At the Arden, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee lingers on cheap jokes at the expense of adolescent self-discovery. Cameron Kelsall reviews.

Philadelphia composer George Crumb, who died last year, was famous for his music as well as his hand-notated scores, art forms in themselves. Orchestra 2001 had both on display in this combined concert and exhibition. Gail Obenreder reviews.

Act II Playhouse produces the brassy Hello, Dolly! with top-notch local talent, but does the big show suit a small venue? Josh Herren reviews.

Terence Nance’s first performance of V O R T E X, his debut album, was full of heavy percussion and celestial harping that managed to stay tethered to the earth through balance and love. Kiersten Adams reviews.

Minerva Parker Nichols was the first US woman to have her own architectural practice. Then she almost disappeared from history. A new exhibition helps to restore her legacy. Pamela J. Forsythe reviews.

A new biography traces the family and neighborhood life and military service of West Oak Lane native Michael Crescenz, who saved many lives during his service in Vietnam at age 19. Andrea Smith reviews.

Lantern Theater Company offers a delightfully comic and effortlessly romantic new production of Twelfth Night to close its season. Cameron Kelsall reviews.

Flooding from 2021’s Hurricane Ida destroyed most of the archive from Spiral Q’s 27-year history of community art and advocacy, but enough remains for an urgent and engaging exhibition at New Jersey’s Grounds for Sculpture. Jill Ivey reviews.

Piffaro closes its season with Entre dos Álamos, a musical trip to South America including Spanish and Indigenous texts and music, proving that great music has always been created everywhere. Gail Obenreder reviews.

Hedgerow marks its 100th season with the world premiere of Juliette Dunn’s The Puzzle, which reveals complex inner worlds for all of us, whether or not we communicate by speaking. Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer reviews.