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SUNDAY, APRIL 3

Be sure that you turned your clocks ahead last night!

ART

The Worcester Art Museum, with an assist from the College of the Holy Cross, presents what’s being billed as "the first major exhibit outside Europe to explore art’s role during the plague," with works by Tintoretto, Canaletto, Mignard, and Van Dyck. "Hope and Healing: Painting in Italy in a Time of Plague, 1500-1800" runs through September 25, and WAM is at 55 Salisbury Street in Worcester; call (508) 799-4406 extension 3105.

BENEFITS

BOSTON ART & ANTIQUES SHOW TO BENEFIT THE BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF BOSTON is today from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Boston Park Plaza Castle, 64 Arlington St., Boston. Tickets $10; (617) 994-4700.

AT THE CLUBS

ROCK. Slaying our speaker cones this week: "Power Chord Academy," the most vicious track on Transistor Transistor’s first official album-type release, Erase All Name and Likeness (Level-Plane). Although the band have been kicking around New England in a bunch of incarnations, Transistor Transistor coalesced as a quartet last year in Boston; the album was produced by Converge’s Kurt Ballou. And though Erase isn’t the most consistent release in the world — the quartet seem to have absorbed at least a dozen varieties of math rock, death punk, and spazzed-out hardcore, from Spiderland and Gravity Records up through You Fail Me — it’s some frantic, electrifying, pulverizing, evil-sounding shit. Headed off for a European tour next week, T2 play a farewell party at the Brookline Community Center for the Arts, 14 Green Street in Brookline, with Breather Resist, Coliseum, Disappearer, and Lords. It’s a 7 p.m. all-ages show, and admission is $7. Call (617) 738-2800.

Also tonight: now that the Ramones have left us, on any given night New Hampshire legends the Queers are capable of being the finest pop-punk band on Planet Rock. They’re at T.T. the Bear’s Place (10 Brookline Street in Central Square; 617-492-BEAR) with the Black Halos and Sweden’s the Bones. And the Taking Back Sunday offshoot Straylight Run bring soft-rocking piano-pop levity to Axis (13 Lansdowne Street in Boston; 617-262-2437) with indie darlings Minus the Bear and the Honorary Title.

RUMBLE. If it’s April, it’s Rock N Roll Rumble time — and unlike every other battle of the bands in creation, most of the two dozen outfits competing over the next several weeks are legitimate next-big-thing contenders. Already this year’s edition is shaping up to be closer to The Decline of Western Civilization than American Idol. (Check the Web for faux metal stuporstar Robby Roadsteamer’s ax-grinding short film, in which he calls out the Marvels, and in which his guitarist, Dave Pino, whose old band Waltham lost to Darkbuster a few years ago, prays not to lose "two in a row.") Roadsteamer, the Bon Savants, Fluttr Effect and Lock and Key kick off the preliminary round, which runs through next Saturday upstairs at the Middle East, 472 Massachusetts Avenue in Central Square; call (617) 864-EAST.

OTHER LIVE SHOWS:

For the following shows, see the Club Directory for phone numbers and addresses.

ABBEY LOUNGE, Somerville. Farmhands.

ALL ASIA CAFE, Cambridge. At 5 p.m., "Singer-Songwriter Series" with Christie Leigh. At 8 p.m., Time Caps. At 10 p.m., Losstunnaun, Write 2 Eat.

THE AVENUE, Allston. "Lounge Night."

AXIS, Boston. At 6:30 p.m., Straylight Run, Minus the Bear, Honorary Title, Gratitude, Spitalfield.

BLARNEY STONE PUB, Dorchester. "Laid Back Sunday."

BOB THE CHEF’S, Boston. At 10 a.m., "Sunday Jazz Brunch" with Paulo Daney Jazz Quartet.

BRAVO at THE MFA Boston. "Jazz Brunch" with Ronnie Ron Duo.

BREEZEWAY BAR & GRILLE, Roxbury. At 11 a.m., Michael Shea Trio.

THE BURREN, Somerville. Front Room: At 2 p.m., "Traditional Irish Music." Back Room: At 8 p.m., "Singer-Songwriter Series."

CANTAB LOUNGE, Cambridge. "Candy’s Blues Jam."

CLARK’S IN FANEUIL HALL, Boston. 9 Pound Bag.

CLUB PASSIM, Cambridge. At 7 p.m., John Stewart.

