Fall Arts Preview: 18 Things We Can’t Wait to Do This Season

No. 8: Billie Eilish headlines TD Garden on October 11. / Photo by Arturo Holmes/Getty Images

September

1. Marvel at the world’s most famous doomed lovers.

Ever since Shakespeare premiered Romeo and Juliet in the 1590s, countless theater companies and movie directors have put their stamp on the romantic tragedy. Now, it’s Diane Paulus’s turn. Running now through October 6, the Tony-winning artistic director of the ART is collaborating with choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, with whom she created the smash hit Jagged Little Pill in 2018. americanrepertorytheater.org.

Dalton & the Sheriffs. / Photo via Brian Doherty

2. Punch the air to anthems by Boston’s biggest country band.

Headed by singer-songwriter-guitarist Brian Scully, Dalton & the Sheriffs has long been the pride of the South Shore, and their rise through the ranks of New England bands—not just country—has been a thrill to watch. Last summer, they recorded a barnburner of a concert album, Live from Southie, at the Leader Bank Pavilion, where they return on September 14. daltonandthesheriffs.com.

Pianist Lang Lang will join the BSO on opening night. / Photo by Olaf Heine

3. Celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the BSO’s maestro.

It’s hard to believe it’s been a decade since Andris Nelsons first took over as the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s music director. Since then, the superstar conductor has truly put his own stamp on the venerable institution, programming classic works and commissioning new ones in equal measure. For the BSO’s Opening Night Gala on September 19, Nelsons will welcome stars like pianist Lang Lang and mezzo-soprano Susan Graham, while playing works by Maurice Ravel and Camille Saint-Saëns, and a world premiere by the orchestra’s new composer chair, Carlos Simon. bso.org.

4. Explore movies from all the Americas.

Now in its third year, CineFest Latino Boston returns to theaters around the Boston area from September 25 to 29, with the goal of shining a light on the latest cinematic works by Hispanic artists here in the United States as well as Central and South America. Last year’s event, for example, included a Peruvian feature about a pair of Andean orphans, spoken in Quechua; a series of short films reflecting on the Hispanic diaspora; and a Brazilian thriller about a rural São Paulo family who find themselves hosting a drug lord on the run. cinefestlatino.com.

Tim Pitsiulak’s Allangua (Narwhal) from “Narwhal: Revealing an Arctic Legend” at the Peabody Essex Museum. / Allangua (Narwhal), 2016. Tim Pitsiulak.

5. Visit a maritime creature that’s long dazzled ocean lovers.

Known as the unicorns of the sea, narwhals have always captured imaginations. As a result, they’ve been the subject of many a mythical story and have since seen a resurgence in kids’ books and cartoons. With “Narwhal: Revealing an Arctic Legend,” on display from September 28 through June 15, 2025, the Peabody Essex Museum has created a family-friendly exhibit that explores all aspects of this mysterious leviathan. There’s also a cast of an 8-foot tusk that you can touch. pem.org.

Mardi Gras floats in The Big Parade at The Big E. / Photo courtesy of Eastern States Exposition

6. Embrace autumn like a warm sweater at these classic fairs and festivals.

THE BIG E
SPRINGFIELD
September 13–29
The only regional exposition of its kind in the country, this agricultural extravaganza welcomed more than 1.4 million visitors last year. Here, you can celebrate the foods and cultural offerings of all six New England states—each has its own building—as well as circus performers, a butter sculpture, and musical performances. thebige.com.

JOHNNY APPLESEED ARTS AND CULTURAL FESTIVAL
LEOMINSTER
September 14
John Chapman was born in 1774 in Leominster, and by the time he died in 1845, he was known as “Johnny Appleseed,” famous in American history for establishing orchards all over our westward frontier. For 31 years now, his birthplace’s downtown has honored its favorite son with a celebration packed with arts and crafts, food trucks, and bowls of sublime apple crisp.

