Five Reasons to Leave the House This Weekend

Watch a screening of ‘Eisenstein in Guanajuato’ at the Brattle Theatre or catch the final weekend of ‘Sondheim on Sondheim’ at Lyric Stage.

Photo by Mark S. Howard

Photo by Mark S. Howard

ON STAGE
Sondheim on Sondheim at Lyric Stage

This weekend is your final opportunity to see Sondheim on Sondheim at the Lyric Stage in Boston. The show, inspired by the works of American composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim, consists of a cast of eight who perform a variety of Sondheim’s greatest hits. Sondheim’s famous credits include Sunday in the Park With George, Sweeney Todd, and Company, among many others. Sondheim on Sondheim was first performed on Broadway in 2010, and toured the globe before the show landed in Boston earlier this year. Throughout the show, Sondheim himself introduces and narrates songs via pre-recorded videos that appear on screens around the set.

$49-$74, Thursday-Sunday, February 18-21, showtimes vary, The Lyrics Stage Company, 140 Clarendon St., Boston, lyricstage.com.

Marilyn Arsem on Day 13. Photograph © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Marilyn Arsem on Day 54. Photograph © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

ART
100 Ways to Consider Time at the MFA

For nearly 100 days, Boston-based artist Marilyn Arsem has sat for six hours in Gallery 261 at the MFA as a part of her new performance piece “100 Ways to Consider Time.” Her performance is meant to encourage and inspire viewers to experience the present and to live in the moment. The exhibition debuted early last November and this Thursday and Friday mark the final two days of Arsem’s performance. During the performance, Arsem takes part in a variety of acts, such as reading aloud, making crafts, or simply sitting still. When Arsem is not present in the gallery, a recording of her voice plays instead. Attendees are encouraged to submit reflections about their experience via Twitter, Instagram, e-mail, or letter. Arsem has a strong relationship with the MFA, and is the first performance artist to receive the museum’s Maud Morgan Prize, an award that honors a Massachusetts female artist who has impacted the landscape of contemporary art.

$25, today and Friday, February 18-19, 3:30-9:30 p.m., Museum of Fine Arts, 465 Huntington Ave., Boston, mfa.org.

Photo by AJ Korkidakis

MUSIC
Kid Koala and ‘Nufonia Must Fall’ at the ICA

The ICA presents Montreal DJ and music producer Kid Koala’s wordless adaptation of his 2003 graphic novel Nufonia Must Fall. In the production, a lovesick (and tone-death) robot falls in love with a co-worker. The robot attempts to woo her by writing her a love song. The show is produced and edited in real-time as a cast of puppets interact with over a dozen miniature sets. Oscar-nominated production designer K.K. Barrett (Her, Where the Whild Things Are) directs the show, while Kid Koala and Afiara Quartet provide the original score through turntables, keyboards, and strings. Kid Koala will DJ an after party in the State Street Corporation Lobby following Friday’s performance.

$20-$35 depending on ticket combo, Friday-Saturday, February 19-20, 8:00 p.m., ICA, 100 Northern Ave., Boston, icaboston.org.

Luis Alberti and Elmer Bäck in 'Eisenstein in Guanajuato'. Image provided.

Luis Alberti and Elmer Bäck in ‘Eisenstein in Guanajuato’

FILM
Eisenstein in Guanajuato at Brattle Theatre

Written and directed by Peter Greenaway, Eisenstein in Guanajuato follows the story of the early 20th century Soviet filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein’s trip to Mexico. The director traveled to Mexico to shoot a new film after being rejected as a director in Hollywood, a journey the film chronicles. The character makes his way through the country, and is drawn into a romantic relationship with his guide Palomino. The trip becomes a life-changing experience that also impacts his career. Film critic Peter Debruge wrote in Variety, “Greenaway has wrought an outrageously unconventional and deliriously profane biopic that could take decades to be duly appreciated.” Greenaway previously directed The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Lover, a 1989 British-French crime drama. Eisenstein in Guanajuato screens this weekend at the Brattle Theatre in Cambridge.

$11, Friday-Sunday, February 19-21, showtimes vary, Brattle Theatre, 40 Brattle St., Cambridge, brattlefilm.org.

THEATRE
Searching for Signal at the Oberon

In a world of constant texting, nonstop social media, and mobile dating apps, it seems like everyone is looking online for validation. Searching for Signal uses this idea of complex relationships in the digital age to present a coming-of-age story about two millennials who try to discover who they truly are underneath their virtual-selves. A work of contemporary theater, the show utilizes dialogue, dance, and video throughout the production. This is the first weekend of Searching for Signal at the Oberon in Cambridge, where the show will run until the first weekend in March. Searching for Signal comes from Touch Performance Art, a production company that brought AcousticaElectronica and SexyBack: or what you will to the Oberon in 2013 and 2014, respectively. An after party will be hosted at Downeast Cider on Friday night after the show and will feature a raffle as well as cider tasting.

Tickets from $10, today-Friday, February 18-19, 7:30 p.m., Oberon, 2 Arrow St., Cambridge, americanrepertorytheater.org.