COSTELLO’S Jamaica Plain. At 9 p.m., James Merenda’s Masked Marvels,

COTTONWOOD CAFE, Boston. D Street Band.

DICK’S LAST RESORT, Boston. Brian Lcoher.

ENCORE, Boston. Dorothy Miller & Michael Larson.

GRAFTON STREET PUB & GRILL, Cambridge. At 9 p.m., Beantown Project.

GREEN DRAGON, Boston. Swinging Johnsons.

GREEN STREET GRILL, Cambridge. At 10:30 p.m., "Afro-pop Reggae High Life" with Joh Camara & Jama-Jigi.

HARPERS FERRY, Allston. Audible Mainframe, Eclectic Collective, Smyrk, Ele.mental.

HENNESSY’S, Boston. Tom Groleau.

JACQUES, Boston. "Diamond Dunhill’s Drag-Ons Review."

JOHNNY D’S, Somerville. At 9 a.m., "Jazz Brunch." At 4:30 p.m., "Open Blues Jam." At 9 p.m., "Salsa Dancing" with Rumba Na Ma.

KENNEDY’S, Boston. At noon, Julia Lloyd.

KINGS, Boston. Mickey Bones & the Hot Tamales.

MIDDLE EAST, Cambridge. Upstairs: Robby Roadsteamer, Fluttr Effect, Bon Savants, Lock & Key.

MR. DOOLEY’S TAVERN, Boston. Mike Barrett.

O’BRIEN’S, Allston. Permanent Damage, Pako, A Terrible Night for a Curse, Easter Blood Hounds.

O’LEARY’S, Brookline. At 7:30 p.m., "Irish Music Session."

ORLEANS, Somerville. At 7 p.m., "Jazz Session."

PADDY O’S, Boston. Sunday’s Well.

PARADISE LOUNGE, Boston. "STATiC: Local Rock Showcase" with Main Drag, Shore Leave.

PARADISE ROCK CLUB, Boston. At 8 p.m., Psychedelic Furs, Shore.

PURPLE SHAMROCK, Boston. James McKenna Duo.

SISSY K’S, Boston. Greg Luttrell.

TIR NA NOG, Somerville. Ronan "Fluffy" Quinn.

TOP OF THE HUB, Boston. At noon, Lee Childs Group. At 8 p.m., Marty Ballou Trio.

T.T. THE BEAR’S PLACE, Cambridge. Queers, Black Halos, River City Rebels, Bones.

WALLY’S CAFE, Boston. At 4 p.m., "Jazz Jam Session" with Jason Palmer Trio. At 9 p.m., Wally’s Stepchildren.

WONDER BAR, Allston. At 9 p.m., Johnny Horner & Joe McMahon Ensemble.

ZEITGEIST GALLERY, Cambridge. At 1:30 p.m., "Behind the Scenes: Composers at the Keyboard." At 7 p.m., George Garzone/Lello Molinari Duo. At 9:30 p.m., Boston Jazz Composers Collective.

DJ SHOWS:

ARIA, Boston. "Living Room," lounge and vocal house.

AURORA, Boston. "Ginseng," soulful house, hip hop, and reggae.

AVALON, Boston. At 10 p.m., "Gay Night," house with DJ Darrin Friedman.

BLUE CAT CAFE, Boston. DJ Armen.

DEVLIN’S LOUNGE AND BAR, Brighton. "Industry Night" with DJ Paul Dailey.

THE E ROOM AT THE GOLDEN TEMPLE, Brookline. House and acid jazz with DJ Johan Van Cauwenberghe.

THE EXCHANGE, Boston. "Menage A Trois," Brazilian dance and Eurohouse with DJ Roland.

METROPOLIS, Providence, RI. "Industry," uplifting house and dance anthems, with DJ Rick Naples.

PHOENIX LANDING, Cambridge. At 10 p.m., "Bump," house music with DJs Mike Walsh, Sergio Santos.

Q, Boston. "Noches Loco Latin Night."

THE RACK, Boston. At 9 p.m., DJ Mike Janedy.

TOAST, Somerville. "Brazilian Night."

TRATTORIA IL PANINO, Boston. "International Night" with DJs Nino, Antoine, Giulano, and Giovanni.

VAPOR, Boston. "T-Dance," old school house with DJ Danae.

VENU, Boston. "Carnival," Brazilian night with DJ Adilson.

