A painting a week
JAMES APONOVICH: APONOVICH 52 The painter, best known for his still lifes, undertook to create
a new canvas every week for an entire year. Working within such rigid parameters, Aponovich
built a body of work that investigates the act and ritual of painting. Pictured: “AP52 / Wk 45 - Roadside Pansies - 2012.” Through July 29. Clark Gallery, 145 Lincoln Road, Lincoln.
781-259-8303, www.clarkgallery.com
Theater
TOTEM Virtuosity topped with Vegas cheese: It’s the tried-and-true Cirque du Soleil recipe, and it works well in “Totem,’’ written and directed by the ubiquitous Robert Lepage, a man who knows a thing or two about juggling. Extended through July 29. At Big Top, Boston Marine Industrial Park. 800-450-1480, www.cirque
dusoleil.com/totem
Related
THE STRANGE UNDOING OF PRUDENCIA HART By turns high-spirited, deftly satirical, and eerie, this immersive-
theater quest narrative chronicles the adventures of an academic (played by the appealingly soulful Madeleine Worrall) whose scholarly interest in “the topography of hell’’ takes on a whole new dimension over one tumultuous night. Through June 30. Production by National Theatre of Scotland. Presented by International Festival of Arts & Ideas. At Wicked Wolf Tavern, New Haven, Conn.
888-736-2663, www.artidea
.org
AVENUE Q Inspired by “Sesame Street,” the 2004 Tony Award winner for best musical is a dark story of growing up in the big city. With its adult themes and graphic puppet sex, it’s not for children. But adults will be able to access their inner child through this sunny-side-of-the-street production, in which it’s hard to tell who’s cuter and more lovable, the puppets or the humans. Through July 1. Lyric Stage Company, Boston. 617-585-5678, www.lyric stage.com
CAR TALK: THE MUSICAL!!! Based on NPR’s popular call-in program, this show might seem an unlikely proposition. But with the help of Tom and Ray Magliozzi, who contributed their voices to the project, Wesley Savick has cobbled a wacky plot, clever song parodies, the brothers’ trademark outrageous puns, and a fine cast into a production that’s running like a top. Through Aug. 12. Presented by Underground Railway Theater and Suffolk University. At Central Square Theater, Cambridge. 866-811-4111, www.centralsquaretheater.org
Dance
KIDD PIVOT Last year, Crystal Pite’s Vancouver- and Frankfurt-based company sold out the Jacob’s Pillow performances of her extraordinary “Dark Matters,” an inventive, captivating dance drama in which a puppet seems to set in motion a series of mysterious events. This summer, the piece is the festival’s first “Back by Popular Demand” presentation. Pite is a former William Forsythe protégée, and her choreography is stunningly beautiful and rigorous. Through July 1. $38. Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Becket. 413-243-0745, www.jacobspillow.org
MORPHOSES This contemporary troupe featuring dancers from the New York City Ballet makes its Jacob’s Pillow debut with a promising world premiere. Choreographer-filmmaker Pontus Lidberg’s “Within (Labyrinth Within)” explores the enigmatic sensuality of a love triangle through live movement, film imagery, and an original score by Pulitzer Prize winner David Lang. Through July 1. $39-$64. Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Becket. 413-243-0745,
www.jacobspillow.org
PORTLAND PERFORMING ARTS FESTIVAL The highlight of this fledgling four-day festival (June 28-July 1) is expected to be the world premiere of a new work by Alison Chase, a cofounder of the groundbreaking dance troupe Pilobolus. “The Handsomest,” inspired by a Gabriel García Márquez short story, combines live dance with video and is set to an original score by Paul Sullivan. June 30, 7 p.m. $32-$52. Merrill Auditorium, Portland, Maine. 207-842-0800, www.portlandfestival.org
RHYTHMINING: AN EXPLORATION OF RHYTHM & MOVEMENT The culmination of the Portsmouth Percussive Dance Festival is this one-night-only performance that shares the fruits of the three-day creative intensive. The concert features the distinctive talents of body musician Keith Terry, dancer-choreographer David Parker, and tap dancer Josh Hilberman. June 30,
8 p.m. $20. The Dance Hall, Kittery, Maine. 207-703-2083, www.thedancehallkittery.org
Galleries
DAVID ARMSTRONG: 615 JEFFERSON AVENUE Armstrong explores yearning in his photographs of young men. His lodestar: paintings of the Renaissance and Baroque eras, with their classical attention to the beauty of the human form. Through July 19. Albert Merola Gallery, 424 Commercial St., Provincetown. 508-487-4424, www.albertmerolagallery.com
MAKING DOLLARS This show explores business, commerce, and the parallels between entrepreneurs and artists. It includes sharp, subversive commentary on capitalism and the commodification of art and artist. Featured artists include Geoff Hargadon and Carlin Wing. Through Nov. 18. Cambridge Innovation Center, 1 Broadway, Cambridge. 617-758-4100, www.making
dollars.tumblr.com/
BOSTON YOUNG CONTEMPORARIES This annual, giant, juried exhibition of Master of Fine Arts candidates from 14 art schools around New England, is a mixed bag, but always worth a visit, with occasional gems of fresh thinking and exacting technique. Through Aug. 17. 808 Gallery, Boston University. www.boston
youngcontemporaries.com
Museums
TRANSCENDING NATURE: PAINTINGS BY ERIC AHO The first American museum survey of this gifted, New Hampshire-born painter, inspired both by nature and painterly abstraction. Through Sept. 9. Currier Museum of Art, Manchester, N.H.
603-669-6144, www.currier.org
JOSIAH MCELHENY: SOME PICTURES OF THE INFINITE Cosmic questions addressed by this talented and internationally acclaimed Boston-born artist. June 22 through Oct. 14. Institute of Contemporary Art. 617-478-3100, www.icaboston.com
MARSDEN HARTLEY: SOLILOQUY IN DOGTOWN A selection of brilliant paintings made in Cape Ann in the early 1930s by one of America’s greatest 20th century painters. Through Oct. 14. Cape Ann Museum, Gloucester. 978-283-0445, www.capeann
museum.org
ALEX KATZ PRINTS One hundred and twenty five prints from the 1960s until recently, in a show that surveys the graphic career of this beloved Pop artist. Through July 29. Museum of Fine Arts. 617-267-9300, www.mfa.org