Jared Bowen

Pirates of Penzance, playing at the A.R.T.’s Loeb Drama Center through June 2nd

The Hypocrites, known for their insightful illuminations of classic theater texts, will bring Pirates of Penzance to Cambridge, complete with irreverent and hilarious bathing beauties, philosophizing pirates, and plenty of short shorts.

At Any Price, Opens Landmark Kendall Square in Cambridge and the Embassy in Waltham Friday

Two new live performances in Boston give audiences and moment to look into the past, both to reminisce and to realize how far we have come. 

Master Class, Presented by New Repertory Theatre, playing at the Arsenal Center for the Arts through April 21st

Chroma, Presented by Boston Ballet, through May 12th at the Boston Opera House.

Jared Bowen takes a look at how the city has rebuilt for bikes – and the challenges that remain.

All eyes are on NY theater this week with the Tuesday announcement of the Tony awards including, 10 for the A.R.T.’s Pippin and news that the Huntington Theatre Company will receive the prestigious Regional Theatre Tony Award. I spent the weekend in New York City catching these shows:

Matilda, presented by The Royal Shakespeare Company at the Shubert Theatre

It's hard to believe that just over a week ago the city of Boston was rocked by the explosions at the Boston Marathon and thrown into utter turmoil. The Arts community respectfully closed many stages and also threw open the doors to many galleries, where mourners contemplated more beautiful images than what appeared on the news.

Now Boston has to learn to smile again and begin the healing that includes some laughter. Below are a few suggestions that might help.

The great Russian composer Mussorgsky composed his enduring piece Pictures at an Exhibition in 1874—it depicts a tour through an art collection.  Now Boston’s Copley Society of Art and the Boston Symphony Orchestra have turned that concept completely around.  They asked artists to paint pictures based on the MUSIC.  Hear many of them tell us what it is in the music that inspired them.

The list of shows that tried out here in Boston before going to Broadway is pretty dazzling. Oklahoma, Carousel and Annie Get Your Gun to name a few. It still happens, but not as often as it could, say theatre producers. A group of local theater leaders are asking Beacon Hill to help make Broadway big business in Boston.

One of Worcester’s most beloved institutions recently announced it’s closing—news that came as a shock to many.  But as Jared Bowen reports, there is a bittersweet end. 

“The Sleeping Beauty”

Presented by Boston Ballet at the Boston Opera House through April 7.

The one peril in Boston Ballet Artistic Director Mikko Nissinen’s vivacious stewardship of his company is how deftly he’s immersed audiences in the ever-exciting realm of contemporary dance. It could give us all reason to look past chestnuts like “The Sleeping Beauty.” Do not. Boston Ballet’s Beauty is a masterpiece — a sumptuous production that heaves with emotional heft, enchants with gorgeous sets and costumes and most importantly captivates with stunning dance. Interestingly, it’s likely that the push Nissinen has given the company toward technically challenging contemporary dance has made its principal dancers and soloists so masterful at classical ballet.

Looking for a way to imbue your weekend with a little arts and culture? We might suggest the Huntington Theatre’s breathtaking production of a classic play, or perhaps a visit to a beloved local landmark that is soon to close its doors.  

A Raisin in the Sun

Lorraine Hansbury’s 1959 play – A Raisin in the Sun – went directly to the heart of race relations in this country.  It depicted the hate that rains down on an African American family when their dream home takes them to a white neighborhood. It’s a theme reconsidered over 50 years later in the recent Tony Award winning play Clybourne Park. Coincidentally, both shows are on Boston stages right now.  Jared Bowen has this look.

The Higgins Armory Museum in Worcester, a bastion of many a boyhood dream and fantasy, announced today that it will close on December 31st.  Founded by industrialist John Woodman Higgins in 1931, the Armory is a treasure trove of more than 2,000 pieces including “major examples of arms and armor from medieval and Renaissance Europe, Ancient Greece and Rome, Africa, the Middle East, India and Japan” according to the museum’s website.  

Jared Bowen takes us to the Anders Zorn exhibit now at the Isabella Stewart Gardner  Museum.

This week on Caught in the Act, Jared talks about the Lyric Stage comedy "Stones In His Pockets," and the Gold Dust Orphan's raunchy romp "Mildred Fierce."

He also gives the movie "Jack the Giant Slayer" a surprise rave — it's a movie the whole family can enjoy — and briefs us on a big development for Framingham's Danforth Museum of Art.

What’s the haps with the Boston arts scene this week? Jared Bowen has all the information you need, from introducing you to an orchestra with an inspiring story to scouting out a theater’s next season.

  When the Taliban took hold of Afghanistan in the mid-1990s, it prohibited music entirely — instruments and music books were destroyed across the country. But when Taliban rule ended in 2001, so did the ban on music.

Ahmed Sarmast, the son of a famed Afghan composer, founded the Afghan National Institute of Music in 2010. The institute had almost no resources or instruments when it began, but that didn't stop Sarmast from using music to change the lives of his students. 

Greater Boston's Jared Bowen talks about Sunday's Academy Awards. 

Robots are taking an active role in medicine, and Bedford’s iRobot is rolling out a new health care robot. 

WGBH News' Jared Bowen dropped by iRobot headquarters in Bedford to check out their health care telepresence robot.

Looking for a way to add culture to your weekend? Jared Bowen shares his picks from the Boston arts scene this week — from a comedy with heart to an investigation of the Bard.

The dean of American theater, Bob Brustein, completes his Shakespeare trilogy with "The Last Will" about Shakespeare's last days as he succumbs to a fatal illness.

The American Repertory Theater is on a revival roll. Fresh of its Broadway-bound musical Pippin, the theater has turned its attention to the Tennessee Williams classic “The Glass Menagerie.”

Looking for something to do this weekend? Why not step out to see "The Glass Menagerie" or "Mildred Fierce," Jared Bowen's two picks from the Boston theater scene this week?

 Jared Bowen gets caught in the act with two films. First up: Steven Soderbergh's gripping look at the pharmaceutical industry, "Side Effects." Then, take a walk on the funny side with Melissa McCarthy and Jason Bateman in the wild romp, "Identity Thief." 

Looking for something to do this weekend? Jared Bowen shares his picks from the art scene this week, and there’s something for everyone from theater buffs to comedy mavens.

You For Me For You

Presented by Company One, playing at Boston Center for the Arts through Feb. 16.

Jared Bowen discusses the play, You For Me For You, about two sisters fleeing their homeland in North Korea and embarking on a journey in America.

Jared Bowen shared two ways for you to get caught in act this weekend — with the lighthearted comedies "Sister Act" and "The Servant of Two Masters."

If you're looking to infuse your weekend with a little culture or a little comedy, Jared Bowen has you covered. Here are his picks from the Boston arts scene this week.

  John Wilson: Eternal Presence

On exhibit until March 24 at the Danforth Museum of Art

Nationally known artist John Wilson is receiving a career retrospective at the Danforth Museum in Framingham.