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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Monday

“Midnight Traveler” kicks off the DocYard season at 7 p.m. at The Brattle Theatre, 40 Brattle St., Harvard Square. General admission is $12. An autobiographical tale by Afghan director Hassan Fazili, who takes his family on the run when the Taliban puts a bounty on his head. Producer/writer/editor Emelie Mahdavian will attend via Skype for a Q&A. This year’s DocYard marks the last for founding programmer Sara Archambault, who is moving on to the production side of filmmaking. (Submitted by Tom Meek.) Information is here.


Tuesday

Khalafalla Osman at Story Space from 6:45 to 9 p.m. at Havurat Shalom, 113 College Ave., Powder House Square, Somerville. There is a $8 requested donation (up from $5, the first hike in 27 years). This poet, law student and Northeastern University chaplain gives a glimpse into the life of a young Muslim, American-born but with deep roots in Sudan. Information is here.

Free advance screening of “The Goldfinch” from 7 to 9:30 p.m. at The Brattle Theatre, 40 Brattle St., Harvard Square. The free seats are first-come, first-served. Donna Tartt’s coming-of-age novel with a museum-bombing set piece makes it to the screen before “The Secret History” somehow, and loaded with stars – Ansel Elgort, Nicole Kidman, Jeffrey Wright, Sarah Paulson, Finn Wolfhard and Luke Wilson. Information is here.

NY Cat Film Festival from 7 to 10 p.m. at Landmark Kendall Square Cinema, 355 Binney St., Kendall Square. Tickets are $15. Fourteen short films of all sorts and from around the world, including “Akamatsu the Cat,” a documentary about life with a paralyzed cat in a wheelchair and “Art’s Automotive,” an animated tale of an orphaned kitten who bonds with an auto repair robot. The series benefits animal welfare groups. Information is here.


Wednesday

The Magic Hour at Washington Tower from 6:15 to 7:30 p.m. at Mount Auburn Cemetery, 580 Mt Auburn St., West Cambridge. Free, but register here because there’s limited space. Mostly silent meditation at one of Cambridge’s most beautiful places as the sunsets grow earlier in the fall. Information is here.

Obscured Vision: A Night of Sonic Storytelling from 7 to 8:30 p..m. at the Museum of Science, 1 Science Park, Boston, on the Cambridge border. Tickets are $15 for this 18-plus show, or $20 at the door. Slip on a blindfold and experience an evening of sensory storytelling that showcases the power of sound – a collaboration with science reporter Ari Daniel, with innovative sound design by Ian Coss. Information is here.

Wiretap Wednesday Open Stage from 7 to 9:30 p.m. (with sign-ups at 6:30 p.m.; repeating monthly) at The Center for Arts at the Armory, 191 Highland Ave., Somerville. Free. An open mic that founders Ben Quick and Nate Taylor say supports virtually any type of performance, taking advantage of the space’s stage, free parking, piano, many microphones and liquor license. Information is here.

Spoken word in Cambridge: 4×4 Team Slam at the Boston Poetry Slam, from 7:15 p.m. to midnight at The Cantab Lounge, 738 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square. There’s a $5 cover for this 18-plus show. After an open mic starting at 8 p.m. comes a virtual cage match of a four-round slam with Mill City Slam (of Untitled Open Mic in Lowell), Endopolis Poetry Room (of Northampton); the Boston Poetry Slam’s own 2019 team; and a team to be announced. Information is here.


Thursday

“The America Plays” from 1 to 2:30 p.m. and 5 to 6:30 p.m. (and repeating Saturday, Sunday and next week) at Mount Auburn Cemetery, 580 Mount Auburn St., West Cambridge. General admission is $35. The cemetery’s first playwright artist-in-residence, Patrick Gabridge, has written two sets of five plays; here’s the second set, inspired by the site’s environment and taking place at various spots across the grounds. Performances are followed by discussion. Information is here.

Weird Local Film Festival No. 10 from 7 to 10:30 p.m. at Warehouse XI, 11 Sanborn Court, Union Square, Somerville. There’s a suggested donation of $5 for this 18-plus show. There 25 short works scheduled from “filmmakers in reasonable proximity to Somerville” for this semi-regular screening event. Information is here.

The Thirties comedy with Kathe Farris and Emily Ruskowski from 9:30 to 11 p.m. at ImprovBoston, 40 Prospect St., Central Square. Tickets are $15. A monthly stand-up showcase giving accomplished local comics a half-hour each. Information is here.


Friday

Salman Rushdie reads from “Quichotte: A Novel” from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the First Parish Cambridge Unitarian Universalist, 3 Church St./1446 Massachusetts Ave., Harvard Square. Tickets are $29.75 (with fees, $32.23), including a copy of the book. The esteemed author talks through his satirical book-within-a-book inspired by Cervantes’ “Don Quixote” with fellow esteemed author Gish Jen. Information is here.

