This week, Jared previews the 38th Annual Elliot Norton Awards and offers a new way to experience Boston’s park system via a BSO commission titled “The Emerald Necklace,” named for the greenspace designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. Plus, an update on the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company.

The 38th Annual Elliot Norton Awards announce their nominations

The Boston Theater Critics Association, of which Jared is a member, has announced the nominees for the 38th Annual Elliot Norton Awards. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, winners will be announced during a free, virtual ceremony on Monday, May 11 at 7:00 p.m. You can view the full list of nominations here.

The ceremony will also award the Elliot Norton Prize for Sustained Excellence to the late actor Johnny Lee Davenport. In lieu of a scholarship, the Boston Theater Critics Association plans to donate $2,500 to the Theatre Community Benevolent Fund, which provides financial assistance to theater artists and organizations in need.

“The Emerald Necklace,” a chamber symphony in three parts commissioned by the Boston Symphony Orchestra

Boston-based composer Andrew List has created “The Emerald Necklace,” a 15-minute chamber symphony in three parts. The piece was commissioned by the Boston Symphony Orchestra as part of its BSO in Residence program for composers.

Crafted in honor of the series of parks and waterways of the same name designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, “The Emerald Necklace” celebrates the connection of nature and humanity.

“Olmsted talked a lot about the necklace and nature as being a place that people could go to recover, to recreate themselves, to find peace,” says Emerald Necklace Conservancy President Karen Mauney-Brodek. “It is very interesting that that is what his parks are serving again for us today.”

Commonwealth Shakespeare Company offers a way to get your Shakespeare fix and reveals its next Shakespeare on the Common production, “The Tempest.”

Commonwealth Shakespeare Company has announced that it will produce “The Tempest” for the 25th anniversary of Shakespeare on the Common. The free production will be directed by Steven Maler and star John Douglas Thompson (Man in the Ring, King Lear). Performances are slated to begin Wednesday, July 22 on the Boston Common, and Commonwealth Shakespeare Company has promised to pay their artists even if the show is postponed due to the coronavirus.

Commonwealth Shakespeare Company has also launched "Shakespeare on the Common Encores!"—a new series featuring actors from past Shakespeare on the Common productions performing monologues from their homes during the COVID-19 quarantine.

What artistic endeavors are you looking forward to doing once the coronavirus quarantine ends? Tell Jared about it on Facebook or Twitter!

Correction: This article has been updated to correct the spelling of Frederick Law Olmsted's last name. It is Olmsted, not Olmstead.