ Payne, a sharp-tongued intellectual and critic who recently signed on to share her extraordinary life in an eagerly awaited memoir. But when Pru’s memory starts to fade, her son sets her up in a state-of-the-art care facility, where love takes hold just as the world she once knew begins to slip away.” The topnotch cast includes Gordon Clapp, Karen MacDonald, Marianna Bassham, De’Lon Grant, and Greg Maraio. Arts Fuse review

Tartuffe by Molière. Translated by Richard Wilbur. Directed by Bryn Boice. Staged by the Hub Theatre Company of Boston at the Boston Center for the Arts Plaza Theatre, 539 Tremont, Street, through November 24. Donations of new and gently loved children’s books will be collected at each show for local charities.

Another go at the classic takedown of incredulous people caught in the machinations of religious (and lascivious) hucksters. The cast includes Steve Auger, Lily Ayotte, Jeremy Beazlie, Patrick Curran, Lauren Elias June Kfoury, Brendan O’Neill, Brooks Reeves, Laura Rocklyn, Kayla Sessoms, and Robert Thorpe.

Leonora, la maga y la maestra, conceived, created, and directed by Stacy Klein. Staged by Double Edge Theatre at 948 Conway Road, Ashfield, MA, through November 17.

Conceived and directed by Double Edge’s founder and vision strategist Stacy Klein, Leonora, la maga y la maestra is inspired by the visual art, writings, and life of British-born Mexican artist Leonora Carrington and her mentorship of a long line of male artists. This dream-like performance piece unfolds as an encounter between Leonora and Adán (everyman); at its best, it evokes the magic, mystery, and humanity found in Carrington’s eccentric but spellbinding work. This revival follows the company’s international tour to Poland and Norway, where the piece was further adapted and developed. I saw an earlier version of the production, and it was a dazzlingly surreal eyeful.

Galileo’s Daughter by Jessica Dickey. Directed by Reena Dutt. A co-production of WAM Theatre and Central Square Theatre. At Central Square Theatre, 450 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, November 14 through December 8.

Another theatrical perspective on Galileo: “Rattled by a personal crisis, a playwright flees to Florence to study the letters between Galileo and his eldest daughter Maria Celeste. Caught up in the threats against her father, Maria must abandon her work and join a convent. The writer’s discovery of Maria’s strength and tenacity inspires her own pursuit of purpose. Alternating between past and present, this play is a personal examination of faith, forgiveness, and the cost of seeking and speaking truth.”

The Possibilitarian Imperative Everything Show and Gray Lady Cantata #9. Written and staged by Bread & Puppet Theater. Directed by Peter Schumann. At the Maine Irish Heritage Center, 34 Gray Street, Portland, ME, on November 12 at 7 p.m. At the Friends Meeting House, 5 Longfellow Park, Cambridge, November 15 at 7 p.m.

“A double bill crafted for this exact moment: The word ‘possibilitarian’ is a Marc Estrin translation of Robert Musil’s term “möglichkeitsmensch” from his novel The Man Without Qualities, about the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The term was invigorated by Margaret Thatcher’s remark on capitalism: “there is no alternative,” to which we respond in The Possibilitarian Imperative Everything Show: ‘there are a thousand alternatives!'” Gray Lady Cantata #9 continues a series of shows made in the ’60s and ’70s in response to the Vietnam War. This new iteration features texts from Palestinians living through the war in Gaza. With the iconic gray lady puppets from the original production moving through vignettes both dreamlike and brutal, Gray Lady Cantata #9 offers meditations on grief, war, and resistance.” Two local stops on a fall tour that moves from New England down to New York City and Washington DC to Charlotte, North Carolina, and Lewisburg, West Virginia.

Did You Eat? (밥 먹었니?), written and performed by Zoë Kim. Directed by Chris Yejin. Co-produced by CHUANG Stage and Seoulful Productions at the Plaza Black Box Theatre, 539 Tremont Street, Boston, through November 30.

The world premiere of a one-person drama that is billed as a “love letter to the inner child.” This is “Kim’s autobiographical journey through love’s many forms — how it’s learned, given, and reflected inward.” The performer “shapeshifts into the souls of her family into a whirlwind of memory, where tears and laughter collide. It’s not just a story, but a reckoning — weaving through the soft threads of Korean/American identity, belonging, and healing.”

