The Weekender: April 4 to 7

Stock up on your book collection at the City-Wide Friends of the Boston Public Library Book Sale, and then browse through your new treasures in the library’s famed Bates Hall reading room. Photo via Unsplash/Daniel Brubaker

April 4 to 7

Cold, blustery weather is kicking off for this weekend, but have no fear. We’ve picked weekend activities that let you stay (mainly) inside where it’s warm, like on-campus theater productions, an off-Broadway comedy show, and a local book sale. 

2024 Master of Fine Arts Thesis Exhibitions

This BU College of Fine Arts School of Visual Arts shows feature the work of graduating students in the visual narrative, painting, graphic design, print media and photography, and sculpture graduate programs. 

Thursday, April 4, to Saturday, April 20, 11 am to 5 pm, at 808 Commonwealth Ave., 855 Commonwealth Ave., and 1270 Commonwealth Ave., Boston. Find more information and days and hours here.

Eurydice

Wandering Minds production of Sarah Ruhl’s 2003 adaptation of Eurydice is a retelling of the famous Greek myth of Orpheus from the perspective of his wife, Eurydice. Audience members discover how Eurydice makes the choice of returning to Earth with Orpheus or staying in the underworld with her father. With a few plot twists from the original myth, Eurydice retells the classic tale through a refreshing lens.

Thursday, April 4, to Saturday, April 6, 7 to 9 pm, Student Theater at Agganis Arena, 925 Commonwealth Ave., Boston. Find more information, including tickets, here.

BU On Broadway: Anastasia! The Musical

Join Boston University’s premiere musical theater group BU On Broadway for an adaptation of 20th Century Fox’s Anastasia. This fantasy retelling follows orphaned Grand Duchess Anastasia Romanov during the Bolshevik Revolution as she tries to piece together her past. (In real life, the duchess was murdered along with her family in 1917, but for years it was rumored she had survived.) Conman Dmitry, ex-aristocrat Vlad Popov, and Dowager Empress Marie enter the scene as they journey through 1920s Paris on a quest for love and home. With songs from the motion picture, such as “Once Upon a December,” the production is sure to impress diehard Anastasia fans and casual guests alike.

Thursday, April 4, to Saturday, April 6, 8 to 10:30 pm, Tsai Performance Center, 685 Commonwealth Ave., Boston. Find more information and buy tickets here.

6th Annual Big Fat Books Symposium: The Thousand and One Nights

The BU’s world languages and literatures department invites the BU community to the 6th Annual Big Fat Books Symposium, celebrating the timeless collection of Middle Eastern folktales The Thousand and One Nights. Stitching together tales of prophets, travelogues, and mystical love lyrics, the anonymous work has inspired countless adaptations across various artistic mediums. Translator-poet Yasmine Seale returns for a second year to lead a full day of lectures, keynote speakers, and a student panel about this literary treasure trove.

Friday, April 5, 9:30 am to 6 pm, School of Theology, Room 625, 745 Commonwealth Ave. Find more information here.

SRF x Alison Leiby — Oh God, A Show About Abortion

Come see New York-based comedian Alison Leiby’s off-Broadway one-woman comedy show Oh God, A Show About Abortion. Hailed as the best political comedy of 2021 by the New York Times, the show wrestles with the complicated ins and outs of reproductive rights—and has a couple of laughs thrown in for good measure. Sponsored by BU Students for Reproductive Freedom.

Friday, April 5, 7 to 9 pm, BU’s Morse Auditorium, 602 Commonwealth Ave., Boston. Find more information, including tickets, here. 

City-Wide Friends of the Boston Public Library Book Sale

Stock up on your book collection at the City-Wide Friends of the Boston Public Library Book Sale. Hosted on the first Saturday of each even-numbered month, guests can peruse a variety of donated books, CDs, and DVDs, starting at $1. Cash, card, checks, and Apple Pay are accepted, but bringing your own bag is recommended. Proceeds go towards BPL programming, museum passes, summer reading programs, and branch events. Donations of books are accepted at the sales or can be dropped off at the Central Library’s Borrower Services Desk.

Saturday, April 6, 10 am to 4 pm, Boston Public Library McKim Building, lower level, 700 Boylston St., Copley Square, Boston. Find more information, including donation information and volunteer opportunities, here.

The 2nd Annual Berklee Global Jazz Institute Festival

Come see the Berklee Global Jazz Institute master’s students perform original compositions and thesis projects promoting intercultural, interracial, and social understanding. The show is in recognition of the 15th anniversary of the Berklee Global Jazz Institute, whose goal is offering students new perspectives that shatter stereotypes and shape an inclusive personality of a new global musician.

Saturday, April 6, and Sunday, April 7, 7 pm, Berklee’s David Friend Recital Hall, 921 Boylston St., Boston. Find more information here.