Starlight’s Youth Theatre will present Stephen Sondheim’s “Into the Woods” Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 2 and 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Academy of Music in Northampton.
The musical brings favorite fairy tale characters to life, including Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood and Jack of beanstalk fame. As they set out to make their wishes come true, they soon learn to be careful what they wish for, as witches, giants and wolves loom.
“Starlight’s Youth Theatre is dedicated to providing quality education and production of children’s theater,” according to information provided by the group. “Its priority is the development of the child, using theater as a tool to build self-esteem, communication skills and confidence.”
The cast’s 70 youths, ages 10 to 18, come from across the Pioneer Valley.”
They are pushing their artistic talents to the next level — acting, singing, dancing, painting sets and creating costumes,” says director Cynthia Strycharz.Tickets cost $14; $10 for children and seniors. To reserve, visit aomtheatre.ticketfly.com.
The second annual “Good Music Makes Good Neighbors House Concert Festival,” a musical house tour of Montague, will be held Saturday from noon to 4:30 p.m.
The mission, organizers say, is to introduce Montagueans (and others) to the hidden musical talents who live next door and down the road. It’s also a chance to visit with neighbors and, as they say, “to formulate lofty artistic and community-oriented projects for the year.”
Venues are living rooms, barns and porches of private homes in Montague Center. Each venue will host three or four musical groups; over the course of the afternoon, each group will play two 30-minute sets. A “program” is one full rotation of all the groups in a given venue, and each program will happen twice. There will be a 15-minute break between groups.
To be clear: audiences move, bands stay put. You can walk, bike, unicycle, rollerskate or ride a horse between performance venues. You may also drive, although there is more parking for unicycles than for cars, organizers say.
Some of the performers are Michael Nix (banjar); Mark Fraser (classical cello), Stephen Katz (alternative cello); Behold! True Believers (artistic/alternative); Orkestar Banitsa (formerly Xopo, Balkan dance); Mike Jarjoura (sitar); Daniel Hales, and the Frost Heaves. (pop); Pat & Tex Lamountain (guitar/voice); and Leo Hwang & Vimana (funk/rock).
For a full lineup and map, visit www.montaguemusic.org.
A $10 to $15 donation is requested.
The Emily Dickinson Museum at 280 Main St. in Amherst will host a private screening of the new Dickinson biopic “A Quiet Passion!” Sunday at 5 p.m. The film’s director, Terence Davies, will be on hand for a Q&A session. The film which tells the story of poet Emily Dickinson from her early days as a young schoolgirl to her later years as a reclusive, unrecognized artist, stars Cynthia Nixon, Jennifer Ehle and Duncan Duff.
The film was shot mainly in a studio replica of Dickinson’s house, but additional scenes were filmed in Amherst and Pelham.
Tickets cost $50.
There will be a reception with Davies at 3:30 p.m. at Osteria Vespa Restaurant in Amherst.
Tickets cost $100 (includes the screening immediately after, at 5 p.m.)
There will also be a dinner with Davies Sunday at 7:30 p.m. at The Lord Jeffery Inn in Amherst.
Tickets cost $200 (includes the private screening and the reception)
For information or to order tickets, visit www.emilydickinsonmuseum.org.
“Connections & Disconnections,” an exhibit of work by five veteran digital photographers, including some from Hampshire County, will be on view Monday through June 17 at the Valley Photo Center on the Mezzanine Level of Tower Square, 1500 Main St. in Springfield. There will be a reception May 19 from 6 to 8 p.m.
The work of Jim Gambaro, of Belchertown, has been in numerous publications and hangs in homes and offices throughout the Northeast. “Through my photographs of the natural world, I strive to bring an artist’s vision and a child’s eye for wonder to environs as familiar as the backyards of western Massachusetts or as exotic as Antarctica,” he writes in an artist’s statement.
Bernie Kubiak, of Amherst, works with natural light using both digital and film cameras. With subjects ranging from landscape to street photography, his images have been featured in many exhibits throughout the area.
Bill Rowley, of Florence, rules out nothing as a photographic subject or approach. Most of his recent work has been macro in scale and abstract in style. In this group of images, he shows one of his favorite techniques: shining colored light through a piece of plastic which has been subjected to a small blow torch.
The other participating photographers are Bruce Kahn of Northfield and Tom Wyatt of Warwick.
Gallery hours are Mondays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. It is open to the public.
“10 Questions for the Dalai Lama” will be shown Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Amherst Cinema, 28 Amity St. in Amherst.
The film examines some of the fundamental questions of our time by weaving together observations from filmmaker Rick Ray’s journeys throughout India and the Middle East with the wisdom of the Dalai Lama. It combines footage from Ray’s private visit to the Dalai Lama’s monastery in Dharamsala, India, rare historical footage and footage obtained by hidden cameras in Tibet.
Regular admission. To reserve, visit www.amherstcinema.org.