Sat. May 17- Thurs. June 15

Nicholas Martin, artistic director of the Huntington Theatre, is on his way out of town after seven-plus years - to return to the Berkshires and Williamstown Theatre Festival and New York - but he wants to go out inn style here in Boston. His favorite play is Chekhov’s “The Cherry Orchard,” and he’d have picked that – if the Huntington hadn’t already done it with Burton earlier in his final season. So, he took a 180-degree pivot with “She Loves Me,” which is up at the B.U.Theatre through Thursday June 15. It was first done on Broadway in 1963 and revived 30 years later. Both received multiple Tony nominations. Martin says he saw the first run when he “was not a child. I was right out there with the rest of the hippies in 1963. But in a way ‘She Loves Me’ was before its time and after its time. It was just not in its time.” Of the 1993 revival, Frank Rich of the New York Times called it “an escape to a civilization that doesn’t exist anymore.”

Sat. May 17 - Thurs. May 22

 Film-making brothers Joel and Ethan Coen have long been hip: Known mostly for their dark and twisted tales and a style of their own. They've never been Hollywood's hottest team, but that changed with "No Country for Old Men," which the Coens Oscars for best director and also copped the Oscar for best movie. A brutal, harrowing film, it also attracted a suprising mainstream audience - through no fault of the Coens it would seem. At any rate, the time is ripe for the Brattle Theatre's rep series called "A Gathering of Coens." up  through Thursday May 22. The Brattle gives its screen over to the movies that made us twitch and squirm (or in "The Big Lebowski's" case smile and squirm.) Anyway, it's a good time to revisit what you saw long ago or catch up on what you missed. We must warn you, however. This is not a big comprehensive CoenFest.

ongoing

When someone asks you "Whatever Happened to Pluto?" do you first think "Something has happened to the Disney dog?" or do you go, "Yes, I believe it's somehow not a planet anymore. How could that be?" To be honest, both thoughts flooded our head when we heard about the Museum of Science exhibit, but - clever as we are - we deduced this had to be about the planet, not the cartoon dog. We were right, and went to the opening of the exhibit in the Charles Hayden Planetarium in April. Haven't been inside a planetarium since ... um ... childhood. And it was fascinating, both the experience of simply leaning back and looking at the projected sky and the presentation about Pluto.

ongoing

 We attended the party at Liberty Hotel last week, with Live Nation announcing its summer series of shows at the Tweeter Center, the Bank of America Pavilion and the TD Banknorth Garden. The primary booker, Dave Marsden, said they had put tickets on sale earlier this year - as well as announcing the full (or close to it) slate of concerts. This, he added, allowed people to make choices on what may - for many - be a more limited budget. It's very busy concert season, with many of the superstar acts on tour, and 12 of the Tweeter shows had sold out already. They would surpass the 375,000 tickets they sold all last year later this week. Recession? "The recession is bad economic news," said Marsden. "At some point, you do hit the wall." But that clearly hasn't happened as the season gets underway. The Boston-based shows and the Tweeter shows are up on site, sans commentary, if you hit "read more." Of note: The Pavilion now has permanent, and more plush, seating. .

Tues. May 20

We met Jeanie Flynn when she was an event planner for Cam Neely's Foundation, and again when she moved into the world of publicity. It wasn't until not long ago that we discovered Jeanie, sister of comic Jackie Flynn, had a whole 'nother side: Lounge singer. And she's a good one. She and her band, the Strays, play the Foundation Lounge every Tuesday night from 8 to 11:30. Says Flynn, of the music:  "It's a cross between old standards, rhythm and blues and old blues."

Tues. May 20 

Margot Livesey – a Scottish-born writer who currently the “ distinguished writer in residence at Emerson College – has written one of the most moving novels we’ve read this year. It’s called “The House on Fortune Street,” and, while compelling in its entirety, it’s not that easy to describe. As Livesey found out when she first started talking to the press about the book. Livesey told us: “I gave an early interview and I saw this pained incomprehension creep over her face. I realized I had to simplify the book and present it more as whole. To say there were four protagonists was not always helpful. So I said it was about friendship, the question of luck, and how people deal with damage.  I suggested that I hope the book is emotionally persuasive. I offer some dark material, but it’s not a depressing book.”

Tues. May 20

It's easy to be awed by Martin Bisi's resume. He's worked with, engineered, done sound or produced Dresden Dolls, Iggy Pop, Ramones, Bill Laswell, Sonic Youth, Beat Circus, John Zorn and many other notables. His response? "It's funny. It's a really good question, or a really bad one. You're hitting a nerve. I'm conflicted. I go back and forth on it. I have had a few meltdowns about the whole issue. About a year ago, I freaked out. I have this whole odd feeling, about music in general, and in a sense of being a sideman. Music is a collaborative work and symbiotic. You have the artist who isn't going to be effective without a good presentation, and I'm presenting my take on the artist." This, keep in mind, is Bisi talking as a behind-the-scenes guy, which he has mostly been in New York.

Thurs. May 22

We go upscale, we go downscale. And this is one of the things we love about Boston - and try to represent in this space. It's what Brian Eno once told me about "high" art and "low" art. They both existed in the same realm of enjoyment and edification. And, so we introduce you to what Whiskey Park (in photo, as human-free as you'll ever see it) would say is on the higher end of the nightlife word: "Soul Clap Thursdays," which they call a new late night option for urban professionals.

Wed. May 22

When Gilda Radner invented Baba Wawa for "Saturday Night Live" back in the day, I smiled. Yes, this speech-impaired, egomaniac with a skill for fake empathy was finally being skewered. And, such was the strength of the late Radner's impersonation, I think back to it whenever Barbara Walters comes into view. (Not on "The View," which I refuse to watch, and probably am banned from watching anyway, due to gender.) Maybe it's over-the-top sense of self-importance, or maybe she was just the best self-promoter in the biz back in the '70s and something gnaws at me that she's still in the spotlight today ... 

 Fri. May 23

Firewater – a “world punk” band fronted by singer-bassist Tod A – played the Paradise four years ago and does so again Friday May 23. It’s their first US gig in that time-span – and there was no certainty there would ever be one again. Tod spent three years out of the country. “Mostly Asia,” he says. “I felt like New York was telling me to leave. I was sitting in a window-less room in Brooklyn paying too much for rent. I had a vision of having a cold beer under a palm tree. That and Bush being re-elected and I being recently divorced. I wanted to get the hell out of dodge. I wanted to take a break from the music business. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do it anymore. So I decided to take a little trip for m sanity and try and decide.”

Sat.  May 24

 There was a huge chunk of time when Frank Sinatra was unpopular. He was making all those negative statements about rock 'n' roll; his kind of music was passe; his star was dimming. Sinatra's prolonged end-of-the-line touring didn't help. Neither his voice nor concentration was there. Did he need the money that bad? Could he not live without the adulation? But that was then. The lounge revolution happened and Sinatra got hip again with the young folks. Vinalia takes advantage of that on the first Saturday of every month, with "Saturdays With Sinatra."