Sojourners by Mfoniso Udofia. Directed by Dawn M. Simmons. Staged by the Huntington Theatre Company at the Huntington Stage, 264 Huntington Avenue, Boston, through December 1.

The first production of what will be an ambitious city-wide production (over the course of two seasons) of the complete nine-play Ufot Family Cycle, a Nigerian American family story by the Massachusetts-raised playwright Mfoniso Udofia. Here’s the plot of the first play in the series, according to the HTC website: “Marriage, migration, and the pursuit of education collide with surprising humor when a young and brilliant Nigerian couple arrives in Houston in 1978, looking to earn their degrees and bring insights back to their home country. But when Abasiama discovers that her husband has been seduced by Motown records and American culture, she begins a surprising friendship with a local woman named Moxie.”

Note: “This Cycle marks the first time all nine plays will be complete and performed in their intended order. In addition to producing the first three plays, The Huntington will also serve as a motherboard of resources and connection to bolster the creative process and success of the remaining six productions that will be mounted through 2026 by and with arts organizations, universities, social organizations, non-profits, and a host of community activation partners.”

Dinner for One by Christina Baldwin, Sun Mee Chomet, and Jim Lichtscheidl. Directed by Weylin Symes. Staged by the Greater Boston Stage Company, 395 Main Street, Stoneham, MA, through November 17.

The New England premiere of a feel-good play that sounds, at least in the GBSC description, like a sunnyside variation on the film Sunset Boulevard: “Experience a New Year’s Eve party like no other … where Miss Sophie’s devoted butler, James, hilariously impersonates four of her long-lost lovers. As the night unfolds, unexpected mishaps and a bit too much wine lead to uproarious and unpredictable outcomes.” Paul Melendy and Debra Wise star.

The Thanksgiving Play by Larissa FastHorse. Directed by Tara Moses. Staged by Moonbox Productions at Arrow Street, 2 Arrow Street, Cambridge, November 21 through December 15.

According to Moonbox Productions website, this revival of Fasthorse’s script raises some interesting queries: “Isn’t it time we rethink Thanksgiving? That’s the question on the table when four politically correct performers get together to create a new take on the traditional holiday pageant. Good intentions turn into outright tension as the group struggles to re-envision history, all without ruffling any feathers. Rambunctious, wild, and fearless, this satire serves up history and humor with a steaming side dish of uniquely American hypocrisy. Are you ready to eat your words?”

Note: “With each show, Moonbox Productions partners with a local non-profit, to raise awareness for their cause, create connections for them within the community and increase the reach and impact of their work. For the production of The Thanksgiving Play Moonbox will be partnering with North American Indian Center of Boston (NAICOB).”

Quíntuples by Luis Rafael Sánchez. Directed by Emineh De Lourdes. Presented by the BoriCorridor Tour initiative at the Liebergott Black Box Theatre, Boston, on November 14 at 7 p.m. Also at the Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, CT, on November 16 at 8 p.m.

A production of what is being billed as “the most celebrated theatrical work of contemporary Puerto Rico.” The drama premiered in 1984; this revival stars veteran actor Joaquín Jarque and Gretza Merced. “In their monologues, each character reveals the intimacies of a dysfunctional family, with which many can identify.”

Noises Off  by Michael Frayn. Directed by Ilyse Robbins. Staged by the Lyric Stage Company of Boston at 140 Clarendon Street, Boston, November 22 through December 22.

Trump has been elected. Like so many of our theaters, the Lyric Stage thinks it needs to cheer us up. They have picked an ace comedy to do so. The company “rings in the holidays with the gift of laughter, outrageous characters, and meaningful time spent with loved ones” with another revival of Frayn’s celebrated backstage farce.

Mindplay by Vinny DePonto. Written by Vinny DePonto and Josh Koenigsberg. Directed by Andrew Neisler. Presented by the Huntington Theatre Company at the Huntington Calderwood, 527 Tremont Street, Boston, November 13 through December 1.

The production is on its way to off-Broadway. The Huntington Theatre Company publicity swears that the show “invites audiences to an unforgettable experience infused with intrigue and mystery. Theatre maker and mentalist Vinny DePonto guides participants on a jaw-dropping, interactive journey as he reads minds while revealing his own.”

Boston Playwrights’ Theatre’s Fall Rep Festival, produced in collaboration with the Boston University College of Fine Arts School of Theatre. At the Boston Playwrights’ Theatre, the Kate Snodgrass Stage, 949 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, through November 24.

