MUSIC
Pop, Folk & World
INDIGO GIRLS The duo will be hosting livestream concerts on their Facebook and Instagram page every Thursday until at least May 21, with upcoming album “Look Long” releasing on May 22. Get your deep cut requests ready, because they’ll be taking them. May 14, May 21, 7 p.m.
SOMERVILLE COUCHFEST Somerville Porchfest, that anything-goes annual neighborhood walkabout that heralds the end of winter, has this year become Couchfest, as Somerville musicians premiere prerecorded performances or stream live all afternoon. May 9. somervilleartscouncil.org/porchfest
THE NATIONAL The artful band has joined the club of groups posting concert films that they’ve been sitting on for who knows how long. One full-length set per week is being posted to their YouTube channel; of those posted so far, their set from Sicily music festival Ypsigrock is a good place to start. The band encourages donations to a fund they’ve set up for their crew.
ZOË MADONNA
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Classical
BOSTON POPS On the eve of what would have been the opening of its spring concert season, the Boston Pops released a virtual tribute to COVID-19 first responders this week. With a total of 78 musicians participating from their own kitchens, basements, home offices, and backyards, all under the direction of conductor Keith Lockhart, the Pops has recorded “Summon the Heroes,” a rousing work composed by John Williams for the 1996 Olympic Games. Williams himself makes a cameo appearance from his Los Angeles home studio to introduce the piece from the piano. The video has the feel of an all-hands-on-deck occasion — as many BSO principal players who are typically exempted from Pops performances appear here, and in order to cover all the parts, some players such as second trumpet Benjamin Wright show up twice. youtu.be/THJYEdScby8
STRAVINSKY STORIES In theory at least, the great shutdown has given us all a windfall of time — you know, all those extra hours that can be used for things you’ve always meant to do. Well, how about using this time to introduce the little people in your house to classical music? That’s what folks at both the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra are aiming to assist with in a fresh crop of online content. Benjamin Zander’s Youth Orchestra has posted its March 12 performance of “Petrushka” complete with kid-friendly subtitles explaining the action. (Find it at youtu.be/DZJMlyLxiKY.) And the Toronto musicians, whose “Appalachian Spring” was among the first virtual “ensemble” performances mixed from isolated recordings of solo parts, have now returned Prokofiev’s “Peter and the Wolf.” Only in this telling, it’s “Penelope and the Wolf,” with a few other Zoom-inflected twists that reshape the story for a quarantine moment Peter never could have dreamed of. youtu.be/PEpcxj2WpZY
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BREATH AND HAMMER That’s the title of the new genre-bending album by clarinet maverick David Krakauer and pianist Kathleen Tagg, featuring their own klezmer-inflected compositions and arrangements of works by downtown icon John Zorn and Silk Road clarinetist Kinan Azmeh. Krakauer and Tagg will be livestreaming two album-release concerts on May 10 at 1 and 7 p.m. tablepoundingmusic.com
JEREMY EICHLER
ARTS
Theater
THE KING AND I After being nominated five times only to come up short, Kelli O’Hara finally won a long-overdue Tony Award in 2015 for her performance as British schoolteacher Anna Leonowens in Rodgers & Hammerstein’s East-meets-West musical. O’Hara’s costars in the Lincoln Center Theater production were Ken Watanabe as the King of Siam and Ruthie Ann Miles, who also won a Tony, as Lady Thiang. The trio reunited for a 2018 run of “The King and I'' at the London Palladium Theatre in the West End, one performance of which was captured. It will be available to stream for free for 48 hours on BroadwayHD at www.broadwayhd.com/movies, starting after a Friday 8 p.m. “live viewing party.”
