The Omnivore’s Agenda
A high-, middle- and lowbrow guide to fall arts
Photo Credit: Bruce M. White
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September is the coolest month, bringing the college crowd, leaf-peepers and Bryan Rafanelli back to town—and the autumn arts season into full bloom. The theater and Symphony, the opera and ballet beckon again. Hot bands headline Boston clubs and Cambridge bars. Broadway road shows offer family-friendly nights on the town. And television awakens from the coma of summer repeats.
Putting a fresh spin on an old favorite, this year’s fall preview offers a panoply of options—from highbrow to lowbrow, the brainy to the zany. We’re no snobs. Au contraire, we eagerly anticipated the local rendition of Jersey Shore. But alas, the auditions ballyhooed last spring for Wicked Summah never took place. (What, no Snooki from Saugus?)
So kick back and enjoy. We’ve done all the hard work for you.
High: The new stage adaptation Alice vs. Wonderland adds frabjous costumes, ga-ga songs and good old futterwacken to the classic magical thinking. In her sophomore season as artistic director, Diane Paulus brings “high-octane physical theater” to the A.R.T.
Sept. 18-Oct. 9, $15 at the Loeb Drama Center, 64 Brattle St., Cambridge (617-547-8300) americanrepertorytheater.org
Middle: Boston Conservatory grad and American Idol contender Constantine Maroulis stars in the national tour of Rock of Ages, the musical comedy which earned him a Tony nomination last year. Tinsley Mortimer not included.
Oct. 6-17, $22-$89 at the Colonial Theatre, 106 Boylston St., Boston (800-982-2787) broadwayacrossamerica.com/boston
Low: America’s Got Talent Live comes to Beantown. See finalists and fan favorites from the hit TV show in this tour hosted by Jerry Springer. Who’d have thought you could miss Howie Mandel?
Nov. 3, $42.50-$99.50 at the Citi Performing Arts Center Wang Theatre, 270 Tremont St., Boston (617-482-9393) citicenter.org
High: Head overseas with Boston Ballet’s second offering this season (the opener, Night of Stars, is bound to sell out early). Romantic La Bayadère, from legendary choreographer Marius Petipa, is set in a Bollywood-influenced India.
Nov. 4-14, $25-$132 at the Boston Opera House, 539 Washington St., Boston (617-695-6955) bostonballet.org
Middle: Mark Morris (need we say more?) presents the world premiere of a work honoring the 25th anniversary of Martha Jones as head of the Celebrity Series of Boston. A Q&A follows the Friday performance.
Oct. 14-17, $53-$80 at the Cutler Majestic Theatre, 219 Tremont St., Boston (617-482-6661) celebrityseries.org. Single tickets go on sale on Sept. 13.
Low: Doug Elkins and Friends offers their take on all things “dahnce” in Fraulein Maria, The Sound of Music for cool kids.
Sept. 23–Oct. 3, $25–$69 at the Paramount Theatre, 560 Washington St., Boston (617-824-8000) artsemerson.org. David Parker appears the first weekend.
High: In his first survey exhibition, L.A. artist Mark Bradford, a MacArthur genius grant recipient, explores urban issues through rich displays of “found material” transformed into paintings, sculpture, installation and video.
Nov. 19-March 13, $15; $13, seniors; $10, students at the Institute of Contemporary Art, 100 Northern Ave., Boston (617-478-3100) icaboston.org
Middle: Peruse fashion from the ’50s to today in the collection of a designer who has robed first ladies and first wives—from Mamie Eisenhower to Ivana Trump. A man born Arnold Isaacs: Scaasi backwards... get it?
Sept. 25-June 19, $20; $18, students and seniors at the Museum of Fine Arts, 465 Huntington Ave., Boston (617-369-9300) mfa.org
Low: Gawk away at the Museum of Science’s Reptiles: The Beautiful and the Deadly. A sort of cold-blooded meet-and-greet, here’s your chance to ogle the endangered (the American crocodile), the bizarre (the soft-shelled turtle) and the oversized (the giant water monitor lizard).
Beginning Nov. 7, $21; $19, seniors at the Nichols Gallery, 1 Science Park, Boston, (617-723-2500) mos.org
High: So he’s dorky. Ken Burns still pulls together the best documentaries on TV. The latest offering is The Tenth Inning, about the past 16 years of baseball—from the shadow of steroids to the Joy of Sox.
Sept. 28–29 on PBS, WGBH-TV Channel 2, wgbh.org
Middle: Catch a season’s worth of Chronicle’s “Main Streets and Back Roads,” with an interactive twist: Viewers can guess the location via the Web and Facebook.
Mondays in November, 7:30 pm on WCVB-TV Channel 5, thebostonchannel.com
Low: NESN’s foray into lifestyle this fall includes a Cribs-like show, called After the Game. Red Sox wife Linda Pizzuti Henry coproduces. Here’s hoping for a sneak peek inside the historic $16 million manse her hubby tore down to build a better pad.
Friday nights at 5:30 pm and repeated during the week on NESN, nesn.com
High: Opening night at Symphony stars Welsh bass-baritone Bryn Terfel in an all-Wagner program, aptly dark and grand like his 2009 CD, Bad Boys. The production includes music from The Flying Dutchman and the Ring cycle.
Oct. 2, $75-$2,500 at Symphony Hall, 301 Mass. Ave., Boston (888-266-1200) bso.org
Middle: The fifth annual Honk! Festival of Activist Bands presents a grassroots spectacle of more than 350 performers from around the world, inspired by New Orleans brass, Klezmer and more, who march and party to showcase music and a common cause.
Oct. 8–10 in Davis and Harvard squares. honkfest.org
Low: Faster than you can say messy divorce, it’s Our Liza of Perpetual Recovery. The unsinkable chanteuse is back, with a small ensemble.
Nov. 7, $50-$150 at Symphony Hall, 301 Mass. Ave., Boston (617-482-6661) celebrityseries.org. Single tickets go on sale on Sept. 13.
