Here’s the thing about summer — it’s not over in September. It’s barely over in October. Climate change made sure of that. Not being alarmist here, but autumn is definitely changing, and will continue to do so unless something else changes. All to say, August is not the end of the summer season, no matter how much your brain thinks it is. It’ll still be hot, and you’ll still want to be in the A/C or in front of the fan or on a lawn sweating it out. So, come the languishing weeks, gather in for a meta-COVID movie, explore some synthy-beeps and boops or get your Shakespearean tragi-rom-com on. “Romeo and Juliet” is funny, right?
The Origins of American Independent Cinema (from Coolidge Corner Education)
Thursdays at 6:30 p.m., August 4 - September 1
Coolidge Corner Theatre
$150 for five-class package
Deepen your knowledge of indie film by asking yourself the hard-hitting questions, like, “What does the ‘independent’ in ‘independent cinema’ actually mean?” Emerson College film studies professor Andre Puca presents an educational journey that examines independent cinema’s relationship to the Hollywood budget and status quo, from the 1950s to the 1970s.
The Tsugua Diaries
August 5-7
Brattle Theatre
General Admission: $14, with discounts for matinees, seniors, children under 12 and students and military with valid ID
For the first weekend in August, The Brattle Theatre is presenting its premiere run of Tsugua Diaries, Maureen Fazendeiro and Miguel Gomes’ completely, totally, fictional film (we think) about a film crew trying to make a movie in rural Portugal, before production is updated by breach of COVID protocol. It’s a meta-narrative — a movie within a movie — that makes viewers think about motivations of not only the characters, but the actors and directors that bring them to life, and the crews that make it possible.
Commonwealth Shakespeare Company Apprentice Showcase
Through August 6
Modern Theatre at Suffolk University
Free, reservation required
The Commonwealth Shakespeare Company’s apprentice programs wrap with this Academy Showcase featuring a trio of Shakespearean plays: “Romeo and Juliet,” “As You Like It” and “Pericles” (despite questions of the latter’s authorship). There will be some drama just about every evening, now through August 6, at partner Suffolk University’s Modern Theatre.
Mission Hill Arts Festival
August 6 at 5:30 p.m., Tyson Jackson Quartet ft. Sasha Berliner; August 20 at 5:30 p.m., Gregory Groover, Jr.
The Yard at the Tobin Community Center
Tickets start at $20, with discounts for students and seniors
The final two concerts in this summer program — a collaboration with Celebrity Series of Boston — feature performances with Tyson Jackson and Gregory Groover, Jr. Boston-based Jackson is joined by vibraphonist Sasha Berliner, fresh off the release of her latest album Onyx; while tenorman Groover is poised to explore the folk history of Negro spirtuals with the rich traditions of his jazz vocabulary — the subject of his The Negro Spiritual Songbook series.
New England Synth Fest
Thursday, August 11 at 9:30 p.m.
Museum of Science, Boston
$10
For nearly 20 years, the New England Synth Festival has been bringing synth enthusiasts together, whether they be hardcore collectors or musical novices. This year’s string of meetups, performances and educational engagements ends with a third and final outing at the Museum of Science. On August 11, the Hayden Planetarium will turn into a synthetic sound hub full of music by LIMBC, Bob Familiar, Vizzie, Bill T Miller and Build; and visuals by Solid State Entity, cskonopka and Asha Tamirisa.
Romeo & Juliet
On Boston Common
August 11 and August 13
Free; chair rentals are $10,
reserving a chair is advised
Take in the story of star-crossed lovers under the stars on Boston Common. The Boston Lyric Opera kicks off its new season with a production of “Romeo & Juliet,” presented in partnership with the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company. It’s based on Charles Gounod’s 1867 musical setting of the classic rom-dram with a libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré. The production is sung in English with English subtitles.
Franz Ferdinand
August 15, doors open at 7 p.m.
House of Blues
Tickets start at $22
The sometimes post-punk, part-time electronic, full-time singularly Scottish band fronted by Alex Kapranos comes to Boston for its Hits to the Head Tour. As the name implies, this is a trip to support a Greatest Hits album, so we’re betting on a main course of crowd-pleasers and a side of some new material recorded for the compilation. Franz Ferdinand is a band with two decades of history behind it, so it’s worth checking out for that level of retrospective alone.
Mendelssohn & Fabiola Méndez: Symphonic Folk
August 17 at 7 p.m.
DCR Hatch Memorial Shell
Free
Singer-songwriter and cuatro-player Mendéz teams up with conductor Christopher Wilkins and the Boston Landmarks Orchestra to take listeners on a journey from 19th-century Germany to 20th-century Mexico. Mendelssohn’s 4th symphony, the “Italian,” anchors an evening rounded out by selections from Chávez, Price, Gershwin, Bizet and Méndez herself.
Moakley Park Cleanup
August 27
Free registration
Litter is an eyesore. If you have the urge to obsessively beautify the natural wonder around you (or simply want to volunteer your time on a free weekend, because giving back is important) link up with Boston Harbor Now and the Boston Parks and Recreation Department to clean up debris at Moakley Park. Let’s make a safer, healthier, and more aesthetically pleasing marine environment and public space. They’ll provide equipment; you provide yourself.
