Patrick Chasse, left, welcomes Professor John Riddle to the Gardner Museum. They stand next to an extraordinary potted standard Sweet Bay or Laurel Tree, an evergreen with glossy aromatic leaves, which has been grown as long as historical records have been kept. (Photo © Hilda M. Morrill)

We recently had the pleasure of visiting one of our favorite places in Boston, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum on The Fenway.

After being introduced by the Museum’s Curator of Landscape Patrick Chasse, Professor John Riddle of North Carolina State University gave a fascinating illustrated lecture on “Gardens that Nourish and Cure,” as part of the Museum’s “Landscape Visions Series.”

The next lecture in the series is scheduled for Saturday, January 19 at 1:30 p.m., when Marilyn Stokstad, author and Professor of Art History, emerita, at the University of Kansas, presents “The Garden Perilous,” focusing on the unimaginable hazards that Medieval gardeners encountered as they attempted “to recreate their own bits of Paradise on earth.”

Of course, the Museum is a wonderful place to visit anytime of the year, with its magnificent courtyard garden and perfectly groomed horticultural specimens.

There are many different kinds of special events to enjoy, including the new and popular “After Hours,” which takes place on the third Thursday of every month from 5 p.m.-9 p.m.

Visitors get to enjoy live music, art, conversation, cocktails and more, when they may linger around the courtyard bar, listen to live jazz or sample the “small plates menu” in the café. There’s something new and different to experience each month.

For tickets or more information, call 617-278-5156 or visit www.gardnermuseum.org.

“Menopause the Musical” Returns to Stuart Street Playhouse

We are told that Boston’s “hottest” hit is returning. The off-Broadway sensation that shattered the record of longest running show at the Stuart Street Playhouse, "Menopause the Musical" returns to the theatre for a limited engagement. Also known as “The Hilarious Celebration of Women and The Change” will begin performances on Thursday, January 31.

"Menopause the Musical" became a phenomenon in Boston when it had a record-breaking run of nearly two years at the Stuart Street Playhouse, from 2004 to 2006. The show played to sell-out houses, enjoying an overwhelming response with audiences laughing, cheering and dancing in the aisles. Women leapt to their feet nightly and joined the cast onstage for a kick line at the end of each performance.

This celebration of women who are on the brink of, in the middle of, or have survived “the change” will star Boston-area actresses Kathy St. George and Mary Callanan as an aging soap star and a lost-in-the-60’s hippie, the roles they played in the Boston debut production. The duo is joined by Lisa Mack and Carolynne Warren in the roles of a “Power Woman” and “Iowa Housewife.”

The musical parody deals with “life after 40” with all the challenges that result in the mental, physical and spiritual freedom of the more than 20 million baby-boomer females. The show chronicles the meeting of four women with nothing in common, at a lingerie sale in Bloomingdale’s. Fighting over a black lace bra, they realize how much they actually do share -- memory loss, hot flashes, night sweats, chocolate binges, wrinkles, plastic surgery, hormones, and much more. Including 25 “re-lyricized” ‘60s and ’70s tunes, the production culminates with a high-spirited salute to every woman who has turned 50.

Since its inception in 2001, the musical has been seen in more than 100 cities in the U.S., and in 10 other countries, including Australia, Canada, Israel, Italy, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, United Kingdom, South Africa, and South Korea.

Performances at the Stuart Street Playhouse are Wednesday through Friday evenings at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 5:30 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m., with additional performances on the first and third Sunday of every month at 5:30 p.m., and on the second and fourth Wednesday of every month at 2 p.m.

Single tickets and dinner/theatre/parking packages are available by calling Telecharge.com at 800-447-7400 and at the Stuart Street Playhouse Box Office. Preferred member tickets are available exclusively through Show of the Month Club, at 617-338-1111. Discounted tickets are available for groups of 15 or more by calling 888-440-6662, extension 6, or Show of the Month Group Sales at 617-350-6000.

The Stuart Street Playhouse is located in the Radisson Hotel Boston; for directions, visit www.stuartstreetplayhouse.com. For further general information, please visit www.menopausethemusical.com.

Win Free Tickets to New England Spring Flower Show

Reminder: The theme of the 2008 New England Spring Flower Show is “Rhapsody in Green.” The 137th show is scheduled from Saturday, March 8 through Sunday, March 16 at the Bayside Exposition Center in Boston.

If you would like an opportunity to win a pair of free tickets to the show, courtesy of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, check out my gardening Web site, www.bostongardens.com and sign the Guest Book any time during the months of January and February.

Incidentally, the elegant Flower Show Preview Party, scheduled for Friday, March 7, is considered one of the highlights of the Boston social calendar and allows guests to experience the floral extravaganza the night before it opens to the public.

In keeping with the show’s green theme, guests will be greeted with the show’s signature cocktail, the “Cucumber Crush,” created by the innovative folks at Boston’s 28 Degrees restaurant.

For more information, be sure to visit www.masshort.org.

Enjoy!

In addition to events covered and reported by the columnist, "The Scene..." 
is compiled from various other sources such as news releases, PRNewswire services, etc.

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