A surprisingly inviting look at the art of diplomacy and an intense play about living in a world of drone warfare highlight this week's arts picks.
Read my Pins: The Madeleine Albright Collection On view at the Davis Museum at Wellesley College through July 20
In 1997, Albright was named the first female Secretary of State and became, at that time, the highest-ranking woman in the history of the U.S. government. While serving under President Bill Clinton, first as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and then as Secretary of State, Albright became known for wearing brooches that purposefully conveyed her views about the situation at hand. “I found that jewelry had become part of my personal diplomatic arsenal,” Albright has said. “While President George H.W. Bush had been known for saying ‘Read my lips,’ I began urging colleagues and reporters to ‘Read my pins.’"
Organized by the Museum of Arts and Design in New York, this unique traveling exhibition features more than 200 pins, many of which Albright wore to communicate a message or a mood during her diplomatic tenure. Sparkling with Albright’s wit and energy, the collection is notable for its historic significance as well as the expressive power of jewelry and its ability to communicate through a style and language of its own.
Pattern of Life Presented by New Repertory Theatre, it plays at the Boston University Theatre through June 29
The mistaken death of a young boy links two men thousands of miles apart. The first, a drone pilot, tries to fight through a haze of guilt and anxiety and find something human to hold onto. The second, a Pakistani villager, struggles to comprehend the tragedy and put a face on a faceless enemy. A series of shared dreams lets them begin to see one another and explore questions of revenge, justice, and connection in a time of perpetual warfare.
Stars Lewis Wheeler as Drone pilot Carlo and Nael Nacer as the Pakistani villager.
The Grand Seduction In theaters Friday
A small fishing village must secure a lucrative business contract to escape a financial slump. Their odds are slim, as a town doctor is needed to land the contract and they’ve been searching for years. After the mayor skips town, resident Murray French (Brendan Gleeson) takes it upon himself to find his village a doctor.
When unlikely candidate and big-city doctor Paul Lewis (Taylor Kitsch) lands in their lap, the townsfolk rally together to seduce him into staying beyond his one month trial. The ever-creative Murray deploys varying ranges of subterfuge. He taps Paul’s phone, fabricates a love interest, and forces the entire village to learn how to play cricket, Paul’s favorite sport.
As the month grows, so too does Paul’s fondness for the village, clueless that everything he loves is an elaborate scheme. With the decision for the contract looming, Murray’s grand seduction faces collapse from both guilt and revelation, potentially crushing both the dreams of the small village and the hope of a young doctor.