VERTIGO, Boston. Caribbean and World Beat with DJ Deville.

COMEDY

BEANTOWN COMEDY VAULT, (781-729-2565), at Remington’s, 124 Boylston St., Boston. "Open Mic Night" with Tom Dustin.

BROTHER JIMMY’S BBQ, (617-458-1048), 96 Winthrop St., Harvard Sq., Cambridge. At 9:30 p.m., "Hari-Kari Karaoke Jewkbox."

CHARLES PLAYHOUSE (617-426-6912), 74 Warrenton St., Boston. At 8 p.m., "Comedy Fiasco."

COMEDY STUDIO, (617-864-5311), 1236 Mass. Ave., Cambridge. "Erin Judge Presents" with Myq Kaplan, Shane Mauss, Rebecca Anderson, Andrea Henry, Amanda Beals, Kris Earle, Korte Yeo, Jesse Gersten, Arielle Goldman.

IMPROVBOSTON THEATRE, (617-576-1253), 1253 Cambridge St., Cambridge. At 8 p.m., "Sergeant Culpepper Memorial Improvisational Jamboree."

JIMMY TINGLE’S OFF BROADWAY, (617-308-6421), 255 Elm St., Somerville. At 3 p.m., "75 Laughs: An Evening with Jonathan Katz." At 7 p.m., Women in Comedy.

CLASSICAL MUSIC CONCERTS

Another busy classical Sunday. Pianist Kotaro Fukuma kicks it off at 1:30 p.m. with an Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum recital program of Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 6, Schubert’s Opus 90 Impromptus, Ravel’s Gaspard de la nuit, and the Kreisler/Rachmaninov Liebeslied and Liebesfreud. The Gardner is at 280 the Fenway, and tickets are $20, $14 for seniors, $10 for students; call (617) 278-5156.

Those for whom Mahler seems just too big and loud might want to head over to Jordan Hall, where the chamber ensemble Mistral will be performing Erwin Stein’s arrangement of Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 (with soprano Maria Ferrante) plus Debussy’s Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune, and two arias by Bach. That’s at 3 p.m., Jordan Hall is at 30 Gainsborough Street in Boston, and tickets are $30; call (978) 474-6222. Or if even chamber Mahler is too much heavy lifting, there’s the always treasurable Bernadette Peters doing show tunes at 3 p.m. at Symphony Hall in her Bank of America Celebrity Series recital debut — okay, it’s not exactly classical, but she will have a full orchestra. Tickets are $42 to $87, and Symphony Hall is at 301 Massachusetts Avenue in Boston; call (617) 266-1200.

And over in Cambridge, "It’s All Relative" as Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra performs Felix Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4 (Italian), Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel’s Concert Overture in C, Robert Schumann’s Introduction and Allegro Appassionato, and Clara Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A minor, with Frederick Moyer, at 3 p.m. at Sanders Theatre, 45 Quincy Street in Harvard Square. Tickets are $9 to $45; call (617) 496-2222.

OTHER CLASSICAL MUSIC CONCERTS:

COLLAGE NEW MUSIC performs works by Montserrat Torras, John Heiss, Michael Gandolfi, and Stephen Hartke at 7:30 p.m. at Harvard University, Paine Hall, between Mass. Ave. and Oxford St., Cambridge. Tickets $20, $7 for students, seniors; (617) 325-5200.

CONCORDIA CONSORT performs works by Purcell, Handel, Vivaldi, and Buxtehude at noon in the MIT Chapel, 84 Mass. Ave., Cambridge. Free; (617) 253-2906.

MEMBERS OF THE BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA BRASS SECTION perform Bolter’s Cydonia, Sampson’s Morning Music for Brass Quintet, Handel’s Water Music, and Ewald’s Symphony for Brass at 3 p.m. the Peabody Essex Museum, East India Sq., Salem. Free; (617) 266-1200.

CAROL RODLAND gives a viola recital at 8 p.m. at Jordan Hall, 30 Gainsborough St., Boston. Free; (617) 585-1122.

POPULAR MUSIC CONCERTS

GOSPEL. Roxbury’s Silver Leaf Gospel Singers are part of Boston’s musical history — old-fashioned jubilee vocalizers (think of an unreconstructed Blind Boys of Alabama) celebrating 60 years of raising their voices to make a joyful noise. Still under the direction of their octogenarian founder, Randy Green, they’ll perform a special Easter-season program at the Forsyth Chapel at Forest Hills Cemetery at 4 p.m., but even secularists can dig their swinging, rockin’ six-part harmonies; call (617) 524-3354.