Boston Playwrights’ Theatre will present capstone productions — plays by Boston University’s MFA in Playwriting class of 2025 — in two rep events, fall 2024 and spring 2025. The autumn stagings, running in rep, include Maggie Kearnan’s How to Not Save the World with Mr. Bezos, directed by Taylor Stark and Tina Esper’s Soft Star, directed by Bridget Kathleen O’Leary. Note: Content transparency — graphic violence, discussion of drug use.

Emma by Kate Hamill. Based on the novel by Jane Austen. Directed by Regine Vital. Staged by Actors’ Shakespeare Project at the Multicultural Arts Center in Cambridge, 41 Second Street, East Cambridge, November 14 through December 15.

We are told this is going to be a “high-octane” adaptation of Jane Austen’s beloved romantic comedy. Gasoline rather than tea will be served? The cast includes Jennie Israel, Dev Luthra, and Josephine Moshiri Elwood.

— Bill Marx

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World Music and Roots

Thandiswa Mazwai
November 13
Crystal Ballroom at the Somerville Theater

While the slick beats of amapiano may be the South African sounds most likely to be heard abroad, there are still plenty of more traditional artists charging ahead. At the forefront is the outspoken Thandiswa Mazwai, whose Global Arts Live appearance will showcase the powerful vocals and well crafted lyrics of this singer who first came to notice with the band Bongo Maffin.

JP Harris
November 14
The Cut, Gloucester

“The world keeps turnin’, and I stand still,” sings country traditionalist Alabama-born JP Harris in the title track from his new record JP Harris is a Trash Fire. The heir-apparent to Waylon Jennings, Harris’ unrepentant honky tonk sound is matched by his penchant for writing both wry and sincere songs that always hit their intended target.

Clinton Fearon with the Naya Rockers
November 15, The Cut, Gloucester
November 16, Soundcheck Studios, Pembroke

The deep roots reggae tradition is alive and well thanks to Clinton Fearon, the former member of the Gladiators who, for many years from his base in the Northwest US, has been a beacon of socially conscious storytelling. His collaborative relationship with Boston’s hard-hitting Naya Rockers has yielded several recordings, the most recent of which is the inviting single “Come With Us.” Both dates on this run are presented by the environmental non-profit Undertone Benefit by the Sea.

Lakou Mizik 
November 15
Arts at the Armory, Somerville

The phenomenal and versatile Haitian deep roots band Lakou Mizik makes a well-deserved return to the Armory to play music that is as spiritually grounded as it is dance-inducing.

Habib Koité
November 22
Somerville Theater

The return of Malian guitar hero Habib Koité would alone be worth celebrating, but for this Global Arts Live concert he’s bringing some special guests: kora player Lamine Cissokho and balafon player Aly Keïta.

— Noah Schaffer

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Classical Music

Jordan conducts Tchaikovsky
Presented by Boston Symphony Orchestra
November 14 at 7:30 p.m., 15 at 1:30 p.m., & 16 at 8 p.m.
Symphony Hall

Philippe Jordan follows up his triumphant all-Russian debut with the BSO in 2022 with another Russian staple — Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 — alongside Mozart’s stormy Piano Concerto No. 20. Jan Lisiecki is the soloist in the latter.

Alexander Baillie plays Elgar
Presented by Boston Philharmonic Orchestra
November 17, 3 p.m.
Symphony Hall

Cellist Baillie joins the BPO for Edward Elgar’s reflective Cello Concerto. Also featured on the all-English program is Benjamin Britten’s arrangement of Henry Purcell’s Chacony and Holst’s The Planets. Benjamin Zander conducts.

Berliner Philharmoniker
Presented by Celebrity Series
November 20, 8 p.m.
Symphony Hall

The Berliner Philharmoniker returns to Boston for the first time since their sensational visit in 2022. This time around, they’ve got a single piece to offer: Anton Bruckner’s towering Symphony No. 5. Kirill Petrenko conducts.

The Brightness of Light
Presented by Boston Symphony Orchestra
November 21 at 7:30 p.m., 22 at 8 p.m., & 23 at 8 p.m.
Symphony Hall

Kevin Puts’s The Brightness of Light receives its Boston premiere. A recounting of the relationship between painter Georgia O’Keeffe and her husband, photographer Alfred Stieglitz, the performance features soprano Renée Fleming and baritone Rod Gilfry. Andris Nelsons conducts — and leads additional works by Mozart.

