Encore: The Must-See Performances and Shows in Rhode Island This Season

Pull up your calendar: You won't want to miss these visual and performing arts shows.

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May

May 5–29
A Midsummer Night’s Dream (By William Shakespeare, directed by Fred Sullivan, Jr.)
Four young lovers flee the restraints of home for the refuge of the woods and find themselves in a world of increasingly magical turmoil. Shakespeare’s popular comedy is an evergreen tale about how quickly our world can turn upside down and how ingenuity, love, and art can set it right again. See website for times. The Gamm Theatre, Warwick, gammtheatre.org

May19 thru June 19
Fairview
This stunning Pulitzer-prize winner begins simply: It’s Grandma’s birthday, and Beverly needs the family’s celebration to be perfect. But her husband is no help, her sister is getting into the wine and her brother hasn’t arrived. Then this family comedy takes a surprising turn, becoming an unpredictable and thrillingly theatrical experience. 7:30 p.m.
Chace Theater at Trinity Rep, Providence, trinityrep.com/fairview

May 12
The Poulenc Trio
The Poulenc Trio has rediscovered and redefined piano-wind chamber music for the twenty-first century. The Trio is committed to commissioning, performing, and recording new works from contemporary composers. 7:30 p.m. McVinney Auditorium, Providence, ricmc.org

May 19 thru June 11
Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812
From the celebrated and award-winning composer Dave Malloy comes Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812, an electropop opera based on a scandalous slice of Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace. Young and impulsive, Natasha Rostova arrives in Moscow to await the return of her fiancé from the front lines. When she falls under the spell of the roguish Anatole, it is up to Pierre, a family friend in the middle of an existential crisis, to pick up the pieces of her shattered reputation. Following a critically exalted run on Broadway, this award-winning musical expands the possibilities for the genre with its daring score and bold storytelling. 7:30 p.m.
The Wilbury Theatre Group at the WaterFire Arts Center, Providence, thewilburygroup.org

May 22
Season Finale Concert
The Narragansett Bay Symphony Community Orchestra returns to McVinney Auditorium to close the 2021-2022 Season! The program includes Ellington River Suite, Clarke Viola Sonata and Mahler Symphony No. 5. 3 p.m.
Bishop McVinney Auditorium, Providence, nabsco.org