Things to do around Boston this weekend and beyond

MADISON BEER This Long Island-born pop singer specializes in songs that sound bruised and brooding — even on come-ons like her latest single, “Make You Mine,” a squishy synthpop track that takes a slightly vampiric approach to seduction. May 11, 7:30 p.m. MGM Music Hall at Fenway. 617-488-7540, crossroadspresents.com

RAINBOW KITTEN SURPRISE Hailing from North Carolina, this kitchen-sink folk-pop collective sets up shop in Brighton for a series of shows celebrating their first album in six years, “Love Hate Music Box,” which is out Friday. May 13-15, 7 p.m. (doors). Roadrunner. roadrunnerboston.com

DIANA ROSS: BEAUTIFUL LOVE PERFORMANCES The soul legend highlights selections from her vast catalog of indelible hits — expect Supremes standards like the tormented “Love Child,” solo cuts like the sinewy “Upside Down,” and perhaps a couple of cuts from her 2021 victory lap “Thank You.” May 16, 7:30 p.m. Boch Center Wang Theatre. 800-982-2787, bochcenter.org

MAURA JOHNSTON

JOHNNY DOWD Johnny Dowd came later in life to making music, and now it’s later still, so if you’re partial to a darker shade of Americana featuring mordant wit and singular weirdness — ”like Cormac McCarthy doing the soft shoe,” as one gloss puts it — it’s well worth catching this infrequent visit by Mr. D. May 10, 6:15 p.m. $20. The Burren, 247 Elm St., Somerville. 617-776-6896, www.burren.com

SARAH SHOOK & THE DISARMERS Start with an ample serving of punk rock, mix in plenty of twang, and combine with songs full of biting social commentary and personal examination and you get “Revelations,” the latest from Sarah Shook & the Disarmers. The band arrives in support of the record Friday; plan to get there early to see some unabashed country from north of the border courtesy of opener Nicolette & the Nobodies. May 10, 8:30 p.m. $25. The Cut, 177 Main St., Gloucester. 978-515-0000, www.thecutlive.com

LYDIA LUCE Two chances to see this Nashville-based indie-folk singer-songwriter this week: Friday she’ll be in Cambridge, and the following evening in North Andover at the Crossroads Music Series. Saturday’s show has an added element: Luce will be accompanied by a small string section from Phillips Andover Academy. May 10, 9 p.m. $15. Lizard Lounge, 1667 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge. 617-547-0759, www.lizardloungeclub.com; May 11, 8 p.m. $26. North Parish Unitarian Universalist Church, 190 Academy Road, North Andover. www.crossroadsmusicseries.org

STUART MUNRO

GLOBAL JAZZ WOMXN Global Jazz Club presents acclaimed Chilean saxophonist Patricia Zárate-Pérez leading an international, all-female group for an evening of beguiling originals and arrangements from all over. With Israeli saxophonist Lihi Haruvi, Cuban pianist Zahili Zamora, Irish bassist Ciara Moser, and Dominican drummer Ivanna Cuesta. May 11, 7 p.m. $10-$30. @CROMA Venue of the Arlington Street Church, 351 Boylston St. www.globaljazzclub.com

POINT01 PERCENT PRESENTS … Two adventurous ensembles: a string trio led by violist/composer Jessica Pavone, who’s played with the likes of Anthony Braxton, Henry Threadgill, and Mary Halvorson, and a quartet of local avant-all-stars with pianist Pandelis Karayorgis, saxophonist Eric Barber, bassist Brittany Karlson, and drummer Eric Rosenthal. May 14, 7:30 p.m. $10. The Lilypad, 1353 Cambridge St., Cambridge. www.lilypadinman.com

LIL’ ED & THE BLUES IMPERIALS Showcasing his searing slide guitar and exuberant stage presence, Lil’ Ed and band have been a major presence on the Chicago scene for decades, and they bring the real, rollicking, house-rocking Windy City blues with them wherever they roam. May 16, 7 p.m. $25-$30. Chan’s Fine Oriental Dining, 267 Main St., Woonsocket R.I. 401-765-1900, www.chanseggrollsandjazz.com

KEVIN LOWENTHAL

A FAR CRY To end its season, the Jamaica Plain-based ensemble squares up to perform Bartók’s shifty “Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta” without the aid of a conductor; the program also includes music by Mozart and Sofia Gubaidulina. May 10, 8 p.m. NEC’s Jordan Hall. www.afarcry.org