Handel’s Messiah
Presented by Handel & Haydn Society
November 29 at 7:30 p.m. and 30 at 3 p.m.
Symphony Hall

H&H music director Jonathan Cohen returns to town to lead the group’s annual performances of Handel’s beloved oratorio. He’s joined by soprano Jeanine De Bique, countertenor Reginald Mobley, tenor Nicholas Phan, baritone Sumner Thompson, and the H&H Chorus.

— Jonathan Blumhofer

John Musto and Mark Campbell’s Later The Same Evening
New England Conservatory
November 14 at 6 p.m.
November 15 at 6 p.m.
November 16 at 7:30 p.m.
November 17 at 3 p.m.

New England Conservatory presents a four-night run of composer Josh Musto and Mark Campbell’s chamber opera Later The Same Evening which brings to life figures from five Edward Hopper paintings.  Thursday’s concert includes a post-performance talkback and Q & A with composer John Musto moderated by stage director Joshua Major. These performances are part of the “NEC Festival, Charles Ives, Ruth Crawford Seeger and American Musical Innovation,” a week-long event showcasing wide-ranging concerts and workshops including multiple genres (classical, jazz, gospel, folk) and the intersections between them.

— Bill Marx

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Jazz

Abdullah Ibrahim Trio
November 16 at 8 p.m.
Berklee Performance Center, Boston

The towering South African pianist and composer Abdullah Ibrahim, now 90, makes his first Boston appearance in recent memory (I last saw him here in 2015), joined by two core members of his longstanding Ekaya ensemble, Cleave Guyton (saxophone, flute, clarinet) and Noah Jackson (bass), who also appeared with him on this year’s superb double-disc live recording 3.

Adam O’Farrill’s Stranger Days
November 16 at 8 p.m.
Theodore Parker Church, West Roxbury, MA

Thirty-year-old trumpeter and composer Adam O’Farrill has been a go-to guy among progressive jazz bandleaders (Mary Halvorson, Anna Webber, Kevin Sun) for several years now, and in that time he’s released a couple of stellar albums by his band Stranger Days. Now that band — O’Farrill with his brother Zack on drums, tenor saxophonist Xavier Del Castillo, and bassist Walter Stinson — are playing this highly anticipated show in the Mandorla Music series at the Theodore Parker Unitarian Universalist Church in West Roxbury.

“Rio Night”
November 14, 7:30 p.m.
Regattabar, Cambridge

As part of JazzBoston’s Jazz All Ways series, drummer Mark Walker leads this session of Brazilian music experts — Ian Coury on mandolin, guitarist Sergio Brandão, pianist Maxim Lubarsky, bassist Oscar Stagnaro, and sax and flute man Paul Lieberman, who was for years a top session man in Rio de Janeiro.

Somi
November 16 at 8 p.m.
Shalin Liu Performance Center, Rockport, MA

The charismatic Grammy-nominated (Best Jazz Vocal Album), Doris Duke Artist Award-winning, singer, songwriter, and actor Somi gets to work in the beautiful surround of the Shalin Liu Music Center for this Rockport Music show.

Bruno Råberg Tentet
November 17 at 6:30 p.m.
Lilypad, Cambridge

The official name of this event is “Allan Chase Presents the Bruno Råberg Tenet,” with the estimable saxophonist and composer presenting his friend’s music. The focus will be Råberg’s excellent 2024 release of original compositions, Evolver. The superb lineup includes the leader on bass with Chase on soprano, alto, and,baritone saxophones; Stephen Byth, sax and clarinet; Peter Kenagy, trumpet and flugelhorn; Clayton DeWalt, trombone; Rinat Fishman, bass clarinet; Nate Radley, guitar; Hidemi Akaiwa, piano and synth; and Gen Yoshimura, drums.

Dave Bryant’s Third Thursday
November 21 at 8 p.m.
Harvard-Epworth Church, Cambridge

Former Ornette Coleman sideman Dave Bryant brings South Asian sounds to this version of his harmolodic-based Third Thursday series. Featured players are Carnatic singer Srinivasan Raghuraman, percussionists Upasak Mukherjee on tabla and Shivaraj Natraj on mridangam, Bryant on keyboards, and his fellow Boston hometown hero Mike Rivard of Club d’Elf on bass and sintir.

