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.

Lookingglass's black box theater in the old Water Works on Michigan Avenue in Chicago becomes the interior of a great whale with steel hoops extending from stage rear to the top of the theater.

Alone in Barcelona reading On the Road.

A reunion this summer in the Berkshire church that Ray and Alice made famous. This time though I won't be swinging on the rope. Planning to keep both feet on the ground.

Cracking the code of complex concepts for most people it helps to have a humanizing hook. What is the anecdote and eureka moment that allows us to connect with daunting aesthetics and technologies? It is the sizzle which enhances the flavor of the steak.

The title Shining City is a Bliblical reference that "A town built on a hill cannot be hidden." But there is much that is obscure and repressed in this drama by the Irish playwright Conor McPherson.

Andris Nelsons' name has whirled in the air around Berlin. He succeeded Sir Simon Rattle at Birmingham and it is Rattle who is stepping down in Berlin. Nelsons was a natural choice. The orchestra made its announcement today: Kirill Petrenko is their man. Recently he has triumphed at the Munich Opera where we heard his wonderful Lulu.

The Tanglewood 2015 season opened with Sheryl Crow backed by Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops.

Music salons at Joseph and Christina Rosen's are a treat. Over the course of a season, you can hear up and coming pianists, singers, and contemporary composers. The warhorses of music sound fresh and inviting. Only one of the pleasures of an evening is hearing Joe Rosen perform on the clarinet.

If you have read Walden and think you know Henry David Thoreau guess again. The world premiere Thoreau or Return to Walden written by and starring David Adkins, directed by Eric Hill presents the New England transcendentalist and abolitionist as an eccentric just short of lunacy.

Heisenberg is a dashing new play by the author of The Curious Incident of the Dog, a hit on Broadway. His new play is more complete and satisfying, although its subject might disturb people who need predictability and order. Certainly Mary Louise Parker doesn't, as she loosey-goosey's through her life. Don't be put off by hints of quantum physics in the title. The play is uproarious and the best take on a May-December romance you'll see. It begins with a kiss, passes through the usual, and ends with indeterminacy.

Time was when parents bragged about their kids getting into Ivy League Schools then on to law, medicine or an MBA. Not anymore.

Every two years the Boston Early Music Festival schedules a week of concerts and operas that make Boston the world capital of early music. This year's focus was on Claudio Monteverdi, the first great opera composer. All three of his surviving operas were given stylish productions and featured some of the best singers of early music in the world. Taken from Greek myth and ancient Roman history, the stories resonate with the lives we live today.

During my recent book launch at The Mount my friend private art dealer Jim Jacobs regaled playwright Mark St. Germain with stories of our time together as interns in the Museum of Fine Arts back in the 1960s. At Mark's suggestion this has now inspired a suite of poems gathered as The Basement Tapes. It is my first attempt to create an extended work an idea which previously was suggested by my poet friend and mentor Stephen Rifkin

When the rise of the Third Reich led to closing the Bauhaus in 1933 the architect Walter Gropius and his wife the weaver. artist Anni regrouped in rural North Carolina to establish a small experimental outpost for advanced art and design Black Mountain College. The faculty and students were intended to build their dorms and studios as well as grow their food and raise livestock. Never having a solid endowment the experiment ended in 1957. Gropius went on to Harvard and the rest of the faculty scattered. The impact on post war American arts was indelible. Organized by former curator Helen Molesworth this promises to be one of the most ambitious and informative exhibitions of the fall season. It will be on view in Boston Oct. 10, 2015 to Jan. 24, 2016 and then travel to LA and Columbus, Ohio.

The good news is that the edgy. enticing New Country, due to popular demand, has been extended to June 27 at Cherry Lane Theatre in New York City. It is good enough to see twice. This is the kind of show that comes along every once in awhile. Presented by Fair Trade Productions in association with Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, and written by Mark Roberts this is a must see production.