Playlist as aired on Saturday, April 20th, 2024:

For theater people, spring is a time of anticipation. That’s because most summer theater companies have released their seasons.

English blues singer and guitarist Joanne Shaw Taylor, who was discovered by Dave Stewart of Eurythmics at the age of 16, brings her modern blues-rock sound to the Mahaiwe in Great Barrington, Mass., tonight at 8pm.

Grammy Award-winning artist Alicia Keys and Pulitzer Prize-finalist playwright Kristoffer Diaz, along with Tony nominated director Michael Greif and Tony nominated choreographer Camille A. Brown bring their collective talents to the exhilarating new coming-of-age Broadway musical: "Hell's Kitchen." It’s currently in previews at The Schubert Theatre, opening on April 20, after a sold-out and extended-run at The Public Theatre off-Broadway last fall into early this year. Kristoffer Diaz is a playwright, librettist, screenwriter, and educator.

American Fiction has a lot to say. For his screenplay, Cord Jefferson won a slew of awards, including the Oscar and BAFTA honors. When I recently saw this film, I was impressed by the story details, the structuring of the plot, the development of several unique characters, and its dominant message about the stereotyping of blacks in America.

Noted Berkshire County actor David Rasche will visit the Triplex Cinema in Great Barrington, Massachusettes on April 20 to screen and discuss the satirical black comedy “In the Loop.” Written and directed by Armando Iannucci (“Veep”), “In the Loop” is a wicked satire of British-American politics and the Iraq Invasion. The film was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay at the 82nd Academy Awards in 2009.

A heart-wrenching meditation on how to say goodbye for the last time, “A Stage of Twilight” features stunning performances from Karen Allen and William Sadler as a couple forced to grapple with end-of-life planning.Karen Allen and producer Brian Long will be at The Triplex in Great Barrington, Massachusetts for a talkback following the 4:15 screening on April 21. Karen Allen joins us.

Vocalist, songwriter, and actor, Leslie Odom, Jr. is performing this Wednesday night at The Troy Savings Bank Music Hall in Troy, New York. This past fall, Odom released a new album entitled “When a Crooner Dies.” The record, his 5th, features 10 original songs that were born from a time of overwhelm, fear, and ultimately growth in his life.

"Oh Hudson!" is a benefit performance for Clearwater at the Old Dutch Church in Kingston, New York on April 19. It is a rich multi-arts celebration of the history, people, and promise of the Hudson River Valley. Today marks environmental flagship Clearwater's 55th year of sailing on the Hudson, bringing schoolchildren aboard for unique and memorable hands-on engagement with the Hudson's natural and human history.

Locally, the hills certainly are alive with the sound of music.