In 2013 The Blues Project with Dorrance Dance and Toshi Reagon with BIGlovely premiered at the smaller Doris Duke Theatre. With word of mouth and rave reviews it sold out as it did again in 2014. This season the stunning tap ensemble was presented to sold out audiences in the Ted Shawn Theatre of Jacob's Pillow Dance. We were thrilled by every moment of an ecstatic performance,

On a warm spring Sunday in Brookline, after church, the parents brought their infant to be brissed by my goy parents.

Miles on tour after Bitches Brew saw him at Harvard Stadium then later in the week Lennie's on the Turnpike. That night the band included Jack DeJohnette, drums, Michael Henderson, bass, Gary Bartz, horns, Fender pianos Keith Jarrett and Chick Corea. John McLaughlin sat in on guitar. Back stage Miles asked me to help him make a difficult decision.

The homeless hag hit on me for something to eat. That was cool but she pulled a fast one.

The new Williamstown Theatre Festival artistic director, Mandy Greenfield, has launched her tenure with a double header of world premieres. In the smaller Nikos Stage a fine cast is performing Legacy by Daniel Goldfarb. There are tons of laughs and then it gets very grim and dark.

For the BSO's opening night at Tanglewood guest conductor Jacques Lacombe led the orchestra through a diverse program of Americana that celebrated the Independence Day theme of freedom. Particularly essential was the give and take, call and answer between the traditions and cross pollination of jazz and classical music. A highlight was John Douglas Thompson speaking the words of Abraham Lincoln in a tribute composed by Aaron Copland.

Among works in the estate of the Tony and Pulitzer winning playwright, William Inge, was a 1966 teleplay now reconfigured for stage and having its world premiere as Off the Main Road at Williamstown Theatre Festival. Directed by Evan Cabnet it stars Emmy winner Kyra Sedgwick as Faye the battered, alcoholic wife of Manny (Jeremy Davidson) a now abusive, alcoholic former baseball star.

The Trojan horse's head is 23 feet tall, the stage is packed with 18 principal singers, a chorus, dancers galore. Berlioz is perfumed with madness and desire. It is grand opera at its best in San Francisco: Les Troyens.

Poland's capital, Warsaw, is also its intellectual, creative, and business center. Hometown of Chopin, the composer's footprint punctuates the city. Although 85% of Warsaw had been destroyed during WW II, it has been rebuilt both to honor history, while also erecting a modern, dynamic metropolis.

San Francisco Opera commissioned this work by an Italian composer Marco Tutino and puts on a terrific production. The set brilliantly reveals small human activities as an insert in the larger world picture. Often two dramas are taking place against the background of war. The beautiful score of Marco Tutino suits the story and provides ample opportunities to display the talents of the principals.

The art historian, Keith Shaw, has organized That '70s Show which is part one of a Then and Now project for the Berkshire Artist Museum in North Adams, Mass. He asked 15 artists to exhibit selections from some 40 years ago as well as their current work. In the case of Robert Henriquez his single piece is both Then and Now. The concept was conceived in the 1970s but it it only recently that digital programming has progressed sufficiently to realize a singular work of art. This research and technology has resulted in a stunning work of museum level quality.

The musical “Come From Away” by the Canadian husband-and wife team of Irene Sankoff and David Hein, directed by Ashley made its World Premiere debut at the Sheila and Hughes Poitier Theatre last weekend to thunderous applause and standing ovations.

The Who and the What is a smart, funny play about a conservative Pakistani-American family and their attempts to come to grips with modern realities while maintaining respect for tradition. Playwright Ayad Akhtar has written believable characters who fight articulately about what they believe in.

“Bad Jews” is a new modern comedy written by acclaimed young playwright Joshua Harmon. The ambiguously titled and talky play currently on stage at the Geffen Playhouse is directed by Matt Shakman, who helms his production with one directorial foot planted in “tradition” and the other directorial foot solidly rooted in the secular 21st century.

After one season the Rudd Museum of Art in North Adams has been renamed with a new mandate as Berkshire Artist Museum. It recently reopened with a Rudd installation Iceberg in the nave and That '70s show as phase one of Then and Now which will be complete later in the season.

This is superb production of a beautifully written play that looks at the lives of African-American women in New York City at the turn of the twentieth century. It is a bold opener for Vermont’s Dorset Theatre Festival season. An uptown white socialite, a downtown black prostitute, and a self-deprecating Jewish cloth salesman are just three of the disparate characters who populate the world of Esther, a hard-working and humble black woman who makes her living fashioning ladies’ intimate apparel.

The cycle of history plays by Shakespeare continues and unfortunately ends this season with a chamber production of the ever popular Henry V. This scaled back drama with four male and four female actors playing multiple roles has been directed by Jenna Ware. In the title role Ryan Winkles is magnificent. It adds another dimension to a superb actor who previously has been featured in comic roles.

Despite a rocky history of occupation, war and suppression, Poland, a country of 40 million people, has maintained its cultural vibrancy. Krakow has a wealth of Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque architecture that dot the city as churches, museums and theaters. Auschwitz-Birgenau camps provide on-site experience to learn about one of the darkest periods in human history.

This production was a smash hit in Pasadena before it arrived at the Flea in New York and why is very clear: Brooke Adams gives a tour de force performance as Winnie, sinking into the earth with a broad grin. Her husband Tony Shalhoud is Willie: farting, eating goobers, but loving all the time..

Wilco and thirty other bands invade Mass MoCA this weekend

80 artists from 22 countries are currently participating in an art book exhibition in Bucharest, which is following the 2014 Moskow, Russia, Biennale. Organizers are the National Association for Visual Contemporary Arts in Romania and D. Fleiss & East West Artists Association of Germany. A program with daily events adds to the exhibition's lively cultural activities.

The orange suit with bolero jacket and rhinestone designs was made for a one hit wonder who never picked it up. Since it was a perfect fit Nudie, the designer of the stars, made me an offer I could not refuse. Wearing it always resulted in total gonzo adventures.

Puerto Vallarta’s spectacular curving esplanade known as the Malecón is the place for a relaxing stroll any time of the day, but Tuesday mornings hold a special attraction – a free guided walk of the dramatic monumental bronze and stone sculptures that punctuate this broad, exclusively pedestrian, seaside promenade.

De Leon Springs was first occupied as early as 8000 BCE by local Native American tribes. In the 16th century, Spanish forces passed through (perhaps including Explorer Juan Ponce de León, whom history links to the fabled Fountain of Youth). The area came under American ownership after Florida became a territory in 1821.

For under $100 you can purchase lawn tickets and see four popular artists at Tanglewood.