Culture Calendar: Arts & Entertainment Events in January

Photo by Lois Greenfield

DANCIN’ SHOES

Savion Glover may be the world’s best tap dancer. In his 80-minute show at the Boston Opera House, SoLe Sanctuary, he’ll be paying homage to the icons of his art, including Gregory Hines and Sammy Davis Jr. 1/12

A CLASSIC GETS ITS CLOSE-UP

Ralph Ellison’s epic novel Invisible Man follows an African-American man’s quest for identity in a warped 1930s America, but its complex, dreamlike structure has long precluded a theatrical adaptation. That changes this month, when the Huntington Theatre debuts a new production approved by the author’s estate. 1/4–2/3

GETTIN’ JIGGY WIT’ IT

Organized by folk-music mecca Passim, the 10th annual Boston’s Celtic Music Fest brings dozens of musicians from Boston, Cape Breton, Ireland, and elsewhere to various Harvard Square venues for a weekend of raucous reels for adults and musical storytelling for the wee bairns. 1/11–1/12

LIVING ARTISTS

Since 1879, the 500-member Copley Society of Art has been promoting and displaying some of the hardest-working painters, photographers, and sculptors in New England. Proudly local, the nonprofit association welcomes 30 new members with a survey of their work this month and next. 1/12–2/17

THE BAND MAN

David Lowery is an indie icon, having founded both the quirky cult band Camper Van Beethoven in the 1980s and the sardonic alterna-rock stars Cracker in the 1990s. Now he’s bringing both of his groups to the Middle East on the same night, which should ignite rampant music-nerd scuffles over which band is better. 1/20

HEAVEN FOR GEARHEADS

The Massachusetts International Auto Show sets up at Worcester’s DCU Center with hundreds of imports and domestics, ATVs, and snowmobiles. But the highlight will be the display of racecars from New England’s marquee raceways: Lime Rock Park and New Hampshire Motor Speedway. 1/25–1/27

DICKENS ON PARADE

Back in the ’60s, the musical version of Oliver Twist was a juggernaut, with the Broadway show winning a Tony and the movie raking in six Oscars. This month, the Wheelock Family Theatre is reviving the story once again, this time as Oliver!, as if to answer the titular orphan’s famous request: “Please sir, can I have some more?” 1/25–2/24

ORNATE WONDERS

With its new exhibit “In Harmony,” Harvard’s Sackler Museum shines a long-deserved spotlight on Islamic art. The show features 150 works from Iran, Uzbekistan, and elsewhere, as well as ceramics and illustrated manuscripts dating from the first century B.C. to the present day. 1/31–6/1