Things to do around Boston this weekend and beyond

CMAT Irish singer-songwriter Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson’s 2023 album “Crazymad, For Me” reflects on a breakup that left deep wounds with plainspoken wit and insistent melodies that make her truth-telling refrains even stickier. April 5, 7 p.m. Brighton Music Hall. 617-779-0140, crossroadspresents.com

MARIAH THE SCIENTIST Last year this Georgia belter released “To Be Eaten Alive,” a meditation on the ups and downs of love with highlights like the roller-rink-ready “Out of Luck” and the starlit plea for communication “Different Pages.” April 6, 7 p.m. House of Blues. 888-693-2583, houseofblues.com/boston

ROSALI “Bite Down,” the just-released Merge Records debut from this North Carolina-based guitarist and producer, blends indie-rock fuzz with folky strumming in inviting fashion, with cuts like the shimmering “Is It Too Late” and the luminous “Hills on Fire” showcasing her gentle yet firm voice and penchant for taking songs in unexpected directions. April 11, 7:30 p.m. The Rockwell, Somerville. therockwell.org

MAURA JOHNSTON

JOSEPHINE FOSTER A chance to see an artist whose catalog is prolific, vast — it encompasses children’s songs, synth-based music, art songs, Spanish and American folk, psychedelica, and more — and weird in the best possible sense of the word. Friday, she’ll presumably focus on her latest solo effort, last year’s doleful sounding “Domestic Sphere,” which features her electric guitar, her eerie singing, and an abundance of environmental sounds, from crickets to cats. April 5, 7:30 p.m. $15-$25. The Lilypad, 1353 Cambridge St., Cambridge. 617-955-7729, lilypadinman.com

ZACHARY LUCKY This Canadian purveyor of a rough-hewn, plainspoken version of country music comes to Club Passim as part of its Monday Discovery Series, and he is well worth discovering. The last time he played in the area, he brought pedal steel guitarist Aaron Goldstein as accompanist, and the show was mesmerizing. This time, he’s playing with dobro/banjo player Miles Zurawell. Nashville’s Paper Wings also perform. April 8, 8 p.m. $10. Club Passim, 47 Palmer St., Cambridge. 617-492-7679, passim.org

YOONA KIM AND ROMAN BARTEN-SHERMAN Kim plays the Korean stringed instrument the ajaeng, Barten-Sherman the guitar and banjo. They’ve brought them together in a mash-up of traditional Korean music and American Delta blues, and will present what they’ve conjured on Thursday in a show titled “Ajaeng in America.” April 11, 6 p.m. Free with museum admission. Museum of Fine Arts, 465 Huntington Ave. 617-267-9300, mfa.org

STUART MUNRO

JASON RICCI & THE BAD KIND Blues Blast Magazine dubbed Ricci “one of the best and most imitated blues harmonica players of the 21st century.” And he’s been nominated seven times for the Blues Music Awards’ Harmonica Player of the Year — winning in 2010, 2018, and 2022! April 6, 8 p.m. $20. Bull Run Restaurant, 215 Great Road, Shirley. 978-425-4311, bullrunrestaurant.com

MELISSA KASSEL & TOM ZICARELLI GROUP Marvelous vocalist Kassel seldom takes the well-traveled route through a song, yet always manages to sound copacetic rather than contrived. Her accomplished accompanists, led by pianist Zicarelli, include trumpeter Phil Grenadier, bassist Bruce Gertz, and drummer Gary Fieldman. April 7, 6:30 p.m. $12. The Lilypad, 1353 Cambridge St., Cambridge. lilypadinman.com

ALLAN CHASE SEXTET Mandorla Music’s Dot Jazz series presents the debut of seasoned multi-saxophonist Chase’s latest project, original music plus compositions by Charles Mingus and Duke Ellington, featuring wonderful improvisers Lemuel Marc (trumpet), Bill Lowe (bass trombone), Amanda Monaco (guitar), Bruno Råberg (bass), and drummer Luther Gray. April 11, 8 p.m. $15-$20. Peabody Hall, Parish of All Saints, 209 Ashmont St., Dorchester. www.mandorlamusic.net

