Eight Must-See Arts + Entertainment Events Happening in March

Your monthly guide to this month’s events including secret flower sculptures, Neil Diamond, and more.

Photograph by Duane Michals (The Great Photographers of My Time #2, 1991, Gelatin silver print, The Henry L. Hillman Fund, Courtesy of Carnegie Museum of Art)

Photograph by Duane Michals (The Great Photographers of My Time #2, 1991, Gelatin silver print, The Henry L. Hillman Fund, Courtesy of Carnegie Museum of Art)

PHOTOGRAPHY
Duane Michals

Though lesser known than contemporaries such as Robert Mapplethorpe or Diane Arbus, 83-year-old Duane Michals has been just as influential on generations of artists. His trademark black-and-white sequences of dreamlike images are accompanied by handwritten narratives that can be as compelling as the photos themselves. Together, these elements capture beautiful moments of introspection: A piece from 1967, for example, features a photograph of a couple, which is transformed by Michals’s words into a desperate validation of memory. “This photograph is my proof,” he wrote. “There was that afternoon, when things were still good between us, and she embraced me, and we were so happy. It did happen, she did love me. Look see for yourself!” The Peabody Essex Museum will have some 65 works on display in “Storyteller: The Photographs of Duane Michals,” a major retrospective running throughout the spring.

March 7 – June 21, Peabody Essex Museum, 978-745-9500, pem.org.

FINE ART
Secret Flower Sculptures

Sculptor Jean-Michel Othoniel has long explored the beauty of the natural world in his work, and this spring he’ll unveil a contemporary-art installation in the gardens of Versailles. Opening closer to home is the Gardner’s exhibit of his brass models for the project, as well as two new large works.

March 12 – September 7, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 617-566-1401, gardnermuseum.org.

POP
Meghan Trainor

Last year’s biggest single had to be “All About That Bass,” a paean to zaftig curves written by Nantucket native Meghan Trainor. Now the singer is touring behind her full-length album, Title, which knocked Taylor Swift from the top of the charts when it was released in January.

March 17, Paradise Rock Club, 617-562-8800, thedise.com.

BOOK
An Exaggerated Murder

Considering how much care good booksellers put into curating their wares, it’s gratifying to see one strike it big with a major publisher. Porter Square Books’ Josh Cook releases his rollicking debut novel this month about a bungling investigation into a billionaire’s disappearance.

Out March 3, $17, Melville House.

THEATER
The Colored Museum

Penned by the famed Broadway writer and director George C. Wolfe and first performed in 1986, this outlandish collection of 11 “exhibits” details the history of African-American culture with biting satire, including a “celebrity slaveship” that takes “guests” from the Ivory Coast to Savannah, Georgia, and a mocking portrayal of Ebony fashion models.

March 6 – April 5, Huntington Theatre Company, 617-266-0800, huntingtontheatre.org.

ROCK
Dropkick Murphys

Boston’s Celt-punk standard-bearers shake their shillelaghs for a series of shows at the House of Blues. It’ll be a grand occasion to throw back a few and sing “Kiss Me, I’m Shitfaced” to the person next to you.

March 12 – 15. House of Blues, 888-693-2583, houseofblues.com/boston.

MUSIC FESTIVAL
The Stave Sessions

Developed by Celebrity Series, Stave Sessions presents a six-day genre mash-up of young and innovative musicians, including the Brazilian bossa–Francopop band Banda Magda and the a cappella group Roomful of Teeth.

March 15 – 21, Berklee College of Music, 160 Massachusetts Ave., 617-482-6661, celebrityseries.org/stavesessions.

YOWZAH!
Neil Diamond

His spangled pantsuits may be long gone, but the legendary singer can still belt out timeless classics that’ll leave you starry-eyed, like “America” and “Song Sung Blue.” And yes, Sox fans, we’re sure he’ll sing “Sweet Caroline” (sigh).

March 23, TD Garden, 800-653-8000, tdgarden.com.