Robert Harling’s play “Steel Magnolias,” directed by Smith College student Jennifer Sturley, will open Friday at 7:30 p.m. in Theatre 14 at Smith College, 122 Green St., Northampton, and will continue through Oct. 29.
The play, which takes place in the small southern town of Chinquapin, Louisiana, tells the story of a group of women in the 1980s who love and support one another through all the best and worst times in their lives, coming together each week in a small hair salon.
Tickets cost $10; $5 for students and seniors. To reserve, call 585-3220 or visit www.smith.edu/smitharts.
“Montage: That 70s Show,” a Family Weekend concert at Smith College, will be presented Saturday at 4 p.m. at John M. Greene Hall at 70 Elm St. in Northampton.
Featured performers will be the Smith College Choirs, Orchestra, Wind Ensemble, Jazz Ensemble, Handbell Choir, Wailing Banshees Celtic Music Ensemble and all of the college’s a cappella groups. On the program: Music of the 1970s by Stevie Wonder; Earth, Wind & Fire; Billy Joel; Bruce Springsteen; ABBA; and more.
Tickets purchased in advance cost $7; $2 for Smith students. They are available online at montage.brownpapertickets.com. Tickets purchased at the door will cost $10; $5 for Smith students.
“Music on Main” will open its season Sunday at 2 p.m. with a concert by the Florence Camerata Piano Trio (Richard Mickey, cello; Joe Jewett, violin; and Gregory Hayes, piano), at First Congregational Church at 165 Main St. in Amherst.
On the program: music by Mozart, Dvorak and Fred Hersh.
Donations will benefit the Music on Main concert series, and are welcome at the door. A reception will follow.
“Moving Day,” Amherst Historical Society’s fourth annual juried art show, is on view through Dec. 11 at the Strong House, 67 Amity St. in Amherst, which has housed the society for 100 years.
Artists were asked to present visual representations of what it means to “move in, move out or move on.” Juror Gilles Giuntini awarded first place to Matthew Mattingly for the oil on canvas painting, “Let the People Out.” Second place went to Sally Dillon for the hand-felted wool piece “Amethyst Brook” and third place was awarded to Ellen Kosmer for her mixed media collage, “What’s Left Behind.”
The museum is open Fridays through Sundays from noon to 4 p.m. For information, visit amhersthistory.org.
“Multiple Maniacs,” a film by John Waters, will be shown Friday at 9:45 p.m. at Amherst Cinema at 28 Amity St. in Amherst
Originally released in 1970, the film has been described as “gloriously grotesque.” Made on a shoestring budget in Baltimore, with Waters covering every technical task of the film, it’s about a traveling freak show led by Lady Divine, who robs patrons at the end of every show. When Lady Divine learns that her lover is having an affair, she is out for blood. The film is not rated. Regular admission.
“Forbidden Planet,” a film by Nina Kleinberg that is loosely based on Shakespeare’s “The Tempest,” will be shown Sunday at 2 p.m.
The filmmaker will be on hand for the latest installment of “Film School with Nina Kleinberg.” Her pre-film talk will address the history and legacy of 1950s science fiction, the culture and politics of Cold War America that influenced these films, and the groundbreaking special effects of the era. Regular admission.
“Embrace of the Serpent” will be shown Wednesday at 7 p.m. as part of the theater’s “Cinema’s Science on Screen” series.
The film centers of Karamakate, an Amazonian shaman and the last survivor of his people, and the two scientists who, over the course of 40 years, build a friendship with him.
Medical anthropologist Chris Dole of Amherst College will introduce the film, and discuss efforts of anthropologists to explain the therapeutic powers of the shaman. He will offer a Q&A after the screening. Regular admission.
A Halloween Scare-a-Thon double feature of “An American Werewolf in London” and “They Live,” will be presented Thursday, beginning at 7 p.m. with a costume contest and a deejay spinning horror soundtracks.
Admission costs $12 ($10 for members).
Tickets for all movies are available at the box office or online at www.amherstcinema.org.
A concert by new University of Massachusetts Amherst music faculty member, flutist Cobus du Toit, will be presented Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in Bezanson Recital Hall on the UMass campus. du Toit will be accompanied by pianist Nadine Shank, and cellist Edward Arron will also perform.
On the program: Bohuslav Martinu’s “Trio for Flute, Cello & Piano,” Ian Clarke’s “Zoom Tube,” Joseph Schwantner’s “Black Anemones,” Albert Périlhou’s “Ballade,” Makoto Shinohara’s “Kassouga” and Paul Taffanel’s “Grand Fantasy on Themes from ‘Mingnon.’ ”
Tickets cost $10; $3 for UMass students; $5 for other students, children and seniors. To reserve, call 5452511 or visit www.fineartscenter.com/musicanddance.
National Theatre Live’s production of “Frankenstein” will be presented in HD Tuesday at 7 p.m. and Oct. 29 at 12:30 p.m. at Amherst Cinema, 28 Amity St. in Amherst.
Version 1, on Tuesday, stars Benedict Cumberbatch as the Creature and Johnny Lee Miller as the Doctor. In version 2, on Oct. 29, the actors switch roles.
Tickets cost $24 and are available at the box office or online at www.amherstcinema.org.