KEVIN LOWENTHAL

BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA The BSO lights up the stage this week with Scriabin’s “Prometheus, Poem of Fire,” a wild piece for piano (Yefim Bronfman, soloist), chorus, orchestra, and “color organ” — lighting up the stage with colors corresponding to the music. Pieces by Anna Clyne, Wagner, and Liszt round out the decadently colorful program (April 6). Next week, the “Music for the Senses” event continues with Messiaen’s ecstatic “Turangalîla-symphonie,” featuring Yuja Wang on piano and Cécile Lartigau on the ondes Martenot, an early electronic instrument (April 11-14). www.bso.org

THE VOYAGE OF EDGAR ALLAN POE Boston Modern Orchestra Project and Odyssey Opera present an American rarity with a one-night-only performance of Dominick Argento’s spooky “The Voyage of Edgar Allan Poe,” which has not been performed since 1990. Tenor Peter Tantsits stars in the lead role. April 5, 8 p.m. Huntington Theatre. 617-826-1626. www.odysseyopera.org

BOSTON OPERA COLLABORATIVE The local chamber opera company presents “La Tragédie de Carmen,” English stage director Peter Brook’s radically condensed 1983 reimagining of Bizet’s beloved “Carmen.” The 90-minute opera, which reduces the cast to four singers, will be the first opera produced in Cambridge’s Arrow Street Arts, the former American Repertory Theatre fringe venue Oberon. Boston Opera Collaborative’s production also features a 15-piece chamber orchestra led by new music director Ken Yanagisawa. April 6, 7:30 p.m.; April 7, 3 p.m. www.bocopera.org

HANDEL AND HAYDN SOCIETY Bach Collegium Japan founder Masaaki Suzuki teams up with the Handel and Haydn Society Orchestra and Chorus for J.S. Bach’s monumental Mass in B Minor. Vocal soloists include Hana Blažíková, Olivia Vermeulen, Tim Mead, Shimon Yoshida, and Timothy Edlin. April 5, 7:30 p.m.; April 7, 3 p.m. Symphony Hall. 617-262-1815, www.handelandhaydn.org

A.Z. MADONNA

DRIVING IN CIRCLES Jay Eddy’s remarkable autobiographical musical explores the lasting impact on a character called Jill/Bill of the sexual abuse they suffered from the age of 10 to 19. Having written the sharp-edged script and composed the propulsive score, Eddy proves to be a fiercely compelling performer as well. Directed by Sam Plattus. Through April 6. Boston Playwrights’ Theatre. BostonPlaywrights.org

KING HEDLEY II After enjoying success last year with August Wilson’s “Seven Guitars,” Actors’ Shakespeare Project has another winner in Wilson’s “King Hedley II.” Set in Pittsburgh in the middle of the Reagan era, it focuses on a man recently released from prison (a superb James Ricardo Milord) who sells refrigerators (probably stolen) to raise the money to open his own video store. Directed by the versatile Summer L. Williams, with an outstanding cast that includes Karimah Williams, Patrice Jean-Baptiste, Brandon G. Green, Omar Robinson, and Naheem Garcia. Through April 7. Actors’ Shakespeare Project. At Hibernian Hall, Roxbury. 617-241-2200, actorsshakespeareproject.org

BEYOND WORDS Jon Vellante delivers an absolute gem of a performance as an African grey parrot in the premiere of Laura Maria Censabella’s play about the real-life 30-year partnership — it’s nothing less than that — between Alex the parrot and pathbreaking researcher Irene M. Pepperberg (Stephanie Clayman). The inventive direction by Cassie Chapados maximizes the theatrical possibilities of Censabella’s script. Through April 14. A Catalyst Collaborative@MIT production. Presented by Central Square Theater, Cambridge. 617-576-9278 x1, CentralSquareTheater.org

