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For the first time presidential paintings are by and of people of color. Kehinde Wiley’s depicted President Barack Obama and Amy Sherald painted Michelle. In the last of five stops the tour of portraits ends at the Museum of Fine Arts on October 30.

What an opera experience at the Komische Oper! Luigi Nono's "Intolleranza 1960" as the first opening of the 2022/23 season.

In 1936 Henry Luce bought Life Magazine and transformed it into a publication where pictures told the story. At his command to convey a narrow white supremacist fantasy of America's global dominance he employed the legendary photo journalists of his generation. Luce also published Time Magazine, Fortune Magazine and later Sports Illustrated. With a weekly circulation in the millions Life initially had a cover price of ten cents which at that time got you a cup of coffee. LIFE Magazine and the Power of Photography at the Museum of Fine Arts captures its essence with an engaging but ultimately disappointing exhibition.

TON orchestra arrived at the Rose Theater under the baton of JoAnn Falleta. She is a conductor one wishes would spend more time in New York.  Music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic, she conducted  at Tanglewood  last summer.  She brings thrilling musicality to her program choices.

Joshua Bell and his wife, the soprano Larisa Martinez, performed together at the 92nd Street Y in New York. Paul Dugan accompanied on the piano with his own special touch

The projections and the equipment used – which I’m told were very expensive – by Shawn Duan really helped to create the setting and the locations without taking up room on the stage. I wanted to “ooh” and “aah” at them

4000 Miles is a comedy-drama that nourishes the soul and makes you think. Palm Beach Dramaworks in Southeast Florida is presenting Amy Herzog's dramedy through Oct. 30.

We can often overlook any deeper meaning when seeing a comedic play, but this one actually has a lot to say.  It honors selfless mothers; urges the courage to say and do the right things before it is too late; advocates following our dreams; pillories slavish devotion to status symbols; and asks us to better understand those who are near to us.

The Wick Theatre in Boca Raton has mounted an impressive production of the rarely-produced musical, "Milk and Honey." The production runs through Nov. 6. "Milk and Honey" takes place in early 1960's Israel. The plot focuses on a lover affair, set against the backdrop of Israel trying to gain recognition as an independent nation.

As usual, General Director and Conductor José-Luis Moskovich marshals a fine orchestra and production.  Of course, the party scenes in particular require special attention, and director Igor Vieira ensures their grandeur.

Curator Susan Erony presented a talk about Schlemm's career and impact on Cape Ann and throughout the world of watercolor artists, followed by remembrances from family and friends. The exhibition is now available online as a silent auction.

In 1929 Erich Maria Remarque published the controversial anti-war novel All Quiet on the Western Front. It follows the tale of Paul and his classmates who enlisted to fight for the Fatherland. One by one they died until Paul, the last, is killed by a sniper in the final minutes before Armistice. Just a year later Hollywood released the classic film which won two Oscars. Now available on Netflix is an epic, cinematic, gruesome remake by the German director Edward Berger. The spectacular retelling is disrespectful in selecting some and discarding many of the plot points and metaphors of a literary masterpiece.

Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley is presented in honor of  Shakespeare & Company Costume Director Govane Lohbauer, and in memory of actor, teacher, and weapons master Bob Lohbauer,who passed away in September 2022.

Alice Denison refers to this large body of work as her Pangloss series and they are rooted in her interest in ornately rendered plants and flowers.  At once dreamlike and mysterious with a tangle of floating flora, they are now beginning to allude to a real place—it’s as if the tapestry has been lifted to reveal a distant landscape.     

Upcoming at the Williams College '62 Center are theater and dance performances. THEATRE: A LOVE STORY By Caridad Svichm directed by Emmanuelle Delpech and Pachedu (F)ALL Ensembles.

Through January 29 the Institute of Contemporary Art is displayng a gallery with 11 totemic ceramic standing figures by Rose B. Simpson. A graduate of RISD she grew up in a culture noted for its distinctive pottery created by her mother, Roxanne Swentzell, her late grandmother, Rina Swentzell and her late great-grandmother, Rose Naranjo.

In every sense Richard Thomas Griffiths OBE (31 July 1947 – 28 March 2013) was a larger than life actor. We subscribe to Acorn through Amazon Prime. It offers a menu of British, Australian and New Zeland programs. Lately we have been binge watching Griffiths in five seasons as chef detective Henry Crabbe in "Pie in the Sky." You might also know him from appearances in Harry Potter films. On stage he won numerous awards including a Tony and Laurence Olivier Award.

Now in its 34th year, the Fall Festival of Shakespeare leads students at 11 high schools in Massachusetts and New York through a language-based exploration of Shakespeare's plays. This work culminates in full-scale productions at their own schools as well as the Main Stage at the Tina Packer Playhouse during a raucous, four-day celebration.

Did you hear the one about the time the Duke of Burgundy Philippe the Bold, outlawed the cultivation of Gamay back in 1385? He claimed it was a "disloyal and bad plant." He reserved his region for the more elegant Pinot Noir. You may wonder why we have such an affection for Gamay at Mezze. We often root for the underdog. 

Ellen Schön’s New Directions Home, her second solo exhibition at Boston Sculptors Gallery, features two discreet series of new ceramic sculpture. Inspired by diverse cultural traditions, Schön employs both ancient and contemporary technologies in her sculptural interpretations.  

“We all come from sort of a traditional background, but then we have different influences that we’re interested in,” explains fiddler and singer Rachel Davis. “Chrissy (Crowley, fiddler) likes to dive into a lot of world music, Darren (mandolin, guitar, banjo, etc.) comes from a kind of Irish theme from playing around a lot. More of the traditional Cape Breton stuff is really what I love, plus all the folk songs, so it’s an interesting mix.”   

The Berlin Philharmonic, inarguably the greatest symphony orchestra in the world, came to New York to show us how much fun music can be.  Their showpiece example, the famously tormented Gustav Mahler. 

The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, presents the first exhibition in the Americas dedicated to the art of Michaelina Wautier (1614–1689), a painter from Brussels all but forgotten until the recent rediscovery of her work.

Top honors at the Berkies were Outstanding Musical Production to Barrington Stage Company for their production of A Little Night Music. Barrington Stage shared the Outstanding Play Production award with Bridge Street Theatre, for productions of Waiting for Godot and A Long Day’s Journey Into Night respectively.

Mixed programming for MASS MoCA.