Joe Mande’s King of Content Tour from 7 to 10 p.m. at Once Somerville, 156 Highland Ave. Tickets are $27. Mande – seen on “Parks and Recreation” and “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” and with writing credits that include “The Good Place” and “Master of None” – brings comedy from his travels around America. Information is here.

Ten Tiny Dances from 8 to 9 p.m. (and continuing Saturday and Sunday) at The Dance Complex, 536 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square. General admission is $26 (with fees, $29.21), though ticket prices range from $10 to $100. Fourteen local artists investigate the constrictions of space and time – traditionally, taking place within five minutes on a 4-foot-square space – with a rotating cast of dancers. Information is here.

“The Revenger’s Tragedy” from 8 to 10 p.m. (and repeating Saturday, Sunday and next week) at Unity Somerville, 6 William St., just off College Avenue near Davis Square, Somerville. Tickets are $15 (with fees, $16.74). Written probably by Thomas Middleton, this cynical satire of Jacobean revenge tragedies features ridiculous violence and heroes who are little better than the villains – set by director Mary Parker of Theatre@First to take place within a failing circus in the 1940s. Information is here.

“The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” from 8 to 10 p.m. (and repeating Saturday) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Kresge Little Theater in Kresge Auditorium, 48 Massachusetts Ave. General admission is $15. In this musical comedy, six adolescent spellers compete for a slot in the National Spelling Bee, along with some adults stuck in adolescence themselves and audience volunteers. Information is here.


Saturday

Riverfest from noon to 9 p.m. at Assembly Row, 355 Artisan Way, Assembly Square, Somerville. Free to enter. There’s music, art, children’s activities and a fireworks show over the Mystic River at sundown, as well as food from Smoke Shop BBQ and a new beer and wine garden. Information is here. 

“Dark Phoenix Saga” screening and potluck from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Comicazi, 407 Highland Ave., Davis Square, Somerville. Free. Comics nerds can shake off the misery of this year’s “Dark Phoenix,” the final non-Marvel Comics Universe “X-Men” film, by screening the 1990s cartoon episodes (presented in association with the Sci-Fi Book Club) that go over the same material better. Information is here.

Don’t Tell Somerville comedy from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at a Davis Square location to be emailed on the day of the show to buyers of tickets starting at $20 general admission. Secret locations for secret comedians (and you B-ing YOB) in what organizers call “comedy’s worst-kept secret.” Information is here.

“The America Plays” from 1 to 2:30 p.m. and 5 to 6:30 p.m. (and repeating Sunday and next week) at Mount Auburn Cemetery, 580 Mt Auburn St., West Cambridge. General admission is $35. Information is here.

“The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Kresge Little Theater in Kresge Auditorium, 48 Massachusetts Ave. General admission is $15. Information is here.

Ten Tiny Dances from 8 to 9 p.m. (and continuing Sunday) at The Dance Complex, 536 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square. General admission is $26 (with fees, $29.21), but ticket prices range from $10 to $100. Information is here.

“The Revenger’s Tragedy” from 8 to 10 p.m. (and repeating Saturday, Sunday and next week) at Unity Somerville, 6 William St., just off College Avenue near Davis Square, Somerville. Tickets are $15 (with fees, $16.74). Information is here.


Sunday

Thai Festival from noon to 6 p.m. at Winthrop Park in Harvard Square. Free. There’s a grand opening parade, dance, flower blessings and Thai boxing demonstrations, and of course Thai cuisine, sold here by more than 15 vendors. Information is here.

Chloe Feldman Emison art reception from 4 to 6 p.m. at Aeronaut Brewing, 14 Tyler St., near Union Square, Somerville. Free. The New Hampshire illustrator and animator shows off her pen and ink wash drawings – many treading a pleasant line between whimsical and foreboding. Information is here.

Family dancing and potluck from 5:30 to 10:30 p.m. at the Masonic Lodge, 1950 Massachusetts Ave., Porter Square. Admission is $5 to $15 on a sliding scale. An hour of dance, an hour of potluck, a bit of contra dance lessons for beginners and then three hours of contra dance until people realize it’s a school night. Information is here.

“The America Plays” from 1 to 2:30 p.m. and 5 to 6:30 p.m. (and repeating next week) at Mount Auburn Cemetery, 580 Mt Auburn St., West Cambridge. General admission is $35. Information is here.

“The Revenger’s Tragedy” from 4 to 6 p.m. (and repeating Saturday, Sunday and next week) at Unity Somerville, 6 William St., just off College Avenue near Davis Square, Somerville. Tickets are $15 (with fees, $16.74). Information is here.

Ten Tiny Dances from 7 to 8 p.m. (and continuing Sunday) at The Dance Complex, 536 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square. General admission is $26 (with fees, $29.21), but ticket prices range from $10 to $100. Information is here.