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DON AUCOIN
Dance
ALVIN AILEY AMERICAN DANCE THEATER The company’s annual Boston appearance, which would have been last weekend, is an annual rite of spring. But this year, we celebrate virtually. Coinciding with Mother’s Day weekend, the company releases archival video of Ailey’s powerful signature solo “Cry.” As a birthday gift for his mother, Ailey choreographed the three-section, 17-minute solo on his legendary muse Judith Jamison, who dances it in this historic 1972 performance, available until May 14. www.alvinailey.org/performances-tickets/ailey-all-access
KAREN CAMPBELL
Visual Arts
MONET AND BOSTON: LASTING IMPRESSION This exhibition is one of many — so many — high-profile casualties thus far during the Museum of Fine Arts’s coronavirus-plagued 150th anniversary year. A showcase for the museum’s 35 paintings by the Impressionist master, it was meant to trumpet a little local pride and prescience. But the show goes online: This week the museum launched an enhanced “Monet and Boston” web presence with curator talks, slideshows, a Spotify playlist, and some Zoom backgrounds to give your next virtual meeting a little color. The official opening — can we call it that, for old time’s sake? — has associate curator of European paintings Katie Hanson introducing a concert with violinist Lilit Hartunian playing pieces by Monet’s musical contemporaries, from Erik Satie to Claude Debussy. 2-2:30 p.m., May 10, on the MFA’s Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube pages or mfa.org
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COCKTAILS WITH A CURATOR If you’re looking for an excuse to day-drink in your PJs — though who needs an excuse anymore — New York’s Frick Collection provides just the opportunity. These weekly sessions offer lively insights into significant pieces in the museum’s stunning collection, all delivered with an elaborate libation tailored for the occasion. This week, a long look at J.M.W. Turner’s “Harbor of Dieppe: Changement de Domicile” comes with a recipe for “Widow’s Kiss,” a concoction of Calvados, Benedictine D.O.M., and Yellow Chartreuse liqueur. Hosted by the Frick’s chief curator Xavier Salomon — friendly, funny, and always impeccably dressed; I doubt he owns a suit with less than three pieces — it’s a remarkably civilizing experience for desperate times. You might even be inspired to shuck those pajama pants for a pair of slacks. 5 p.m. Fridays, www.frick.org/cocktails_curator
MURRAY WHYTE
THE SIGNS OF COVID-19 Boston street photographer Jeff Larason has captured the public moment, traveling from Brockton to Lowell to shoot signage about the pandemic in this online exhibition from CultureHouse. Larason makes poignant use of reflections, and his compositions artfully frame the messages, which offer information and solace: A note in a liquor store window says, “This too shall pass,” and a library has a sign in a child’s hand reading “Everything is going to be okay.” cloud.culturehouse.cc/gallery/
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CATE McQUAID
EVENTS
Comedy
MYQ KAPLAN ALBUM RELEASE PARTY Former Boston comic Myq Kaplan, who can rifle off an impressive amount of punchlines per minute, is celebrating the release of his new album, “A.K.A.,” on the day of its release via Zoom at Nowhere Comedy Club, a virtual club organizing stand-up shows online. May 8, 10:30 p.m. $10-$25. www.nowherecomedyclub.com
MIKE BIRBIGLIA Several times a week, the Shrewsbury native is popping on his Instagram feed to talk shop and develop material with hilarious friends like Gary Gulman, Pete Holmes, and Maria Bamford. The spots also highlight TipYourWaitStaff.com, which helps to raise money for wait staff at clubs and theaters, including the Wilbur and the Comedy Studio, which are currently dark. Birbiglia’s book, “The New One,” based on his Netflix special, is also out this week. Check Birbiglia’s Instagram for notices: @birbigs www.tipyourwaitstaff.com
BOYZ IN THE WOODS Former Boston comics Tawanda Gona, Nick Chambers, and Gabe Stoddard take their show from New York City clubs to livestreaming with guests Keith Johnson, Dedrick Flynn, Maddy Smith, Kofi Thomas, and Kenice Mobley. May 14th, 8 p.m. Free show on Zoom. Find more info on Instagram @boyzinthewoodsny
NICK A. ZAINO III
Family
MOTHER’S DAY AT THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN Give mom a special day full of flowers without leaving the house. The New York Botanical Garden hosts an annual Garden Party to celebrate the day, but has moved the celebration online. Virtual attendees can take an online tour of the gardens, participate in crafts guided by staff members, and jam out to a playlist curated specifically for the day. May 10, 11 a.m., Free. facebook.com
VIRTUAL DUCKLING DAY Make way for ducklings! Join Boston’s Friends of the Public Garden for a celebration of Beantown’s favorite feathered friends. Mayor Martin J. Walsh will offer greetings and WCVB TV-5’s Rhondella Richardson will read “Make Way for Ducklings” with her daughter Rhylee. May 10, noon, Free. facebook.com
ZUMBA THON Join the Girl Scouts of Central and Southern New Jersey to get moving this weekend. Open to participants in grades K through 12, the event features a Zumba instructor leading the upbeat dance class through a webinar link provided upon registration. Participants should wear comfortable shoes and be prepared to dance around like no one’s watching. May 11, 7 p.m., Free. eventbrite.com
GRACE GRIFFIN