What the Fluff? Festival. / Courtesy photo

WHAT THE FLUFF? FESTIVAL
SOMERVILLE
September 21
Thanks to a World War I–era Somervillian named Archibald Query, generations of Americans have been sweetening their sandwiches and treats with that marshmallow goo called Fluff. To celebrate the city’s famous edible export, Union Square’s streets shut to traffic to make way for live music, hilarious Fluff-themed competitions, and local restaurants creating new Flufftastic dishes. flufffestival.com.

TOPSFIELD FAIR
Topsfield
October 4–14
Greater Boston’s most beloved fair has been a family favorite since it staged a one-day cattle show in 1820. Nowadays, it’s packed with many other animals, eclectic foods, carnival rides, and—most famously—the Giant Pumpkin Weigh-Off. topsfieldfair.org.

APPLEFEST AT WACHUSETT MOUNTAIN
Princeton
October 19–20 and 26–27
Celebrating its 40th year, the popular ski area is once again offering chair-lift rides through the glorious foliage, as well as choice offerings from local breweries, artisans, and musicians. wachusett.com.

October 2024

The Tedeschi Trucks Band / Photo by David McClister

8. Enjoy a local blues legend’s return home.

Norwell High School alum Susan Tedeschi brings the Tedeschi Trucks Band to MGM Music Hall at Fenway on October 1, followed by the Wang Theatre on October 4 and 5. Read our interview with her here.

A still from Charles Atlas’s Mrs. Peanut Visits New York. / Charles Atlas, MC⁹, 2012. Installation detail, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2018. Photo © Museum Associates/LACMA. Courtesy Los Angeles County Museum of Art

7. Discover an artist who’s worked with the greats.

Charles Atlas may not be a household name right now, but from October 10 through March 16, 2025, the Institute of Contemporary Art will be doing its best to change that with the first-ever U.S. survey of his work, called Charles Atlas: About Time. The interdisciplinary artist has arranged components of more than 125 of his works in what he calls a series of “walk-through experiences,” with huge multichannel video installations designed to immerse the visitor in his mind-altering collaborations with Marina Abramović, John Waters, and Sonic Youth, among others. icaboston.org.

8. See one of the world’s biggest pop stars.

Billie Eilish pretty much ruled this year’s award season with her song off the Barbie soundtrack, “What Was I Made For?” which won an Oscar and multiple Grammys. Now she’s ruling the airwaves with her third album, Hit Me Hard and Soft, and its bouncy, sexy hit single “Lunch.” With all this momentum rolling in behind her, she’s ready for her championship run at the TD Garden on October 11. tdgarden.com.

Jenny Slate. / Photo by Dominik Bindly/Getty Images

9. Laugh along with a beloved local comedian exploring motherhood.

Milton native and Dartmouth resident Jenny Slate is one funny person, having starred in Saturday Night Live and various movies. Now, she’s also proving herself an inventive author with Lifeform, a series of surreal and uproarious essays about pregnancy and becoming the mother of a brand-new human. The book comes out on October 22, and you can catch her presenting it in person at the Wilbur on October 23. Little, Brown and Company, $29.

Boston Ballet’s Fall Experience showcases a 54-person dance by choreographer Crystal Pite. / Photo via Pacific Northwest Ballet in Crystal Pite’s The Seasons’ Canon © Angela Sterling

10. Say bravo to Boston’s prima ballerinas.

Boston Ballet is one of the world’s top producers of full-length ballets, but many of its most intriguing nights are showcases of shorter dances. In this season’s Fall Experience, running from October 24 through November 3, the highlights are grand indeed: Crystal Pite’s Boston debut with her astonishing The Seasons’ Canon for 54 dancers; Sabrina Matthews’s Ein von Viel, staged for two dancers and a solo pianist; Jorma Elo’s dynamic Plan to B; and a world premiere choreographed by the company’s own superstar principal Lia Cirio. bostonballet.org.