Driff Fest 2024
November 22 at 7:30 p.m.
Lilypad, Cambridge

Over the past decade, shows by the Driff Records family of players have helped make the Lilypad the epicenter of free improv and progressive jazz in Greater Boston. Tonight they present their 7th Annual Driff Fest, featuring old and new configurations associated with the label. Pianist and composer Pandelis Karayorgis presents his new ensemble ATMOS, adding Providence-based saxophonist Noah Campbell to his trio with bassist Nate McBride and free-jazz savant drummer Nat Mugavero. “The group focuses on phrasing, space, and dialog in their free improvisations.” Saxophonist and composer Jorrit Dijkstra presents his new group BLINK, which extends his Porch Trio (McBride and drummer Eric Rosenthal) with guitarists Eric Hofbauer and Gabe Boyarin. “The band uses a microtonal tuning system between the instruments, which gives it a mesmerizing and dreamy sound, full of collective melodic and multi-rhythmic layerings.” Three duos of Boston area improvisers of multiple generations fill out the program: Charlie Kohlhase (saxophones) and Bill Lowe (trombone, tuba); Kelly Bray and Greg Kelley (trumpets); and Lemuel Marc (trumpet) and Ted Reichman (accordion).

John Allmark/Dino Govoni Quintet
November 23 at 7 p.m.
Scullers Jazz Club, Boston

Trumpeter Allmark, the longtime leader of the John Allmark Jazz Orchestra, gets together with one of his regular collaborators, saxophonist Dino Govoni, for this quintet session in anticipation of a recording date. The rest of the quintet includes Dennis “Rusty” Hughes on keyboards, bassist Evan Carley, and drummer Max Goldman.

Revolutionary Snake Ensemble
November 23 at 8 p.m.
Parish of All Saints, Dorchester, MA

In their three decades-plus, the Revolutionary Snake Ensemble has taken the New Orleans “second line” brass band tradition out — way out, along the way working with such NOLA stalwarts as Charles Neville and Amadee Castenell. Tonight, given the capacious environment of Peabody Hall at Parish of All Saints and the band’s command of the groove, chances are that an actual second line parade might ensue. The band includes leader Ken Field on saxophones, trumpeter Jerry Sabatini, trombone and tuba man Dave Harris, bassist Blake Newman, and drummer Phil Neighbors.

Vijay Iyer Trio
November 24 at 5 p.m.
Shalin Liu Performance Center, Rockport, MA

Pianist and composer Vijay Iyer brings a slightly modified version of his celebrated trio to Rockport Music, with drummer Jeremy Dutton (in place of Tyshawn Sorey) joining Iyer and bassist Linda May Han Oh.

— Jon Garelick

Ives in Jazz and Ives in Song
New England Conservatory
November 14
2 p.m. Talk, 8 p.m. Concert

As part of the “NEC Festival, Charles Ives, Ruth Crawford Seeger and American Musical Innovation,” NEC Jazz Studies Co-chair Ken Schaphorst gives a talk about Ives in Jazz.  Charles Ives was actively composing at the same time that jazz was first recognized as a uniquely American music, and his music shares many of the same influences. Ives was also an experienced improviser.  The concert,which features musicians from NEC’s SongLab and the NEC Jazz Orchestra, explores Ives’ songs as originally scored along with arrangements for jazz orchestra by Ken Schaphorst and Theo Bleckmann.

— Bill Marx

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Author Events

Aaron Mahnke in conversation with Christopher Golden – Porter Square Books
Cabinet of Curiosities
November 11 at 7 p.m.
Free

“The podcast Aaron Mahnke’s Cabinet of Curiosities has delighted millions of listeners for years with tales of the wonderful, astounding, and downright bizarre people, places, and things throughout history. Now, in Cabinet of Curiosities the book, learn the fascinating story of the invention of the croissant in a country that was not France, and relive the adventures of a dog that stowed away and went to war, only to help capture a German spy. Along the way, readers will pass through the American state of Franklin, watch Abraham Lincoln’s son be rescued by his assassin’s brother, and learn how too many crash landings inspired one pilot to leave the airline industry and trek for the stars.

“For the first time ever, Aaron has gathered scores of his favorites in print, and curated them into a beautiful, topical collection for devoted followers and new fans alike.”

