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CABARET Amanda Palmer is the big draw, and she has an undeniable aura as the creepy Emcee, but the creative intelligence of director Steven Bogart and the compelling performances by Aly Trasher (pictured, as Sally Bowles) and Thomas Derrah are the best reasons to see this innovative version of the Kander & Ebb musical. Presented by American Repertory Theater. Through Oct. 29. Oberon, Cambridge. 617-547-8300, www.americanrepertorytheater.org (Marcus Stern) |
Arts: the week ahead
THEATER
THE REAL INSPECTOR HOUND Tom Stoppard kills two birds with one well-aimed stone, satirizing the conventions of drawing-room murder mysteries while making devilish sport of theater critics, in whose woebegone ranks he once toiled. Presented by Publick Theatre Boston. Through Sept. 25. Plaza Theatre, Boston Center for the Arts. 617-933-8600, www.bostontheatrescene.comTHE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE The dictionary definition of “irresistible’’ does not mention this musical charmer, but it should. Webster’s, get me rewrite! Through Oct. 2. Lyric Stage Company of Boston. 617-585-5678, www.lyricstage.com
WICKED The cast of this touring company is competent but not really more than that, with one electrifying exception: Jackie Burns, whose performance as Elphaba (a.k.a. the Wicked Witch of the West) puts such a charge into Stephen Schwartz’s songs that she almost threatens to make audiences forget Idina Menzel. Through Oct. 17. Boston Opera House. 800-982-2787, www.ticketmaster.com/wicked DON AUCOIN
DANCE
GHOSTS OF THE WHITE SHIP Over the course of 12 years, Karen Murphy-Fitch studied Irish dance and interviewed Irish historians and authors in preparation for this evening-length dance theater piece about the Great Famine. Her company, Falling Flight Project, performs with Irish fiddler Emerald Rae. Sept. 17-18. $15-$25. Cambridge Multicultural Arts Center, Cambridge. 617-577-1400, www.cmacusa.orgNOCHE LATINA DANCE COMPANY Sure, you can just watch as these talented dancers spin and kick through seductive moves to a popping salsa groove. But it’s undoubtedly a lot more fun to try out some steps yourself. As part of “Noche Latina’’ at Ryles, the company will help show you the ropes to get you on the floor for the 9:30 p.m. main event. DJ Ali spins the tunes. Sept. 21. $10 (lessons $11-$13 extra.) Ryles Jazz Club, Cambridge. 617-876-9330, www.ryles.com
FRIDAY NIGHT LIVE Everett Dance Theatre’s Friday-night series returns, promising improvisatory dance, on-the-spot musicals, interactive dramas, and a whole host of rabble-rousing shenanigans. This family-friendly blowout brings together veteran Everett artists with young up-and-comers and features live music by Bertrand Laurence. Sept. 17. $5. Carriage House, Providence. 401-831-9479, www.everettdancetheatre.org
FAMILY SCULPTUREFEST This day of art and performance features an engaging mix of activities and events. For dance lovers, the highlights may be the Latin moves of Dance Caliente (3:30 p.m.) and the percussive dance of New England’s only all-male step team, Iconic Movement (2:30 p.m.). These guys are a hoot. Sept. 19. $12-$15 (Free for Lincoln residents, children under 5.) DeCordova Sculpture Park + Museum, Lincoln. 781-259-8355, www.decordova.org KAREN CAMPBELL
MUSEUMS
THE EMPEROR’S PRIVATE PARADISE: TREASURES FROM THE FORBIDDEN CITY The contents of an 18th-century emperor’s private quarters deep within the Forbidden City in Beijing revealed to the public for the first time. Through Jan. 9. Peabody Essex Museum, Salem. 978-745-9500, www.pem.orgINSIDE, OUTSIDE, UPSTAIRS, DOWNSTAIRS: THE ADDISON ANEW One of the finest collections of American art reopens to the public after a two-year renovation. Addison Gallery of American Art, Andover. 978-749-4000, www.andover.edu/museums/addison
THE INDEPENDENT EYE: CONTEMPORARY BRITISH ART FROM THE COLLECTION OF SAMUEL AND GABRIELLE LURIE A selection of works by British artists who came to prominence in the 1960s from a well-known private collection. Sept. 16 through Jan. 2. Yale Center for British Art. 203-432-2800, ycba.yale.edu
CHARLES LEDRAY: WORKWORKWORKWORKWORK A survey of the astonishing work of this New York-based contemporary artist, who makes witty, detailed, and tremendously poignant sculptures out of fabric, human bone, ivory, and clay. Through Oct. 17. Institute of Contemporary Art. 617-478-3100, www.icaboston.org
SEBASTIAN SMEE
GALLERIES
YANA PAYUSOVA: KUNSTKAMERA The Soviet-born painter delves into memories of her upbringing, overlapping narratives to examine how the mind transforms remembered events. She populates her canvases with crisply rendered cartoonish characters caught up in comic and macabre situations. Through Oct. 12. Howard Yezerski Gallery, 460 Harrison Ave. 617-262-0550, www.howardyezerskigallery.comWELDON KEES: NEW INTANGIBLES Kees, best remembered as a poet, was also an abstract expressionist painter who showed alongside de Kooning, Pollack, and Motherwell. His paintings and collages in this show explore pattern and occasionally verge toward haunting figuration. Through Oct. 10. Pierre Menard Gallery, 10 Arrow St., Cambridge. 617-868-2033, www.pierremenardgallery.com
MEDIA ART FROM FRANCE/ WHAT IS IN YOUR HEAD This exhibition of nine video pieces was inspired by a piece by Philippe Astorg, in which a sculpted beeswax head melts under spotlights. Other works further plumb issues of identity and transformation. Through Oct. 9. GASP Arts, 362-4 Boylston St., Brookline. 617-418-4308, www.g-a-s-p.net CATE McQUAID 
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