‘Earth MusicTheater Live’

The show “Earth Music Theater Live” will debut at 33 Hawley on Friday, Jan. 17, and Saturday, Jan. 18, at 6 p.m.

During “Earth Music Theater Live,” the audience will watch high-res footage of the earth and nature captured by astronauts on the International Space Station while guitarist Steve Thomas provides live accompaniment to the visuals. A press release describes the show as a “multisensory, multimedia, educational experience, designed to evoke thinking and understanding about Earth and planetary stewardship.”

Admission is free but registration is required. To register, visit https://www.stevethomasguitar.com/emtl. For more info, visit EarthMusicTheaterLive.com.

Whose musical isit anyway?

Happier Valley Comedy’s performance group The Understudies will present an improvised musical on Saturday, Jan. 4, at 7 p.m. at the HVC Theater in Hadley.

Scott Braidman, Kelsey Flynn, Paul McNeil, Mosie Senn-McNally, and MaileShoul will provide the acting; Jeff Kimball will provide the music; the audience will provide the suggestions.

Tickets are $15 via happiervalley.com/understudies.html.

Queer Open Mic

The Parlor Room Collective’s monthly Queer Open Mic will return to the Parlor Room on Tuesday, Jan. 14, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

All LGBTQ+ performers are invited to share comedy, music, poetry, or any other type of act.

Admission is $12 including fees – both for performers and audience members – via parlorroom.org, or free for members of the Parlor Room Collective. Attendees who need financial assistance can email scholarships@parlorroom.org.

Sign-ups are available at the door only.

(A couple of caveats, per the event description: no drum sets, “light percussion only,” and all performers must be able to set up in under two minutes. Also, each performance is capped at 10 minutes.)

Live ‘ValleyFolklore’ stories

The live storytelling show Valley Voices will present its first show of 2025, “Valley Voices Story Slam: Valley Folklore,” at the Iron Horse on Thursday, Jan. 16, at 7:30 p.m.

The show features local community members performing short personal stories from their own lives in front of an audience.

If you’re interested in sharing your own story live through Valley Voices at their next show, “Elementary,” check out the audition requirements at nepm.org/valley-voices#how-to-audition. Auditions for that show are open from Thursday, Jan. 16, through Sunday, Feb. 23.

Tickets are $17 (including fees) at aomtheatre.com.

To get a feel for how Valley Voices works, check out their podcast at https://www.nepm.org/podcast/valley-voices, which features stories shared at previous shows.

MontagueShakespeareFestival workshops

The Montague Shakespeare Festival, which debuted last year, will present live professional training workshops on Zoom from Friday, Jan. 3, through Friday, Feb. 28.

Workshops on offer include “Why Playing Bad is SO Good,” about understanding Shakespeare’s villains; “Say What You Mean,” about auditioning with Shakespearean text; and “Recasting the Script,” about casting plays outside of traditional gender roles.

The festival is reportedly the only one in western Massachusetts with an artistic team that includes actors, directors, and vocal coaches from the Globe Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company in England.

The festival’s 2025 season will return from Wednesday, March 26, through Sunday, April 6. This year’s featured show is “Macbeth,” which will play at Shea Theater in Turners Falls.

Each workshop is $25. For a complete list, visit montagueshakespearefestival.com/all-upcoming-workshops.

A toast to Poe

The Edgar Allen Poe Speakeasy, a touring live experience, will be at The Red Barn at Hampshire College in Amherst on Thursday, Jan. 16, and Friday, Jan. 17.

At the event, which runs about 75-90 minutes, performers read four of Poe’s most famous works – namely, “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “The Raven,” “The Masque of the Red Death,” and “The Black Cat” – while guests enjoy cocktails themed to each story.

This event is 21 and over, naturally. Tickets are $45 via edgarallanpoebar.com/tickets.