The Bible story of Joseph and his coat of many colors comes to life this weekend at the Arsenal Center for the Arts as a cast of 13 performers gives its rendition of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.” The musical has thrilled audiences since the 1970s, when Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s show first hit the stage. Now, the F.U.D.G.E. Theatre Company (Friends United Developing Genuine Entertainment) will tell Joseph’s story by acting as if they are traveling performers wandering from city to city. “Everything that is used on the show is set in a large trunk and a few small …

Over the course of his career, novelist Chris Bohjalian has taken readers on many journeys. “Midwives,” a No. 1 New York Times bestseller, centered on an isolated Vermont farmhouse where a home birth goes tragically wrong. “The Double Bind” traveled to Long Island in the 1920s and follows a young social worker’s descent into madness. And “Skeletons at the Feast” chronicled the last six months of World War II in Poland and Germany. His fifteenth and latest book, “The Sandcastle Girls,” will hit bookstores on July 17.  It is a love story steeped in the author’s Armenian heritage. It begins with…

  Haunting is a word frequently used to describe the melodies that echo from the stage of an Epiphany Project performance. This musical trio combines piano and percussion with the ancient chanting and Armenian melodies of vocalist Bet Williams. The band has spent much of the past seven years performing in Europe, but is currently touring the East Coast to promote their “Live in Germany” CD.  On Thursday, July 19, the group performs at the Arsenal Center. Besides the four-octave range of Williams, Epiphany Project includes composer and pianist John Hodian and world music percussionist Mal …

Families looking for something fun to do this Thursday can bring a picnic dinner to Saltonstall Park in Watertown Square and enjoy the toe tap’n tunes of Debbie and Friends. The performance led by children’s entertainer Debbie Cavalier is the first in a series of Thursday evening concerts to be held in the park this summer. “Debbie and Friends came onto the children's music scene a few years ago with original, upbeat songs that promote positive messages,” says Arlene Smith, coordinator of the Watertown Family Network, the organization sponsoring this performance. “She is genuine in her love …

The weather is heating up and so is the entertainment at the Arsenal Center for the Arts. On Monday, June 25, Spanish composer-producer Javier Limón will lead a talented ensemble of international musicians for a night of flamenco music and dance. The Flamenco Soul Project offers an up-close look at the flamenco and Latin sounds coming from Spain and the Americas. The show follows the hundred-year evolution of flamenco, first delving into the music's oldest and most original styles, eventually shifting to the experimental modes of today, and finally offering a preview of flamenco’s future. …

Summer is right around the corner. Why not start it off with a night in the tropics? Fortunately, you need not travel far for that experience as the MetroWest Family Theater’s production of "Once On This Island" opens on Thursday, June 21 in the Arsenal Center’s Charles Mosesian Theater. This Tony-nominated musical combines elements of "Romeo and Juliet" and "The Little Mermaid." Set in the Caribbean, it tells the story of Ti Moune, a peasant girl who falls in love with Daniel, a wealthy boy from the "other side" of the island.  The MetroWest Family Theater's production is directed by …

On Friday, June 8, the Boston-based rock band Red Oblivion opens the fourth annual Arsenal Center for the Art’s Play in the Black Box series. Each summer, the series showcases up-and-coming, young talent in the intimate 90-seat Black Box Theater. Past groups have included Duppy Conquerors (Bob Marley Tribute Band), The Resurrectionists (Americana Rock), Pinchback Blues (Pre-war music of Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, etc.), Ian Ethan (harmonically rich, multi-layered acoustic music played on a double-neck guitar), Jenny Dee & the Deelinquents(girl group era R&B), and many others. Red Oblivion …

It starts with a needle, thread, fabric, and batting. Add ample amounts of imagination and then start stitching. That formula may seem simplistic, but it builds the foundation for a popular art form on display at the Arsenal Center this weekend.  The Quilters’ Connection, a group founded in 1977 to “encourage, preserve, and develop the art of quilting,” will show more than 200 quilts. Margaret Rolph, Quilters’ Connection Show Chairperson and a 9-year member, looks forward to displaying what she calls "Round Robin quilts." These quilts are being shown to the public for the first time. "Each of…

Music lovers can enjoy a unique Jazz experience on Monday, May 21 when the Be-Bop Guitars Meet Maggie Scott performs at the Arsenal Center for the Arts.  The performance is the final show of this year's JAZZ at the Arsenal series which includes some of the best Jazz ensembles in the Boston area, many headed by faculty members of the Berklee College of Music.  John Baboian, artistic director for the JAZZ at the Arsenal series, has been involved since its inception four years ago.  He is also leader of the Be-Bop Guitars, which features five guitarists from the Berklee faculty. "This gives an …

Whenever she takes the stage, singer and songwriter Teresa Tudury aims to take her audiences on an inspiring musical journey. Her music, story-telling, and wit can be heard this Friday at First Parish of Watertown. Growing up in Northern California, Tudury began writing songs at age 12. By the time she turned 15, she was performing at nightclubs in San Francisco. From there, she moved to Los Angeles, spending almost two decades singing, writing comedy, and acting. Tudury is "a songwriter of profound depth and whacko humor," says concert volunteer Dean Stevens. He describes her musical style …

