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Matt Pond PA, gingerbread battles, ‘Return of the Winemaker,’ and more weekend happenings – Metro US

Matt Pond PA, gingerbread battles, ‘Return of the Winemaker,’ and more weekend happenings

Matt Pond PA, gingerbread battles, ‘Return of the Winemaker,’ and more
Sean Hansen

MUSIC
Kenny G
“All publicity is good publicity,” goes the cynical proverb, and it’s definitely true for Kenny G, the soprano sax-wielding king of easy listening jazz, who’s been the butt of endless jokes without it hindering his long career in the slightest. At this show he’ll be doing a mix of hits and holiday tunes. Just relax and let the stress melt away…
December 8, 8 p.m.
Shubert Theater, 265 Tremont St., Boston
Matt Pond PA
Despite his performing moniker, Matt Pond was raised in New Hampshire and has already ditched Philadelphia, PA for Brooklyn by the time he started blowing up in 2003. Pond’s folksy indie rock style has lent itself to opening touring slots with artists as different as Ted Leo, Nickel Creek and Jimmy Eat World. His latest album, “Winter Lives”, dropped in November.
December 8, 9 p.m.
Great Scott, 1222 Comm. Ave., Allston

COMEDY
Terrible People
Terrible People is a local sketch comedy group creating, in their words, “comedy for jerks.” Anybody who’s participating in a Facebook thread can confirm that jerks are a large and growing demographic in America today, so this is a smart move. Expect boundary-pushing comedy from these dudes, who promise to “drop a yule log” for their December show.
December 10, 11 p.m.
ImprovBoston, 40 Prospect St., Cambridge
SHOPPING
Black Market
What do you get for a punk who has it all? You may find the answer at this DIY market, featuring secondhand and handmade goods including “artwork, zines, body care, nail art, records, baked goods, patches, pins, books, T-shirts, leather goods, knits, woodwork, pottery, local honey, vintage clothing, jewelry, tea, haircuts, tarot card readings, face-painting, portraits, & MORE!!!”
Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Cambridge Elks Lodge, 55 Bishop Allen Dr., Cambridge
MOVIES
Eyes Wide Shut
This time of year we like to represent fun holiday events as well as chances to escape utterly from the season. As far as the latter, we can guarantee Stanley Kubrick’s notorious final film has nothing to do with the holidays, unless you come from an Illuminati family, in which case you probably have bigger problems than holiday malaise.
December 10, 11:45 p.m.
Coolidge Corner Theater, 290 Harvard St., Brookline
Woman Inherits the Earth: the Films of Laura Dern
Laura Dern is something of an unsung heroine among American actresses, whose career has both embraced mass-market fare like “Jurassic Park” and art house classics like “Blue Velvet.” This series includes both films, plus her other Lynch movies, “Wild at Heart” and “Inland Empire,” as well as “Rambling Rose,” “Citizen Ruth,” “Smooth Talk,” “Certain Women,” “The Master” and more.
December 8 through December 31
Museum of Fine Arts, 465 Huntington Ave., Boston
BOOKS
Alice Hoffman
This prolific, popular author, a Boston resident, reads from her latest novel, “Faithful”. Hoffman is known for the light touch of fantasy she adds to her works, and “Faithful” is no different, involving a guardian angel. But the fantasy is rarely the true focus—here, Hoffman’s heroine is a trauma survivor whose struggle with guilt and recovery is hardly whimsical.
December 8, 7 p.m.
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Mass. Ave., Cambridge
THEATER
Return of the Winemaker
Tir Na Theater presents this comedy imagining what might have happened if Jesus had been born in Ireland instead of Judea. One thing is for sure: his neighbors are a lot more interested in his water-to-wine skills than their counterparts in the Levant were. Before long he’s producing the whole local supply—at least until he’s reminded of his whole Messianic mission and stuff.
Through December 23
The Rockwell, 255 Elm St., Somerville
Faithless
With their matriarch on her deathbed, an American family gathers to say goodbye. It’s an event momentous enough to bring the family misfit, Skip, out of the woodwork. But his reappearance may prove to be more of a shock than the family’s impending loss. This new play by Andrew Joseph Clarke is presented by Boston Playwrights’ Theater and BU’s School of Theater.
December 8 through 18
Boston Playwrights’ Theater, 949 Comm. Ave., Boston
ART
Carrie Mae Weems: I Once Knew a Girl…
Harvard’s Ethelbert Cooper Gallery features this African-American photographer and video artist, a 2013 MacArthur grant winner whose work explores, in the gallery’s words, “question our social constructs of power, race, and space,” in a way much more complex and meditative than our usual pithy media discourse allows. It’s split into three sections: “Beauty,” “Legacies” and “Landscapes.”
Through January 7
Ethelbert Cooper Gallery of African and African-American Art, 102 Mt. Auburn St., Cambridge
Gingerbread House Design Competition
They may be made of sugar and flour and candy, but these gingerbread houses are elaborate creations, crafted by a bunch of local landscape and architecture firms. This year’s theme is “Boston, You’re My Home,” so expect a lot of delicious-looking Boston landmarks. Will anyone take on City Hall? Is brutalism less ugly with icing on top?
December 12 through January 2
BSA Space, 290 Congress St., Boston
HOLIDAY
Cirque Dreams Holidaze
If you’re looking for a family-friendly alternative to “The Nutcracker,” here’s one option, a smorgasbord of music, dance and circus arts with a cast of 30 international artists performing an array of exciting stunts. Sure to engage even the most stubborn attention deficit—yours too. It’s one of many annual shows from Cirque Dreams Productions, a Florida-based rival of Cirque de Soleil.
December 9 through 11
Shubert Theater, 265 Tremont St., Boston