DON AUCOIN

VERTIGO DANCE The acclaimed Jerusalem-based company performs “MAKOM” (derived from the Hebrew word for place) in this Celebrity Series of Boston presentation. Created by company artistic director Noa Wertheim, this relevant evening-length work portrays humanity’s perennial quest for peace and belonging. April 5-6. Boch Center Shubert Theatre. www.celebrityseries.org

SOUTH ASIAN SHOWDOWN XV For one night only, South Asian Nation and Boston Bhangra bring together some of the best Bollywood/fusion dance teams from around the country for an eye-popping, high-energy, good-natured showdown. Judges choose the best team of the night. This one often sells out, so plan early. April 6, 6 p.m. $20-$100. Strand Theatre. www.southasianshowdown.com/2024/

CARNIVAL OF THE ANIMALS AND OTHER STORIES United Dance, which was founded to offer high-quality dance opportunities to people with Down syndrome, offers this fanciful production about diversity and self-discovery. The brainchild of Gianni Di Marco, it tells the story of a young boy whose toys spring to life and exemplify the strength and beauty in celebrating differences and embracing acceptance. April 5-6. $15-$40. Multicultural Arts Center, Cambridge. www.uniteddance.org

CYDP DANCE COMPANY Deborah Mason’s troupe for aspiring young dancers celebrates 20 seasons with an upcoming showcase that should be especially good for families. The concert features choreography in a wide range of styles by Mason, Ian Berg, Adrienne Hawkins, Christopher Huggins, Jenny Oliver, Jeryl Palana, Demi Remick, and Leslie Woodies. April 6-7. $25. Boston University Dance Theater. www.cydp.org

KAREN CAMPBELL

ROBERT FRANK AND TODD WEBB: ACROSS AMERICA, 1955 Two photographers, one American, one Swiss, who helped capture the United States at the critical crossroads of the postwar era, are the subject of this compelling exhibition at the Addison Gallery of American Art. In 1955, Frank, the Swiss, embarked on his cross-country road trip that would result in his iconic book, “The Americans,” the result of a Guggenheim Foundation grant. Unbeknownst to him, an American photographer, Todd Webb, was on the road with Guggenheim grant money that year, too, but instead of driving, Webb made his trek on public transit, bicycle, and on foot, a slowed-down perspective in public space that made the journey itself a trenchant presence all its own. Through July 31. Addison Gallery of American Art at Phillips Academy, 3 Chapel Ave., Andover. 978-749-4015, www.addisongallery.org.

THE WORLD OUTSIDE: LOUISE NEVELSON AT MIDCENTURY Nevelson, the flamboyant doyenne of American Modernism, was born just outside Kyiv and emigrated to Rockand, Maine, as a child in 1905. Escaping Russian antisemitism for America saved her first; art is what saved her next, transporting her from the backwoods nowhere of early-20th-century Maine to New York City at midcentury, when radical new forms of art were taking hold. This show, at Colby College, just up the road from Rockland in Waterville, is as significant a survey as Nevelson has had in years. And you can double up in Nevelson’s hometown with the Farnsworth Museum’s “Louise Nevelson: Dawn to Dusk,” which runs through Sept. 24. Through June 9. Colby College Museum of Art, 5600 Mayflower Hill, Waterville, Maine. 207-859-5600, colby.edu/museum.

TOSHIKO TAKAEZU: SHAPING ABSTRACTION Takaezu, born in 1922 in Hawaii to parents of Japanese ancestry, made spectacularly expressive abstract paintings and textiles (she died in 2011). But her ceramic work is perhaps her most lasting legacy. At the MFA, a selection of dozens of ceramic pieces are complemented by her work in other media, paying tribute to her pioneering formal innovations and broadening the story of the roots of American abstraction beyond the Abstract Expressionist cohort of painters, many of whom were her contemporaries. Through Sept. 29. Museum of Fine Arts Boston, 465 Huntington Ave. www.mfa.org, 617-267-9300.