This Saturday, the Arsenal Center for the Arts will open its doors to the public for its annual Open Arts Day. Along with live music, dance performances, and art demos, be sure to check out Three Photographers: Lynn Whitney, Daniel Lovering, Mark Peterson. The exhibit opened last week and features a total of 35 photographs. Peterson’s work is taken from his series "Underpass: Accidental Interiors," which looks at the underside of Boston, particularly bridges and highways. These people-less photos draw the viewer’s attention to the largeness of the steel and cement structures.  "My intent is …

“Feed me!” Anyone who has seen "Little Shop of Horrors" on screen or stage can’t help but hear that loud bellowing command from Seymour, the paranormal plant with a voracious appetite. The plant’s diabolical control over Mr. Mushnik and his flower shop will begin a three-week run this Sunday at the Arsenal Center for the Arts. According to New Rep’s Artistic Director Jim Petosa, “Since its earliest iteration ... 'Little Shop of Horrors' has found its place in the giddy hearts of both musical theatre artists and their audiences throughout the country. Its satiric pokings at the clichés of good…

Theater-goers familiar with the works of Noel Coward know that his works often took aim at the foibles of British high society. The Flat Earth Theatre pays “crass homage” to the English playwright by mixing well-mannered, upper-class “bluebloods” with crude, ill-mannered “Blackbeards” – yes, pirates. This odd culture clash can be seen at the Arsenal Center for the Arts beginning this weekend with the world-premier of Pirate Lives! The Musical! “The title itself is a reference to one of Noel Coward’s more famous works, ‘Private Lives,’" says the show’s producer Jake Scaltreto. “While we don’t …

The Arsenal Center’s popular jazz series - The American Songbook: The Jazz View - continues on Saturday, April 14, as six of the area’s finest jazz artists pay tribute to the music of Jimmy Van Heusen. The series was conceived by world-renowned composer/saxophonist Larry Monroe and vocalist Donna McElroy, longtime fixtures of the Berklee College faculty. The two are joined by Russell Hoffmann on piano, John Repucci on bass, John Ramsay on drums, and Jeff Stout on trumpet. During his songwriting career, Van Heusen wrote more than 800 songs from the 1940s through the 1960s. His music was …

Jazz lovers will have an opportunity to expand their musical horizons this Monday when Mark Shilansky’s Join the Club Sextet performs at the Arsenal Center for the Arts.  The show has been billed as "21st Century Space-Age Bachelor Pad Music." "It's jazz, but with a lot of Latin and world music and pop influences," says Shilanksy, the sextet's leader. "The bachelor pad music comment was made, I believe, because we often do humorous style mash-ups of certain tunes from different genres, as is done in lounge music… So, we do the Lee Morgan tune Ceora but with grooves stolen from the Police's De…

  Over the next three weeks, theater-goers can catch a Pulitzer Prize-winning drama by one of America's most renowned playwrights. Eugene O'Neill's "Long Day's Journey Into Night" which opens at the Arsenal Center for the Arts on Sunday, April 1 and runs through April 22.  O'Neill's semi-autobiographical story delves into the addictions, deceit, and regrets of a dysfunctional Connecticut family in 1912. The New Rep production is directed by Scott Edmiston, who heads the Office of the Arts at Brandeis University. Edmiston also has directed more than 60 productions throughout the Greater Boston…

This Saturday, you’re invited to an evening of Broadway favorites performed by a 16-piece Big Band. The concert, which will raise money for the Arsenal Center for the Arts, features swing band renditions of classic show tunes written by Gershwin, Porter, Berlin, and others. The jazz arrangements were written by the band's leader and saxophonist Larry Monroe. "I'm grateful that the Arsenal Center for the Arts will promote live jazz by allowing us to merge two great American music traditions; jazz and the American songbook," Monroe says. "In an age where artistic music struggles to survive, the…

Got a thing for Thing 1 and Thing 2? Well, if you do, then Seussical's for you!  Anyone familiar with Dr. Seuss knows how easy it is to giggle at the author's imaginative and rhythmic patterns. His humor and wit will be put to music this weekend as Watertown High School students perform 'Seussical' in WHS's Shaw Auditorium. The production is directed by Mary ElizaBeth Peters, with musical direction by Dan Wulf and choreography by Meghan Riling. It's the 15th Watertown High School production and sixth musical directed by 'Beth,' who views the show as a celebration of individuality, family, …

For some, driving a car is simply a way to get from one place to another. But for David Coffin, it’s an opportunity to harmonize with his 15-year-old daughter, Linnea. But this Saturday, you won’t have to sit in the back seat to listen to them. Instead, concert-goers can hear Coffin and his daughter sing a variety of folk tunes at First Parish of Watertown. Appearing on stage is not new for Coffin. Since 1980, he has performed with the Revels, delighting crowds as a singer, instrumentalist, and, since 1991, Master of Ceremonies. In 2005, Linnea joined him. "We have performed in many different…

This weekend, 40 performers will "board" a crowded passenger ship bound for America in 1907. The scene, staged at the Arsenal Center for the Arts' Charles MosesianTheater, is where the Revels Repertory Company will perform "An American Journey" on Sunday, March 4 at 3 p.m.  This 90-minute show portrays a time when American immigration from Europe was at its peak. Written and directed by Patrick Swanson with musical direction by Kay Dunlap, the performance focuses on Eastern European Jews as well as Irish and Italian immigrants. "The show has several main characters," says Dunlap. "The Rabbi …