JAZZ. Young jazz star Joshua Redman is a model citizen in a model jazz community. He’s artistic director of the San Francisco Jazz Festival — a formerly seasonal concert festival that’s become a year-round program of concerts and community and educational programs. Redman is touring with SFJAZZ Collective, an all-star resident and touring outfit that focuses on one important jazz composer every year as well as pieces from its members. Redman and the SFJAZZ Collective come to the Berklee Performance Center with vibes legend Bobby Hutcherson, trumpeter Nicholas Payton, young up-and-coming alto player Miguel Zenón, trombonist Isaac Smith, pianist Renee Rosnes, bassist Matt Penman, and drummer Eric Harland. That’s at 7 p.m. at 136 Massachusetts Avenue in Boston, and tickets are $35 and $27.50; call (617) 876-7777.

OTHER POP MUSIC CONCERTS

AWILO LONGOMBA & DANCERS perform at 7 p.m. at the Somerville Theatre, 55 Davis Sq., Somerville. (617) 625-4088.

BREATHER RESIST, TRANSISTOR TRANSISTOR, COLISEUM, DISAPPEARER, AND LORDS perform at 7 p.m. at the Brookline Community Center for the Arts, 14 Green St., Brookline. Tickets $6; (617) 738-2800.

CHAZ & THE MOTORBIKES AND STEVE MARDON perform at 7:30 p.m. at the Washington Street Art Center, 321 Washington St., Somerville. Donations accepted; (617) 623-5315.

BERNADETTE PETERS performs Broadway standards at 3 p.m. at Symphony Hall, 301 Mass. Ave., Boston. Tickets $37-$72; (617) 266-1200.

DANCE/PARTICIPATORY

EAST COAST SWING AND TWO-STEP is at 7 p.m. at Ashland Country Dance Hall, 162 West Union St., Ashland. Tickets $4-$8; (508) 435-0950.

INTERNATIONAL FOLK DANCING is from 8 to 11 p.m. at MIT, Sala de Puerto Rico, Stratton Student Center (second floor), 84 Mass. Ave., Cambridge. Tickets $1; (617) 253-3655.

ISRAELI FOLK DANCING is at 8 p.m. at Harvard-Radcliffe Hillel, 52 Mount Auburn St., Cambridge. Tickets $3, $2 for students; (617) 484-3267.

MAMBO/SALSA CLUB with music by Mackie Burnette and DJ O’Bruno is at 1 p.m. at the Middle East, 480 Mass. Ave., Cambridge. Tickets $15, $12 for students; (617) 524-2763.

SAMBA SUNDAY is at 7 p.m. at the Brookline Community Center for the Arts, 14 Green St., Brookline. Tickets $10; (617) 738-2800.

SCOTTISH COUNTRY TWELFTH NIGHT DANCE is from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Church of Our Saviour, 25 Monmouth St., Brookline. Tickets $5; (617) 661-5899.

WEPA SALSA SUNDAY DANCE is from 8 p.m. to midnight at 179 South St. (sixth floor), Boston. Tickets $10; (617) 388-0925.

DANCE/PERFORMANCE

In Cambridge, meanwhile, José Mateo’s Ballet Theatre weighs in with its annual spring program, this year comprising Mateo’s Time Beyond Time (Messiaen), Reverie (Ravel), and Escape (Leo Brouwer). It goes on tonight at 8 p.m., and performances will run Thursdays through Sundays through May 1 at the Sanctuary Theatre in Old Cambridge Baptist Church, 400 Harvard Street in Harvard Square. Tickets are $32; call (617) 354-7467.

RAINBOW TRIBE, THE DANCE COMPANY performs today at 3 p.m. at Roxbury Community College, 1234 Columbus Ave., Roxbury Crossing. Tickets $15; (617) 769-9400.

