5 things to do this weekend, including a production of 'Morning, Noon, and Night' and the Greater Roxbury Book Fair

The rain in Spain seems to be straying from the plain and bringing showers to Massachusetts every weekend this spring. (Do you think Professor Higgins and Eliza Doolittle would have had the same outcome with this line?) Aside from the precipitation, art is also in the air. There’s the Boston Art Review party celebrating the launch of the latest issue on Saturday with performances by local musicians and a benefit art sale. A dance party wraps up the night with a playlist curated by a slate of Boston’s top DJs, including Baby Indiglo and Mx. Blaire. If busting a move isn’t what you had in mind, you can watch others dance in two performances at The Dance Complex in Cambridge. Outside the world of movement, there’s also a book fair, a walking tour and a film festival to check out.

Head to the Boston Public Library’s Roxbury branch for a book-filled afternoon. In addition to finding your new favorite read, there will be talks from local authors and literary artists, writing and comic drawing workshops and keynote speeches from Ibram X. Kendi and Jacqueline Woodson. Boston Poet Laureate Porsha Olayiwola will lead an interactive poetry workshop and for those with a sweet tooth, FoMu Ice Cream chef Deena Jalal will show registered attendees how to make a vegan ice cream sandwich. Add in storytimes led by local writers, and you have a dream day for readers. Tickets are free.

Dancers from Boston and New York will take the stage at The Dance Complex this weekend for the final weekend of a two-part series. Produced in partnership with contemporary troupe The Bang Group, The Dance Complex and DANCE NOW NYC, the event will feature Boston dancer and choreographer Joe González, dance and performance artist Audrey MacLean, members of Boston Dance Theater’s Trainee Program and The Bang Group. Brazilian tap dancer and drag artist Felipe Galganni will also perform as Xana DuMe. Fun fact: While The Bang Group is based in New York City, troupe co-founder David Parker grew up in Lynnfield and got his start on stages in Boston. His idea for DANCE NOW Boston started as a way to bridge the two cities. “I love the audiences and the community of spirited, spunky artists I met here and began to produce concerts of work mixing New York and Boston artists to stimulate creativity and achieve mutual inspiration,” he said in a quote on The Dance Complex website. [Check out our spring dance guide for more upcoming performances.]

I love old houses. One of my favorite things to do is stroll around side streets and imagine what the lives were like of the families that once lived there. On Saturday, the Jamaica Plain Historical Society will give you the scoop on the homes in the Sumner Hill neighborhood. Not far from the beautiful Arnold Arboretum, the tour promises a view of 19th-century Victorian houses, “one of the finest collections of ‘painted ladies’ outside of San Francisco,” according to the event listing. Built between 1850-1900, the district features many single-family Italianate, Queen Anne and Colonial Revival homes built by well-known Boston architects of the time. The neighborhood is named for William H. Sumner, a 19th-century lawyer, writer and soldier who is credited with developing the area. (The Sumner tunnel is also named in his honor.) The tour starts at 11 a.m. at the Loring-Greenough House at 12 South St. and will run between 60-90 minutes. If there is heavy rain, the tour will be canceled. Tours continue into the summer and early fall, so if the weather doesn’t cooperate, try for another date or check out another neighborhood to explore.

Screening as part of the National Center for Jewish Film’s Annual Film Festival, “Stella. A Life.” is a fictional story inspired by the real life of Gestapo informant and jazz singer Stella Goldschlag. From September of 1943 through the end of World War II, Goldschalg sent hundreds of fellow Jews to the Nazis. Brandeis University professor Laura Jockusch is working on a book about this complicated woman and will be hosting a Q&A following the 11 a.m. screening at the Coolidge Corner Theatre. Also showing Sunday is the documentary “Revenge: Our Dad the Nazi Killer” at 2:30 p.m. The film follows three brothers who hire a private detective to investigate their father, a Holocaust survivor who was rumored to be involved in revenge killings of Nazis. Jockusch will also lead a Q&A following this screening at the Coolidge. WBUR film critic Erin Trahan spoke with the mother-daughter duo behind the film center and festival. Read that piece here.

In Boston playwright Kristen Greenidge’s latest work, a mother, Mia, and her daughter, Dailyn, are dealing with a fraught relationship and preparing for a birthday celebration for the older daughter, Alex. Amidst this, an unexpected visitor from a digital dimension arrives, upending everything. The Company One production, which is the world premiere of the play, stars Kaili Y. Turner as Mia and Sydney Jackson as Dailyn. Critic Terry Byrne reviewed the show for the Boston Globe: “What makes this story so compelling is Greenidge’s ability to juxtapose the simplest funny moments … with deeply felt emotions and existential dread.” The play runs through May 25 at the Boston Center for the Arts’ Plaza Theatre. [For more theater recommendations, check out our spring guide here.]