New theaterperformed bylocal disabled actors

Whole Children & Milestones, an organization for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, will put on an original production, “All the Feels,” at the Smith College Hallie Flanagan Theater on Friday, May 30, at 7 p.m. and Saturday, May 31, at 2 p.m.

The show, according to a press release, is about a band, Preston Wolf and The Feels, embarking on their first world tour — “but backstage, things are starting to unravel. Egos are flaring, trust is cracking, and one bandmate is ready to drop the mic for good.”

“Part concert, part backstage drama, part emotional rollercoaster, this sharp, funny, and deeply human production was written specifically for the actors, who bring their whole selves — plus Joy, Fear, Anger, and Sadness — to the stage. The cast includes performers with a range of disabilities, whose perspectives and talents are at the heart of the show’s originality and depth. In this world, emotions aren’t just felt — they’re personified. Each band member is joined by their emotional alter egos, who offer commentary, backup vocals, and the occasional breakdown.”

“This cast put everything into this production — heart, humor, and plenty of feedback on the script,” Liana Marks, program director for Whole Children & Milestones recreation programs, said in a statement. “They didn’t just perform it. They helped build it.”

Aidan O’Donoghue, who plays one of the Angers, said in a statement, “I like being in this show because it’s about emotions, and we all have them — especially when we’re in a band. And also because I get to yell.”

Tickets are $15 to $25 via zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/all-the-feels.

Celebration ofLeah Kunkel’s life

Leah Kunkel, a Northampton attorney and singer who died late last year, will be honored at the Academy of Music on Sunday, June 1, at 2 p.m. The show honoring her life will include performances by Livingston Taylor, Jules Shear, and Darlingside, as well as stories about her impact and legacy.

Kunkel, born Leah Rachel Cohen, graduated from Smith College as an Ada Comstock Scholar (a student older than traditional college age) in 1988, then went to Western New England University School of Law for her Juris Doctor degree. She also taught at the school for 16 years.

Kunkel lived and worked in Northampton, where she practiced criminal defense and entertainment law in an office on New South Street — right across from the Academy of Music, in fact.

Before her law career, however, Kunkel was part of another world: the 1970s Southern California music scene. As a singer, Kunkel provided vocals for a who’s-who of musicians, including Carly Simon, Art Garfunkel, Arlo Guthrie, James Taylor, David Crosby and Jackson Browne; she toured with Garfunkel and performed with him on “Saturday Night Live” in 1978.

Though Kunkel was a singer in her own right, she also had a notable family connection to the music industry — her older sister was “Mama Cass” Elliott (née Ellen Naomi Cohen) of The Mamas and the Papas. Elliott died in 1974 at the age of 32, after which Kunkel raised her daughter, Owen Elliot-Kugell, who wrote the memoir “My Mama, Cass.”

Tickets are $20, not including fees, at aomtheatre.com.

Concert byBurnt SugarThe Arkestra Chamber

The multi-genre band Burnt Sugar The Arkestra Chamber (BSAC) will perform at the Iron Horse on Saturday, June 7, at 7:30 p.m, in a concert presented by Jazz Shares.

Late founder Greg Tate described the group, which fuses genres like jazz, funk, soul, and hip-hop, as “a territory band, a neo-tribal thang, a community hang, a society music guild aspiring to the condition of all that is molten, glacial, racial, spacial, oceanic, mythic, antiphonal and telepathic,” and said its “player-ranks include known Irish fiddlers, AACM refugees, Afro-punk rejects, unrepentant beboppers, feminist rappers, jitterbugging doowoppers, frankly loud funk-a-teers and rodeo stars of the digital divide.”

Tickets are $15.38 via jazzshares.org. For more information about BSAC, visit burntsugarindex.com.

Young@HeartBeatles show

Young@Heart Chorus will perform “Dissecting The Beatles,” a show filled entirely with songs by The Beatles, at the Academy of Music on Saturday, May 31, at 7:30 p.m.

According to a press release, this is the group’s first all-Beatles show. “From the ‘Meet The Beatles’ album all the way to ‘Let It Be’ – and everything in between – in the six-year span of releasing albums in the United States, The Beatles covered so much territory. We will do the same with a show that is not a tribute concert but a Young@Heart concept piece.”

The show will include performances by a number of group members who are age 90 or older and have been part of Young@Heart for at least a decade: Helen Boston (95), Gloria Parker (96), Steve Martin (96), Pat Booth (93), Norman Moreau (91), Rosalie Moreau (90), Anita Shumway (90), Shirley Stevens (90) and Dora Morrow (102).

It will also include instrumentals by band members Mark Gionfriddo (keys), Jim Armenti (bass), Joe Boyle (guitar), J.J. O’Connell (drums) and Ron Smith (saxophone), plus guest instrumentalists Angie Shyr (violin) and Luna Shyr (cello).

The performance will be dedicated to Chris Haynes, longtime accordion player for the group (and a Beatles fan), who passed away in March.

Tickets are $20 to $50, not including fees, at aomtheatre.com.

Art-making partyin Holyoke

The Color Collaborative, a local arts and mental health nonprofit, will host an art-making party on Saturday, May 31, from noon to 2 p.m at The Children’s Museum at Holyoke.

The event invites people of all ages to contribute to a collaborative art project based on the question, “What would a world look like where you would feel happy and safe?”

“The results are not only beautiful but powerful tools for emotional wellness, empathy and community pride,” a press release said.

The artwork created at the party will influence the design of a mural on Dwight Street in Holyoke.

The event is free, and pizza will be provided.

Free swing dancing celebration

The Lindy League of Western Massachusetts will host a celebration called the Blue Room Bash at CitySpace on Saturday, May 31, at 6 p.m.

The event will kick off with a beginner swing dance lesson from 6 to 7 p.m., followed by a taco bar, dancing and live music from the Evan Arntzen Quintet, featuring pianist Gordon Webster, the world’s leading bandleader for swing dancers, from 7 to 10 p.m. The event will celebrate recently engaged couple Sarah Humphrey and Joe Vellardito.

According to the event description: “Get ready to dance, mingle, dine, and make forever memories. This in-person event promises to be unforgettable, especially since the band and dancing will be swingin’ hot (as will the tacos)!”

The event is free and open to the public, but pre-registration is required via Eventbrite.

Improv basedon Rep. Sabadosa

Happier Valley Comedy will perform an improv show based on the life of Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa on Saturday, May 31, at 7 p.m, at their performance space in Hadley.

The show will involve a live interview with Rep. Sabadosa onstage, then improvised scenes based on her answers. (The event description notes that the questions “will be personal in nature and focus more on Lindsay’s life than her career. This is not a political event.”)

Sabadosa represents Northampton, Chesterfield, Cummington, Goshen, Hatfield, Plainfield, Westhampton, Williamsburg and Worthington in the Massachusetts House of Representatives.

Tickets are $16.79, fees included, at happiervalley.com/shows.html.