Robyn Schall
Comedian Robyn Schall, who went viral reading her own New Year’s resolutions, brings her candid, high-energy stand-up to the Wilbur. Her comedy blends dating, family, and self-deprecating honesty into a warm, confessional set.
Performing Arts
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Kyle Kinane
Beloved for his gravelly delivery and vividly told stories, veteran stand-up Kyle Kinane headlines a multi-night run at Laugh Boston. A longtime road comic and the former voice of Comedy Central, Kinane turns everyday misadventures into sharply observed comedy.
Improv Asylum: Free Wednesday Comedy Show
Improv Asylum’s summer tradition returns with free, fast-paced improv comedy inspired entirely by audience suggestions, so no two nights are ever the same. Held at the troupe’s original North End home on Hanover Street. Free general admission is limited and requires advance reservation.
Rhinoceros
Tony Award winner Diane Paulus directs Eugene Ionesco’s absurdist classic, with Emmy winners Paul Giamatti, John Turturro, and Tatiana Maslany leading the cast. As the townspeople transform one by one into rhinoceroses, the play becomes a scathing, darkly funny reckoning with herd mentality and conformity.
Coolidge After Midnite: The Burning (35mm)
The Coolidge’s long-running After Midnite series screens Tony Maylam’s 1981 summer-camp slasher The Burning on 35mm in Moviehouse 2. A prank gone wrong leaves caretaker Cropsy horribly burned, and five years later he returns to camp with a pair of shears and a grudge. The cast includes a very young Jason Alexander.
Concerts in the Courtyard: Luke Walker
The Boston Public Library’s free summer concert series brings Luke Walker to the McKim Building’s Italianate courtyard for an hour of live music. Performers are chosen through an open application process, and the series is presented with support from Bank of America. Rabb Hall serves as the rain location.
First Night Boston 2027
The nation’s original First Night — free since 1976 — fills Copley Square and the Common with ice sculptures, live music, and the People’s Parade, capped by 7 p.m. family fireworks over the Common and a midnight finale. The 7 p.m. show is the move if you’ve got kids; the full lineup posts in late…
Boston Ballet: The Nutcracker
Mikko Nissinen’s lavish Nutcracker — full live orchestra, Tchaikovsky’s score, and one of the most-attended productions in America — runs Thanksgiving weekend through New Year’s Eve at the gilded Citizens Opera House. Weekday matinees are the easiest tickets; December weekends sell out well ahead.
Harvard Square Oktoberfest & HONK! Parade
Harvard Square goes car-free for its 47th Oktoberfest: beer gardens, food and craft vendors, and the gloriously loud HONK! activist street-band parade rolling in from Somerville. It routinely draws over 100,000 people in a single day — take the Red Line, and come hungry.
The Boston Arts Festival
The city’s flagship free arts weekend fills Christopher Columbus Park with juried local artists, live music, and harbor views between Faneuil Hall and the North End. Go Saturday morning for first pick of the artists’ booths before the afternoon crowds drift over from the Greenway.