E-Mail This Article to a Friend A ghost is born Wilco graces the Newport Folk Festival, plus a controversial docudrama at the Regent Theatre and more

Breaking the Law

When Chicago’s Bailiwick Repertory Theatre opened its scathing docudrama Sin: A Cardinal Deposed last March, the New York Times described it as being "as accessible as it is emotionally devastating" and reported that the audience was moved to tears. The production, which depicts the disgraced Bernard Cardinal Law in dialogue taken directly from his depositions in the cases of abusive priests John Geoghan and Paul Shanley, is now being moved lock, stock, and cast intact to the Regent Theatre, 7 Medford Street in Arlington, beginning June 9 and running through the 27th. The Chicago Tribune called the play a "long but important kick in the teeth"; the Boston Globe reported that "it almost seems as if the Cardinal himself is onstage." All of which suggests that Sin could become the most wrenching theatrical experience of the season. Tickets are $30 and $40; call (781) 646-4849 or visit www.acardinaldeposed.com

Wilco: Newport folks

Dropped by their label a few years back after recording their most ambitious album to date, Wilco took to streaming Yankee Hotel Foxtrot on their Web site, and the effusive reaction from fans and critics helped land the band a new deal. This time around, the only delay in the release of A Ghost Is Born (Nonesuch) is self-imposed — Jeff Tweedy hit rehab last month, pushing back the disc’s street date to June 22 — but the album is, once again, streaming in advance at Wilcoworld.com. Your first chance to catch the new line-up — including Nels Cline on guitar! — comes August 8, when the band grace the second night of the Newport Folk Festival at Fort Adams State Park in Rhode Island. The weekend’s other performers include Lucinda Williams, Ollabelle, Doc Watson, and the Dixie Hummingbirds. Tickets go on sale today (May 13) at 10 a.m.; call (866) 468-7619.

Strutting in Somerville

The Somerville Arts Council’s Rachel Strutt would like to point out that she had no influence whatsoever on the naming rights to next weekend’s cavalcade of Somerville’s homegrown dance talent titled "Somerville Struts." All the same, the SAC will be happy to absorb the concert’s proceeds. Those strutting their stuff will include acclaimed choreographer Marcus Schulkind, Japanese butoh upstarts Kitsune, well-traveled Jacob’s Pillow vets Hoi Polloi, Indian classical dance performer Aparna Sindhoor, and the Art of Black Music and Dance. One of whom, we hope, will invent an actual Somerville Strut for proud residents to affect on their way back home. That’s Saturday May 22 at the Somerville Theatre, 55 Davis Square, and tickets are $18; call (617) 625-4088.

All that jazz

Among many New England jazz fans, the conventional wisdom is that the annual mandatory pilgrimage is to Newport, Rhode Island (this year celebrating its 50th anniversary August 13-15). But some would argue that the greatest festival in North America is the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal, which runs almost two full weeks this year (June 30–July 11) while encompassing a mile-wide range of international jazz and pop. Chick Corea and Charlie Haden will be featured in two separate "Invitation Series" concerts running four nights each with different special guests. A partial list of performers at the more than 150 indoor and outdoor concerts includes Wynton Marsalis, Nellie McKay, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, k.d. lang with the Montreal Symphony, Greg Osby, Chris Potter, Youssou N’Dour, the Bad Plus, Dave Douglas, Brad Mehldau, Kurt Rozenwinkel, John Scofield, Ani DiFranco, Patricia Barber, Béla Fleck, the Roots, the Funk Brothers, and Cirque du Soleil, plus a special celebration of 10 years of post-apartheid South Africa with Johnny Clegg, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and more. Tickets go on sale this Saturday, May 15; call (888) 515-0515 or visit www.montrealjazzfest.com