In post-revolutionary Iran, literature professor Azar Nafisi gathers a small group of female students to secretly read banned Western classics in Reading Lolita in Tehran (2024, NR). Behind closed doors, books become a way to speak freely, share their lives, and imagine possibilities beyond the restrictions surrounding them in this adaptation of Nafisi’s acclaimed memoir.

The Bushnell welcomes Oh, Mary!, the wildly irreverent Broadway hit that imagines Mary Todd Lincoln as you’ve definitely never seen her before. Winner of two Tony Awards, this sharp, absurd comedy turns one of history’s most famous First Ladies into the gloriously unhinged center of the story.

What does it mean to belong when the forces around you keep drawing lines between self and other? In Spatial Essays, Tehran-born artist Hanieh Kashani explores exclusion, displacement, rootedness, and imposed unity through a thoughtful and provocative solo exhibition. Enjoy the exhibition and opening reception on Saturday, September 19th from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM.

*This event takes place in Room 106 of the 56 Arbor Street Studios.

Join phenomenal host Xiomarie LaBeija and DJ Edgewood as they celebrate Pride Month at Parkville Market. Tickets include the show and all of your mimosas and bloody marys. Don’t forget those dolla dolla billz, ya’ll!

Renaissance art gets an improvised soundtrack as Austin Larkin and Zach Rowden perform in Red Yellow Blue Green Black at the Wadsworth Atheneum. Violin and bass respond to the artworks around them, turning a walk through the galleries into part concert, part conversation across centuries.

The Budos Band makes music that sounds like the soundtrack to a car chase you’d happily get caught in. At Infinity Hall Hartford, the Staten Island instrumental crew serves up a cinematic mix of horn-heavy funk, soul, Afrobeat, and psychedelic grooves.