SHELTER MUSIC BOSTON Vermont-based singer and composer Moira Smiley teams up with a string quartet from Shelter Music Boston for arrangements of folk songs from Appalachia and the British Isles, as heard on her album “The Rhizome Project.” The concert is free with a suggested donation of $25, with proceeds to benefit Shelter Music Boston’s ongoing musical outreach initiatives. May 16, 7 p.m. Community Church of Boston. www.sheltermusicboston.org

RADIUS ENSEMBLE This mainstay of Boston’s contemporary chamber music scene ends its 25th season with what it’s calling “the quintessential Radius concert” — a stylish sonata by Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, genre classics by George Crumb and Steve Reich, and the world premiere of a new piece written for the ensemble by local composer Elena Ruehr. May 16, 8 p.m. Pickman Hall, Longy School of Music, Cambridge. www.radiusensemble.org

A.Z. MADONNA

TOUCHING THE VOID During a mountain-climbing expedition in the Peruvian Andes, Joe Simpson (Patrick O’Konis) suffers a severe leg injury. That presents an agonizing choice for his climbing companion, Simon Yates (Kody Grassett). Amid the freezing cold, Yates has to decide whether or not to cut the rope that connects him to Simpson. David Greig’s stage adaptation of Simpson’s book, later a film docudrama, is directed by Danielle Fauteux Jacques. Through May 19. Apollinaire Theatre Company. At Chelsea Theatre Works, Chelsea. 617-887-2336, www.apollinairetheatre.com

A STRANGE LOOP It doesn’t get much more meta than Michael R. Jackson’s quasi-autobiographical, Pulitzer- and Tony-winning musical about Usher (Kai Clifton), a gay Black writer who is writing a musical about a gay Black writer who is writing a musical about a gay Black writer. Directed by Maurice Emmanuel Parent. Choreography by Taavon Gamble. Musical direction by David Freeman Coleman. Through May 25. Coproduction by SpeakEasy Stage Company and Front Porch Arts Collective. At Wimberly Theatre, Calderwood Pavilion, Boston Center for the Arts. 617-933-8600, www.BostonTheatreScene.com

THE DROWSY CHAPERONE This utterly bonkers musical demands hammy excess, and the show’s 16-member cast, led by director-choreographer Larry Sousa, are only too happy to oblige. Throwing any notions of restraint out the window, they deliver a rollicking delight of a production, with a wonderfully fizzy throwback score by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison and a book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar that doesn’t even try to make sense. The genius of “The Drowsy Chaperone” is that it sends up the corny tropes of the classic Broadway musical comedy while at the same time illustrating — song by song and scene by scene — why those tropes remain so potent. Through May 12. Lyric Stage Company of Boston. 617-585-5678, www.lyricstage.com

DON AUCOIN

NEXT GENERATION This one-night-only performance presented by the Boston Ballet School showcases dancers of Boston Ballet II, graduate program dancers, and students of the school’s professional division at Walnut Hill School for the Arts. With a program of works by Balanchine, Petipa, Christopher Wheeldon, and Sonia Kim, plus a premiere by Andrea Schermoly, it offers a promising glimpse of the art form’s future. May 15. $25 and up. Citizens Opera House. www.bostonballet.org

DANCE NOW BOSTON Now in its ninth season, this ongoing project produced by The Bang Group’s David Parker and Jeffrey Kazin in partnership with The Dance Complex helps foster creative cross-fertilization between exceptional Boston-area artists and artists from New York. The fruits of the collaboration are two weekends of diverse programming. Program 1 on May 11 and 12 features choreography by noted locals Jimena Bermejo, Lynn Modell, Marcus Schulkind, and Tony Williams alongside New York City’s The Bang Group. May 11-12. $10-$50. The Dance Complex, Cambridge. www.dancecomplex.org

BOSTON DANCE THEATER Global Arts Live presents the talented contemporary dance company in “Pinnacle Works: Galili, Goecke, and Pereira.” In addition to Goecke’s “Peekaboo,” the troupe performs the US premieres of the German choreographer’s “Firebird” and “Äffi,” plus the US premiere of company co-director Itzik Galili’s “If As If” and two world premieres by the Denmark-based Brazilian choreographer Alessandro Sousa Pereira. May 10-11. $44-$48. Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston. www.globalartslive.org