MURRAY WHYTE

CAROL WAX: EXTRAORDINARY OBJECTS Wax is a dean of the mezzotint engraving, a printmaking method originating in the 17th century that allows for deep, inky backgrounds and subtle gradations of tone and texture. The second edition of her 1990 book “The Mezzotint: History and Techniques” came out last year from Schiffer Publishing. Wax’s images of objects such as a fan, a film projector, and a typewriter are more portrait than still life; she imbues them with noirish inner lives. April 5 through May 24. Childs Gallery, 168 Newbury St. 617-266-1108, www.childsgallery.com

CATE McQUAID

BRAD MASTRANGELO On last year’s album “You’ll Thank Me Later,” the Boston comic contemplated how his relationship with his wife has changed after nearly three decades together. “Sex is certainly different after 29 years,” he says. “Sex to us now is, we lie in bed, we look at each other, and we think about sex. That’s sex. And I still finish first.” April 5-6, 8:30 p.m. $30-$32. Giggles Comedy Club, 517 Broadway (Route 1), Saugus. 781-233-9950, princerestaurant.com/giggles-events

TOM PAPA:THE GOOD STUFF TOUR “Why are we telling our old people they can do more things the older they get?” says Papa in “What a Day!,” the 2022 special he recorded at the Wilbur. “That’s not how it works. You don’t add things to your bucket list after 70. Anything you don’t do by 70, you don’t have to do.” He’s touring with a new hour he’ll tape in Washington, D.C., in June. April 6, 7 p.m. and 9:45 p.m. $30-$50. The Wilbur, 246 Tremont St. thewilbur.com

JENA FRIEDMAN The former field producer for “The Daily Show” and writer on “Borat 2: Subsequent Movie Film” is an incredibly pointed stand-up, which is obvious before you get even a full minute into last year’s Peacock special, “Ladykiller.” She’s touring with a new hour, and her career memoir, “Not Funny,” is out in paperback in May. April 9, 7:30 p.m. $26. Crystal Ballroom at Somerville Theatre, 55 Davis Square, Somerville. 617-245-2900, crystalballroomboston.com

NICK A. ZAINO III

STORY TIME FOR ALL AGES All ages are welcome to join Hill Saxon, a youth librarian from Cambridge Public Libraries, in a half-hour story time in the galleries of the museum. The event is inspired by the exhibition “Carving Out Time” by LaToya M. Hobbes, a suite of life-size woodcuts modeled after one day in the artist’s life. The gallery program is limited to 18 participants, registration is required. April 6, 10:30 a.m.-11 a.m. Free. Harvard Art Museums, 32 Quincy St., Cambridge. harvardartmuseums.org

AMAZING ARCHAEOLOGY FAIR AT HARVARD Participants of all ages are invited to venture on a global archeological exploration. On-site archeologists from around the world will guide attendees through Egyptian, Aztec, and Inca history and civilizations. Attempt ancient cuneiform writing, analyze archeological evidence, and peer beneath the ground with virtual reality technology. Free event parking starts at noon at the 52 Oxford St. garage. April 7, 1 p.m.-4 p.m. Price, based on museum admission, varies. Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, 11 Divinity Ave., Cambridge. hmsc.harvard.edu

HALF HALF HALF HALF HALF MARATHON Join 826 Boston in its annual Half Half Half Half Half Marathon race to support the nonprofit organization’s free writing, publishing, and reading programs offered to Boston’s K-12 students. The marathon charts out an easy, family-friendly 0.826-mile track, with participants welcome to walk, run, wheel, or move around the Jamaica Pond course. Registration is required. April 11, 5:30 p.m.-7 p.m. $25. Jamaica Pond Boathouse, 507 Jamaicaway, Jamaica Plain. 826boston.org

ADRI PRAY