Nigel Hamilton – Porter Square Books
Lincoln vs. Davis
November 12 at 7 p.m.
Free

“From the New York Times bestselling presidential biographer comes the greatest untold story of the Civil War: how two American presidents faced off as the fate of the nation hung in the balance — and how Abraham Lincoln came to embrace emancipation as the last, best chance to save the Union. With a cast of unforgettable characters, from first ladies to fugitive coachmen to treasonous cabinet officials, Lincoln vs. Davis is a spellbinding dual biography from renowned presidential chronicler Nigel Hamilton: a saga that will surprise, touch, and enthrall.”

Julian Zabalbeascoa at Harvard Book Store
What We Tried to Bury Grows Here
November 13 at 7 p.m.
Free

“What We Tried to Bury Grows Here is a startling novel, beautiful and horrific, that navigates the complexities of Basque Country during the Spanish Civil War, in which fascism and communism, regionalism and nationalism, and faith and skepticism do battle across a brilliantly evoked, suffering landscape.” —Phil Klay, National Book Award winning author of Redeployment and Missionaries

Serene Khader with Carol Hay at Brookline Booksmith
Faux Feminism:Why We Fall for White Feminism and How We Can Stop
November 19 from 7 to 8 p.m.
Free

“After over 175 years, the feminist movement, now in its fourth wave, is at risk of collapsing on its eroding foundation. In Faux Feminism, political philosopher Serene Khader advocates for another feminism — one that doesn’t overwhelmingly serve white, affluent #girlbosses. With empathy, passion, and wit, Khader invites the reader to join her as she excavates the movement’s history and draws a blueprint for a more inclusive and resilient future. A feminist myth buster, Khader begins by deconstructing ‘faux feminisms.’ Thought to be the pillars of good feminism, they may appeal to many but, in truth, leave most women behind.”

Lowry Pressly at Harvard Book Store
The Right to Oblivion: Privacy and the Good Life
November 21 at 7 p.m.
Free

“The Right to Oblivion argues incisively and persuasively that we still can and should strive for privacy, though for different reasons than we might think. Recent years have seen heated debate in the realm of law and technology about why privacy matters, often focusing on how personal data breaches amount to violations of individual freedom. Yet as Lowry Pressly shows, the very terms of this debate have undermined our understanding of privacy’s real value. In a novel philosophical account, Pressly insists that privacy isn’t simply a right to be protected but a tool for making life meaningful.”

Alan Lightman at Brookline Booksmith
The Miraculous from the Material
November 25 from 7 to 8 p.m.
Tickets are free or $36 with copy of book

“Pairing 36 beautiful, full-color photos evoking some of nature’s most awe-inspiring phenomena with accessible and lyrical personal essays, The Miraculous from the Material explores the fascinating science underlying the natural world. Why do rainbows make an arc? Why does a particular waterfall at Yosemite National Park sometimes glow like it’s on fire? How does a hummingbird fly? The world has so many things to marvel at — and the science is just as fascinating.”

— Matt Hanson

Charles Coe’s Cricket Symphony, a poetry reading with music
At the Arts at the Armory, Somerville, November 12 at 7 p.m.

“Mr. Coe will read selected works with musical interludes performed by an ensemble of outstanding musicians: Ken Field (sax/flute), Tad Price (guitar), Blake Newman (bass), and Phil Neighbors (drums). With a wide-ranging song list inspired by the text of the poems, the music will traverse jazz, gospel, pop, Americana, funk, and improvisation, strung together in a seamless sequence outlining in words and tones the breadth of the American musical experience.”

Franz Kafka at Brandeis 1924/2024: A Celebratory Panel Discussion
November 25, 5 to 6:30 pm.
Mandel Reading Room 303, Mandel Center for Humanities, Brandeis University Campus, 415 South Street, Waltham.

A panel discussion featuring a trio of impressive guest speakers: “Indeterminate Roots: Learning to Teach with Kafka” (Evan Parks, a Visiting Scholar at New York University’s Center for the Humanities and Director of Education for the Bronfman Fellowship.); “Turn, turn, turn: Kafka’s parables and the history of the mashal” (Abigail Gillman, Professor of Hebrew, German and Comparative Literature in the Department of World Languages and Literatures at Boston University); and “Description of a Struggle: Kafka’s Prague Novella Revisited” (Veronika Tuckerová teaches at Harvard University’s Slavic Department. She grew up in Prague and studied at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York and Columbia University. Her interests include Czech and German literature, art and literature of dissent, visual arts, and translation theory and practice.)

— Bill Marx