March 18

Last day! Some have no heads, some have heads looking downward with blank expressions, some have their heads covered with mesh masks. They are the 100 or so slender, white mannequins who are taking up the space at the Gund Gallery at the Museum of Fine Arts through March 18. And they’re wearing some of the most gorgeous dresses, vests and clothing combinations you’d want to see. Ten design houses are represented – Chanel, Christian Lacroix, Azzedine Alaia and Valentino, to name but four – and they represent a slice of the 2006/2007 collections from these houses.
“We were the first museum to have a textile and fashion arts department back in 1930,” said MFA Director Malcolm Rogers, addressing the press at a pre-opening tour. This, exhibit, he hailed “as a first for Boston. … We have a passion to bring objects that have been neglected by other museums.”
In some ways, “Fashion Show: Paris Collections 2006” echoes the Ralph Lauren cars and the guitars exhibit the MFA has hosted in recent years: It presents objects you might not necessarily consider art as you walk in, but objects you will most certainly consider art as you walk through. The cars and guitars were skewed toward men, of course, and this one is more female-centered. Which means, ladies, if your husband dragged you to the sports cars, you drag him to this haute couture display. Really, he won’t mind. All of these whiz-bang exhibits are intended to bring new and younger faces to the MFA, to make the museum an even more vital part of the contemporary art world. (And don’t forget the competition looming sometime when the new Institute of Contemporary Art opens … someday.)
   

Sun. March 18

 "Arbeit Macht Frie." You probably weren't there to see those benign, yet chilling, words on banners over the Nazi concentration camps, but you've probably seen them in movies about the Holocaust. Such lies, such evil in such a banal phrase - Work Makes One Free. The Brookline Chorus has given that old Nazi slogan a twist with a night called "Musik Macht Frei," or "Music Makes You Free." On Sunday March 18, they will be singing songs written by those who were in the camps, music that survived because of the deliberate preservation of individuals in the camps. It features Stephanie Kacoyanis, mezzo-soprano and Artist in Residence, Cantor Elias Roseberg, pianist Jenny Tang and the Brundibar children's chorus from the studio of Barbara Gawlick. Music is at the center of this production, but it's not all music. There will be stories of the performances and archival images. Guest speakers, including surviver Edgar Krasa of Newton, will speak about the horrors of Terezin and the music made there.

Music director Lisa Graham explains: "When I did my docotral thesus at USC I decided to research the music from the camps, and one of the most fruitful places was Terezin. It was an unusual camp, because of activities permitted to take place. It was used as a propaganda tool by the Nazis; they wanted to show the world the Jews could have music and organized activities. The truth is it was an awful place and many people perished." While they were there, they had, what Graham calls "a kind of freedom and they did performances, had choirs, even a jazz band." Graham started as Director of Chorale Music at Wellesley College in 2001 and staged a program of music by women two years later. It's there she met Krasa, who was a chef by trade, but became involved in music at Terezin. It was after that meeting that Graham decided to stage the concert on March 18.

"When you first get into this topic," she says, "it is very emotional. You hear the stories and you hear the context. But if you look at the music and step back, it actually stands alone as extraorindary stuff. little gems and jewels, written by musicians that would have gone on" to produce more great work had they survived. The performance  takes place at Temple Emmanuel in Newton Centre at 7 p.m. Tickets: $20

385 Ward St., Newton Centre, brooklinechorus.org

Sun. March 18 

Cirque Eloize's "Rain" wraps up today, Sunday March 18 at Cutler Majestic Theatre. It certainly  owes something to its older, much larger brother, Cirque du Soleil. Both, of course, are Montreal-based and both shuffle acrobatics, juggling, comedy and music. But Cirque Eloize, started 13 years ago by artistic director Jennot Painchaud, "has really chosen a different path," says performer Jonas Woolverton (in photo), "a path that's more subtle and human and intimate. We choose to work in theaters, and there are different expacteations there. You're moved emotionally, like a theater piece. You're going to see amazing acrobatics, but they also choose artists that are able to act. There's not so much bombast. You get time to know each person on stage and allow them to shine. This show, 'Rain,' is very romantic, very funny. It's very nostalgic and deals with memory and childhood - not always the pleasant memories of childhood, such as  your grandmother who passed away or your best friend at 10 who moved away and you're never going to see again. It's a beautiful, poetic show, on the edge between humor and nostalgia."

"Rain" is based upon writer-director Daniele Finiz Pasca's recollections of his own childhood. (His parents were both visual artists.) The story-line of "Rain" is that it takes place where a circus show is in rehearsal. Pasca's inspiration for the plot came from old photographs. "I think of the show as an old family album," says Wooverton, who juggles, acts, sings and specializes in something called the Cyr Wheel. "You turn the page and a different circus act opens up. You imagine your family as a troupe of circus artists."

Sat. March 17 

Bummed out because you're not going to one of the string of St. Paddy's day shows at Avalon by the Dropkick Murphys? Don't be bummed. There is no string of shows this year - just two on Friday the 16th on Saturday March 18 starting at 6:30. What? you're thinking. Boston's riotous Celtic-infused punk band has slipped in status? Hardly, my friend. They've simply bumped it up a notch, playing the much larger Agannis Arena ... which is sold out. And, actually, we just found out the Avalon shows have gone clean, too. There is a solution however. Spend St. Paddy's at Ned Devine's in the Fanueil Hall area, where WBCN is setting up shop to broadcast and give away Murphys' tickets to Ned's patrons. They're open at 9 a.m. and serving a $12 Irish breakfast. Stick around for $5.50 pints of Guinness.

Quincy Market Building, 617-248-8800 neddevinesboston.com

Fri. March 16

 With St. Paddy's Day, just ahead Danu - named the "best traditional live act" by Irish Music Magazine - is in town, at the Somerville Theater Friday March 16. Co-incidence? We think not. In fact, it never stuns to surprise how many Irish or Irish-tinged acts find their way to Boston this time of year. Exactly how big is that market? The answer, we suppose, is very big indeed, Dauu, founded by accordionist Benny McCarthy and guitarist Donal Clancy (son of the Clancy Brothers Liam), have reaped a ton of awards and bring intelligence and kick-ass energy to the Celtic storm. You get that wondrous mix of fiddle, bouzouki, uillean pipes, bodhran and more, topped by newest band member Muireean Nic Amhlaoibh's vocals. There's an egalitarianism about what Danu does. "Everyone gets a chance to bring tunes to the table, says fiddler Oisin McAuley. "It's very democratic. If it was just oo much of one or two people doing that, I think the band would affected more by new people coming and going. Everyone is as much a member as anyeone else. " They're at the Somerville Theatre at 8 p.m.  Tickets are $28 and $22.

55 Davis Square, Somerville, 617-876-4275 worldmusic.org