EVENTS

Cleanse yourself, rise up, and resist the evils of consumerism at Reverend Billy’s "Who Will Survive the Shopocalypse?" The Old South Meeting House (310 Washington Street, Boston), located in the belly of the Downtown Crossing–Financial District consumption beast, will host Reverend Billy (New York performance artist Bill Talen) and his Stop Shopping Gospel Choir for an under-the-tent demon-exorcising service preaching the wonders of not shopping. With a full piano-brass band and 30-voice choir, this revival will put your regular Sunday church service to shame. The Reverend Billy’s stop-shopping ministry "believes that buying is not nearly as interesting as not buying, for the product needs the buyer much more than the buyer needs the product." The show is at 8, and tickets are $12; call (617) 482-439

"ATHLETES IN BEANTOWN MEMORABILIA & AUTOGRAPH SHOW" with dealer tables, tradiing cards, collectibles, plus Doug Flutie, Gerald Phelan, Jim Rice, Bill Lee, Roosevelt Colvin, Dan Klecko, Vince Wilfork, Ty Warren, Andre Tippett, Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake, Greg "The Hammer" Valentine, Abdullah the Butcher, and more concludes today from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Brandeis University, Shapiro Gymnasium, 415 South St., Waltham. Tickets $5, $2 for students, free for kids under 12; (781) 736-4203.

BIG APPLE CIRCUS presents "Picturesque" today at 12:30 and 4:30 p.m., Tues. at 11 a.m., and Wed.-Thurs., at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. at the Bayside Expo Center, 200 Mt. Vernon St., Boston. Tickets $13-$53; (617) 931-2787.

BOSTON PADDLESPORTS SHOW with canoes, kayaks, information on paddling clubs and organizations, accessories, and more is today from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Bob Smith’s Wilderness House, 1048 Comm. Ave., Boston. Free; (617) 277-5858.

PHOTOGRAPHICA SHOW with cameras, antiques, images, collectibles, equipment, and more is today from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Armenian Cultural Center and Educational Center, 47 Nichols Ave., Watertown. Tickets $5, $4 for students; (617) 965-0807.

"LE GRAND DAVID AND HIS OWN SPECTACULAR MAGIC COMPANY" perform at 3 p.m. at the Cabot St. Cinema Theatre, 286 Cabot St., Beverly. Tickets $15, $10 for children under 12; (978) 927-3677.

"REGARDING EVIL: A TRANSNATIONAL SUMMIT" with Matthew Barney, Boyd Rice, Julian LaVerdiere, Jodi Dean, Ronald Jones, and Beau Friedlander is from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at MIT, Building 10, Room 250, 77 Mass. Ave., Cambridge. Free; http://mit.edu/evil.

AT THE MOVIES

OPENED THIS WEEKEND: If fools persist in their folly, they shall become wise. That must be the credo of the brutal and obsessed characters in Frank Miller’s Sin City as Robert Rodriguez (El Mariachi, Spy Kids) adapts the cult-favorite graphic novels about a mythical, amoral metropolis. Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke, Brittany Murphy, and Josh Hartnett star. Fools and sinners find a home in Buenos Aires in Daniel Burman’s Lost Embrace, a comedy in which a young Jewish man searches for identity in a shabby shopping mall. Fleeing sin and cities and shopping malls is the fool played by Daniel Day Lewis in The Ballad of Jack and Rose. He’s a washed-up environmentalist holed up on an island with his teenage daughter. Rebecca Miller (the late Arthur’s daughter, and Daniel’s wife) directs. And the lower-case title might not be the only foolish element in dot the i, a melodrama about a young woman with misgivings about a romantic triangle. Matthew Parkhill’s 2003 debut film, it stars Gael García Bernal. Those who think animation has devolved into either CGI effects for blockbusters or crudely drawn, puerile vomit jokes should take a look at "The Animation Show 2005" this week at the Brattle Theatre. Animators Mike Judge and Don Hertzfeldt have compiled an outstanding program of artful and ingenious shorts including Bill Plympton’s Oscar-nominated "Guard Dog" and Hertzfeldt’s own "The Meaning of Life." And those for whom "Turkey" means a lousy movie should pay a visit to this weekend's "Fourth Boston Turkish Film Festival" at the Museum of Fine Arts. Featuring "The Ten Best Turkish Films of All Time" as chosen by the Ankara Cinema Association, it wraps up today.

For more movies and showtimes, see our Movie Theater directory.

READINGS & LECTURES

The fifth annual Boston Poetry Marathon at the Boston Public Library features 56 poets over two days including Elizabeth McKim, Ryk Mcintyre, Rhina Espaillat, Wendy Mnookin, Kaji Aso, and Jack Powers. It concludes today from 1 to 5 p.m., and the BPL is at 700 Boylston Street in Copley Square; call (617) 723-3716.

