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Critic’s picks: Theater

Michael Slobodian/Michael Slobodian; Courtesy of JacobÕs Pillow Dance

Wide-ranging repertory

BALLET BC This sleek, polished repertory company from British Columbia brings three very different contemporary works to its Pillow engagement. With music ranging from Mozart to the Cracow Klezmer Band, the concert includes choreography by artistic director Emily Molnar, Nederlands Dans Theater’s Medhi Walerski, and Italian choreographer Jacopo Godani. Pictured: Thibaut Eiferman.Through July 21, $39-$75. Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, 358 George Carter Road, Becket.413-243-0745, www.jacobspillow.org Karen Campbell

KAREN CAMPELL

Theater

HAPGOOD Kate Burton delivers an exquisite, subtly virtuosic performance in Tom Stoppard’s Cold War-era drama about a British spymaster caught up in the search for whoever is apparently leaking top-secret scientific research to the Soviet Union. Directed by Evan Yionoulis, with a top-notch supporting cast. Through July 21. Williamstown Theatre Festival, Nikos Stage, Williamstown. 413-597-3400, www.wtfestival.org

HOW WE GOT ON The New England premiere of Idris Goodwin’s coming-of-age play about three suburban Midwestern teenagers in the late 1980s who forge a bond as they begin to explore the creative possibilities of hip-hop. Directed by Summer L. Williams. July 19-Aug. 17. Company One. At Plaza Theatre, Boston Center for the Arts. 617-933-8600, www.companyone.org

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NORTH SHORE FISH Israel Horovitz’s 1986 drama about workers in a Gloucester fish-packing plant, confronting ominous signs that their livelihood might be in jeopardy. Directed by Robert Walsh and featuring Nancy E. Carroll. Gloucester Stage Company, Gloucester. July 18-Aug. 4. 978-281-4433, www.gloucesterstage.com

THE BILLINGSGATE PROJECT Brenda Withers has proved she is a writer to watch — first with “Matt & Ben’’ (coauthored with Mindy Kaling), then with “The Ding Dongs, or What Is the Penalty in Portugal?’’ Her new play, which coincides with Wellfleet’s 250th-anniversary celebration, explores the challenges faced by a group of amateur historians as they wrestle with a major event: the destruction by erosion of Billingsgate Island, which once sat at the entrance to Wellfleet Harbor. July 18-Aug. 10. Harbor Stage Company, Wellfleet. 508-349-6800, www.harborstage.org Don Aucoin

DON AUCOIN

Dance

OUTSIDE THE BOX The ambitious new performing arts festival wraps up this weekend with 11 different dance presentations in styles ranging from Cambodian to Armenian, flamenco to ballet (full schedule on website.) Highlights include two free concerts on Boston Common: Michael Londra’s Celtic Fire (July 19, 6:45 p.m., The
Beacon Stage) and Nicole Pierce’s EgoArt, Inc. (July 20, 7 p.m., Park Street Stage).
www.outsidetheboxboston.org

TERE O’CONNOR DANCE With a drawer-full of awards and an international reputation, the cutting-edge choreographer turns his sites to the experience of being a closeted gay man in “Cover Boy.” He calls the quartet, set to original music by James Baker, “part expression, part exorcism, and part political observation.” Through July 21, $22-$38. Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, 358 George Carter Road, Becket. 413-243-0745,
www.jacobspillow.org

DOUG VARONE AND DANCERS As the veteran choreographer and his superb company mark the quarter-century mark, they bring to the Bates Dance Festival the recent “Carrugi” and “Able to Leap Tall Buildings” (set to “Cruel Sister” by Bang on a Can cofounder Julia Wolfe), as well as Varone’s signature duet “Rise,” to music by John Adams. July 18-20, 7:30 p.m. $12-$25. Schaeffer Theatre, Bates College, Lewiston, Maine. 207-786-6381, www.batesdancefestival.org Karen Campbell

KAREN CAMPBELL

Galleries

HIROSHI MASAKI In images selected from his book “Uwajima: A Private Landscape, 2008-2011,” the photographer returns to his hometown, shooting mostly deserted urban scenes in black and white. His work meditates on a Japanese dream of provincial town life. Through Aug. 30. Robert Klein at Ars Libri, 500 Harrison Ave. 617-357-5212, www.robertkleingallery.com

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KATIE JAMES: SEWING MACHINES James uses gouache and pencil to painstakingly render sewing machines of old — well-made workhorses, common to many households. She gives these sturdy models of design their due, implicitly critiquing today’s throwaway culture. Through July 31. Aviary Gallery, 48 South St., Jamaica Plain. www.aviarygallery.com

ROAD TRIP Drive-By Projects’s Beth Kantrowitz was the juror for this summer show, which conjures the romance, landscapes, and goofy details of journeys by car. It features Fort Point Art Community artists, including Peter Harris and Martin Yeeles. Through Sept. 21. Atlantic Wharf Gallery, 290 Congress St. 617-423-4299, www.fortpointarts.org

SUMMER SALON Can’t get away? Find the seaside at ACME Fine Art’s annual summer show. It spotlights 20th-century work made in art colonies around New England. That includes pieces by Edwin Dickinson, Hans Hofmann, and Jack Tworkov. Through Aug. 17. ACME Fine Art, 450 Harrison Ave., Suite 308. 617-585-9551, www.acmefineart.com Cate McQuaid

CATE MCQUAID

Museums

ARTIST, REBEL, DANDY: MEN OF FASHION A bold, all-embracing survey of the figure of the dandy over 200 years, from Oscar Wilde to Sebastian Horsley. The show includes clothing, photographs, paintings, and caricatures. Through Aug. 18. RISD Museum, Providence. 401-454-6500, www.risdmuseum.org


WINSLOW HOMER: MAKING ART, MAKING HISTORY
Highlights from the greatest collection of Homer’s work privately assembled after the artist’s death, now in the permanent collection of the Clark Art Institute. The show includes 11 paintings, 18 watercolors, and dozens of wood engravings, etchings, lithographs, and drawings. Through Sept. 8. Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown. 413-458-2303. www.clarkart.edu

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MATRYOSHKA: THE RUSSIAN NESTING DOLL Eighty-three sets of beautifully painted wooden nesting dolls from the Museum of Russian Art, Minneapolis. Through July 20. Museum of Russian Icons, Clinton. 978-598-5000, www.museumofrussianicons.org Sebastian Smee

Andrew Wyeth, “Soaring.”Shelburne Museum

SEBASTIAN SMEE

Generating perspective

WYETH VERTIGO Roughly 40 works by Andrew Wyeth, his father, N.C. Wyeth, and his son Jamie Wyeth, all focused on strange or unusual perspectives. A terrific show. Pictured: a detail of Andrew Wyeth’s “Soaring, 1942-1950.” Through Oct. 31. Shelburne Museum, Shelburne, Vt. 802-985-3346,www.shelburnemuseum.org Sebastian Smee

SEBASTIAN SMEE