JONATHAN LETHEM. The author of the novels The Fortress of Solitude and Motherless Brooklyn comes to the Coolidge Corner Theatre on March 31 to read from his essay collection The Disappointment Artist. Tickets are $2; call (617) 566-6660.

IAN MCEWAN. Under any circumstances, McEwan’s novels are events. His new Saturday (Nan A. Talese), which covers a single day in the life of a London surgeon, looks to be more: already it’s been excerpted in the New Yorker and cited by the Times as a leader in exploring the fallout of September 11. McEwan reads from the book on April 1 at the Brattle Theatre, 40 Brattle Street in Harvard Square. Tickets, at $3, are available through Harvard Book Store; call (617) 661-1515.

NATIONAL ACROBATS OF TAIWAN. April 9 at Symphony Hall, 301 Massachusetts Avenue in Boston. Tickets are $32 to $55; call (617) 266-1200.

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. March 30 through May 22 at the Opera House, 539 Washington Street in the Theater District. Tickets are $20 to $70; call (617) 931-ARTS.

BOSTON BALLET’S SLEEPING BEAUTY. May 5 through 15 at the Wang Theatre, 270 Tremont Street in the Theater District. Tickets are $18 to $98; call (800) 447-7400.

OPENING NIGHT AT POPS. Keith Lockhart conducts the kickoff of the 120th spring season of the Boston Pops, with guest spots from Lou Rawls and last year’s POPSearch champ, Tracy Silva. That’s May 11 at Symphony Hall, 301 Massachusetts Avenue in Boston. Tickets start at $50; call (617) 266-1200.