Papel Machete’s On the Eve of Abolition. / Photo by Iván Bonilla

11. Glimpse the future through innovative theater.

For its latest show, On the Eve of Abolition, the Puerto Rican avant-garde theater troupe Papel Machete uses puppetry, video projection, and multimedia sets to create a sci-fi future in 2047 where all prisons are on the verge of being abolished. It’s part of an ongoing effort to bring attention to the United States’ and Mexico’s massive carceral complexes—and during its October 31 through November 3 run at ArtsEmerson’s Paramount Center, the troupe is partnering on community-engagement efforts with local organization Sisters Unchained, which supports young women and nonbinary youth who have incarcerated family members. artsemerson.org.

13. Watch an innovative nine-play series on family, tradition, and the immigrant experience.

When Mfoniso Udofia set out to write her play Sojourners, she thought quite a bit about her identity as the first-generation American daughter of Nigerian scholars, who raised her in rural Southbridge. “I started asking myself what brings Nigerians to this country,” she says. When her forthcoming production runs from October 31 through December 1 at the Huntington, audiences will have the opportunity to explore just that as they follow the journey of a young Nigerian couple who come to America to get their degrees.

November 2024

Photo courtesy of BSO / Renese King

12. Pay your respects to a jazz giant.

From tunes like “Caravan” and “Mood Indigo” to extended works like Black, Brown and Beige and the Sacred Concerts, Duke Ellington has long been revered not only as one of the greatest-ever big-band leaders but as one of our country’s greatest composers. Fifty years after Ellington passed away at the age of 75, conductor Thomas Wilkins will lead the BSO in a Duke Ellington Anniversary Celebration on November 7 and 9, with guests such as pianist Gerald Clayton and Boston’s gospel goddess Renese King. bso.org.

Kevin Hart. / Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images

13. Catch a comedy superstar at two venues.

For years now, Kevin Hart has been everywhere, from hit movies to countless commercials. But irreverent, lightning-fast standup comedy is his true art, and he’s bringing it to Boston with his snarkily titled Acting My Age tour, with two shows at the Wang Theatre on November 8 and 10 and one across town on November 9 at MGM Music Hall at Fenway. kevinhartnation.com.

14. Add a treasure to your library.

For three days from November 8 to November 10, the Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair returns for its 46th year, with dozens of vendors selling rare manuscripts, first editions, maps, children’s books, and literary ephemera at the Hynes Convention Center. It’s an absolute smorgasbord for any serious bibliophile or arcane autodidact. abaa.org/bostonbookfair.

John Akomfrah’s Vertigo Sea from “Deep Waters: Four Artists and the Sea” at the MFA. / © Smoking Dogs Films, Courtesy of Smoking Dogs Films and Lisson Gallery, courtesy of Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

15. Immerse yourself in a quartet of fine-arts masters.

In “Deep Waters: Four Artists and the Sea,” the Museum of Fine Arts highlights works from across the Atlantic, contrasting nautical glory with the horrors of slavery’s Middle Passage. For a year, from November 9 through November 9, 2025, the museum will showcase 18th- and 19th-century paintings from John Singleton Copley and J.M.W. Turner, then contrast them with works from video artist John Akomfrah and photographer Ayana V. Jackson, whose self portraits are inspired by a mythical underwater utopia for the descendants of African women who died aboard slave ships. mfa.org.

16. Time-travel to the 17th century.

In 1999, Dava Sobel released her Pulitzer Prize–nominated book Galileo’s Daughter, about the letters the revolutionary scientist wrote to his daughter in the 1600s. Now, from November 14 through December 8 at the Central Square Theater, Jessica Dickey’s play of the same name travels back and forth in time between the Renaissance and the present day, where an American writer escapes a failed marriage at home by fleeing to Tuscany and immersing herself in the father-daughter story that rocked our understanding of the cosmos. centralsquaretheater.org.

A version of this fall preview package was first publish in the print edition of the September 2024 issue with the headline, “That’s the Ticket!”