Any event that brings together infamous misanthrope Boyd Rice, the void-noise nihilist and Satanic easy-listening scholar, with Matthew Barney, the auteur behind the Cremaster films, is bound to be creepy. In this case, however, creepy doesn’t even begin to describe it. At MIT, Rice and Barney are among the presenters at "Regarding Evil," a symposium that purports to confront "the elusive and immeasurable subject of Evil, its transpolitical behaviors, charismatic æsthetic, and viral dispersement in the vast enterprise of simulation, symbolic power, and catastrophe." The event is free and goes on from 11 a.m. (did you remember to turn your clock ahead last night?) to 5 p.m. at MIT’s Building 10; for more information, visit web.mit.edu/evil

JOHANNA KNOWLES reads from her Lessons from a Dead Girl at 6:30 p.m. at Simmons College, Special Functions Room, 300 the Fenway, Boston. Free; (617) 521-2540.

LIZARD LOUNGE POETRY SLAM & JAM is at 7:30 p.m. at the Lizard Lounge, 1667 Mass. Ave., Cambridge. Tickets $6; (617) 547-0759.

ROBERT B. PARKER discusses his work at 1 p.m. at the Irish Cultural Centre of New England, 200 New Boston Dr., Canton. Free; (781) 821-8291.

POETRY EXCHANGE hosted by Richard Moore is from 3 to 5 p.m. at Harvard Coop, 1400 Mass. Ave., Cambridge. Free; (617) 489-0519.

THEATER

The award-winning (try three Pulitzers and counting) playwright Edward Albee once described his work as "an examination of the American scene, an attack on the substitution of artificial for real values in our society, a condemnation of complacency, cruelty, and emasculation and vacuity, a stand against the fiction that everything in this slipping land of ours is peachy-keen." Right on, Eddie! Today at 3, Chelsea Theatre Works (189 Winnisimmet Street, Chelsea) presents The Zoo Story, in which Albee explores the ever-classic theme of park-bench class warfare. Watch as a high-rollin’ company man and a Central Park cuckoo go at it. It’s the third offering in TheatreZone’s Actor’s Revenge, a festival of actor-selected plays. Tickets for the show are $18 at the door and $15 in advance. Visit www.theatrezone.org for more info.

"In an ordinary London flat," we’re told, "a desperate man is driven to commit an unspeakable act" in British playwright Edward Bond’s Olly’s Prison, which opens at the new Zero Arrow Theatre. We don’t know what that act is, but considering that in the venerable Bond’s Saved a group of thugs stone a baby in a carriage, we think it can’t be good. American Repertory Theatre artistic director Robert Woodruff is at the helm of the drama, which was written for British television and is being seen here in its English-language stage premiere. It continues through April 24 at Zero Arrow Theatre, Arrow Street and Massachusetts Avenue in Harvard Square. Tickets are $35 to $45, $12 for students; call (617) 547-8300.

Meanwhile, Súgán Theatre Company takes on Gagarin Way, a "cruel, funny first play by Scottish playwright Gregory Burke about a human heist gone terribly wrong." It plays through April 23 at the Boston Center for the Arts, 539 Tremont Street in the South End. Tickets are $34 and $38; call (617) 933-8600.

The masked man is back, as the Andrew Lloyd Webber megahit The Phantom of the Opera settles into a distinctly appropriate venue, the newly renovated Opera House, for an eight-week engagement. Gaston Leroux’s tale of a romantic ghoul giving music and love lessons in the catacombs beneath the Paris Opera House won seven 1988 Tony Awards and hasn’t left Broadway since. This touring production, directed by original spectacle meister Harold Prince, continues through May 22, the Opera House is at 539 Washington Street in the Theater District, and tickets are $23 to $83; call (617) 931-ARTS or drop into the Opera House or Colonial Theatre (106 Boylston Street) box office.

Two-time Olympic gymnast and former feminine-hygiene-product spokesperson Cathy Rigby is back in harness for her "farewell performance" as the green-clad boy who refuses to grow up. Following on the heels of Finding Neverland, this touring production of Peter Pan, boasting not a hint of pedophilia, comes to town for a one-week engagement. Pan and company will soar, crow, sew on shadows, and fight mano-a-meathook with Captain Hook for the final time today at the Wang Theatre, 270 Tremont Street in the Theater District. Tickets are $25 to $75; call (800) 447-7400 or drop in to the Wang box office.