BABYBABYBABY Directed and choreographed by Laila J. Franklin, this evening-length work is all about love, from those giddy feelings of budding romance to the deeper human need for meaningful connection and intimacy. Performers for this Boston Dancemakers Residency Showcase include Michael Figueroa, Alexander Davis, Laila J. Franklin, Jenna Gross, Andrea Muñiz, Marissa Molinar, Sarah Pacheco, and Sasha Peterson. May 16-19. $25. Calderwood Pavilion at Boston Center for the Arts. www.bostonarts.org

KAREN CAMPBELL

ABSTRACT FLASH: UNSEEN ANDREW WYETH Wyeth, a giant of American realism who died in 2009, went against the grain of mid-20th century American art, dominated by the Abstract Expresssionists and their many descendants. But while his work could be crisply representational (if almost unfailingly dour and bleak), the loose, naturalistic brushwork of his watercolors revealed an interest in the medium’s more wayward tendencies. Did he ever paint abstractly? That’s a question even this show -- predicated on that very notion -- doesn’t clearly answer. But the intimations, hints and teases of the loose washes of color here surely tantalize, if not resolve. Through Sept. 8. Farnsworth Museum of American Art, 16 Museum Street, Rockland, ME. 207-596-6457, www.farnsworthmuseum.org.

MURRAY WHYTE

SIGNED, SEALED, DELIVERED: ENVELOPES ADDRESSED AND MAILED BY TYPE DESIGNERS AND NOTABLE GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Addressing envelopes may be a dying art form in the digital age, but designers focused on communication have long turned simple envelopes into discrete little projects. Katherine Small Gallery, which specializes in the history of graphic design, showcases envelopes addressed and posted between 1931 and 2024 by 36 design artists, including Saul Steinberg, Paul Rand, and Louise Fili. Through Aug. 24. Katherine Small Gallery, 108 Beacon St., Somerville. 617-576-0584, www.ksmallgallery.com

CATE McQUAID

GIANMARCO SORESI The New York comic notes he was in an awkward position at a recent stay with his mother in Los Angeles. “I was staying there a couple of days, and I had to do Zoom therapy with my mom in the other room,” he says. “And I was like, ‘Well, I guess it’s dad’s fault today.’” May 10-11, 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. $33. Laugh Boston, 425 Summer St. 617-725-2844, www.laughboston.com

‘BURY FUNNY STAND-UP COMEDY FUNDRAISER Corey Manning hosts this benefit for Nubian Square businesses and families with plenty of headliner punch, featuring Rodney Perry, Myq Kaplan, Bethany Van Delft, and Ricci Hector, plus music from Black Comedy Explosion regular DJ Wade. May 11, 8 p.m. $20-$40. Hibernian Hall, 184 Dudley St. #200. www.eventbrite.com

THESE ARE MY MOMS: A MOTHER’S DAY COMEDY SHOW Nora Panahi created this show with her mother, Heather, with whom she’ll cohost, to celebrate the folks she calls Boston’s “comedy moms” — Patty Bourrée, Kathe Farris, Srilatha Rajamani, Angela Sawyer, and Courtney Pong. May 14, 7 p.m. $15-$20. The Rockwell, 255 Elm St., Somerville. www.therockwell.org

NICK A. ZAINO III

LEAP LAB: CREATIVE DANCE FOR KIDS Children ages 3 to 10 are invited to listen to Haitian folkloric rhythms played by master drummers from Jean Appolon Expressions and learn the art of dance. Participants will also be exposed to themes of social justice through age-appropriate literature, conversation, and movement. May 11, 11 a.m.-noon. Free. Kendall/MIT Open Space, 292 Main St., Cambridge. eventbrite.com

TEEN SCIENCE CAFE: SUSTAINABILITY SOIREE Scientists in grades eight through 12 will explore new research pertaining to sustainability and discuss what inspires and influences people to pursue STEM careers. Food will be provided and pre-registration is required. May 11, 2 p.m.-4 p.m. Free. MIT Museum, 314 Main St., Cambridge. mitmuseum.mit.edu

DUCKLING DAY Join the Friends of the Public Garden for Duckling Day, a Mother’s Day tradition that celebrates the children’s book “Make Way for Ducklings” by Robert McCloskey. Families can dress in character to parade through the park, starting in Boston Common and ending in the Public Garden. Before the parade at noon, join the Friends for Playtime on the Common, an all-ages event with interactive circus games, magic, live music, and more. Must register to participate. May 12, 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Parade free to watch, $35-$40 to participate in playtime. Parkman Bandstand, Boston Common. friendsofthepublicgarden.org

ADRI PRAY