Thursday

Beyond the Fringe--Winthrop JCR, 8 p.m.

Don't Drink the Water--Agassiz, 8 p.m.

Great American Backstage Musical--Boston Comedy Playhouse, Berkeley and Marlboro St., 8 p.m.

Murder at the Howard Johnson's--Wllbur Theater, 8 p.m.

Grease--Music Hall, 8 p.m.

Mudhead Masks--mime and mask comedy, Loeb Mainstage, 8 p.m.

New England conservatory Wind Ensemble--works of Stravinsky, Rodrigo, Hindemith, and Shostakovich; Jordan Hall, 8 p.m.

Dorian Woodwind Quintet--Gardner Museum, 2 Palace Rd., Boston, 4 p.m.

George Thorogood and the Destroyers--Harvard Square Theater, 7 and 10 p.m.

Buffy St. Marie--The Paradise, 8:30 p.m.

Boston Cream--Oxford Ale House

Orquestra Tropica--Inn Square Men's Bar

Small Wonder--Jack's

Thunder Train and The Fans--The Rat, 8:30 p.m.

Papa John Kolstad--The Idler

Mary McCaslin and Jim Ringer--Passim

Harry Belafonte--Orpheum Theater, 8 p.m.

Elegua--1369 Jazz Club

Allen Estes Band--Jonathan Swift's

The Heath Brothers--Lulu White

Marlon Streetpeople Band--Springfield St. Saloon, Inman Square

Roomful of Blues--Speakeasy, Central Square

The Tax Revolt and the Elderly--Richard Manley, president, Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, Boston Public Library, 2 p.m.

Challenges to Career Planning for Women--Phyllis Stein, director, Radcliffe Alumnae Center, 17 Quincy St., 10 a.m.

The Virgo Cluster and its Surroundings--E. E. Salpeter, Cornell University, Phillips Auditorium, 60 Garden St., 4:30 p.m.

Getting Out of the Women's Room--Marilyn French, professor of English, Holy Cross College, Science Center B, 7:30 p.m.

Internal Warfare in Korea, 1978-1950:

The Local Setting of the Korean War--John Merrill, University of Delaware, 2 Divinity Ave., 8 p.m.

The Use of Gene Fusions to Study Protein Secretion in E. coll--Jonathan R. Beckwith, professor of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, main lecture hall, Biological Labs, 5 p.m.

Friday

Beyond the Fringe--8 and 11 p.m.

The Clouds--Widener steps, 4:30 p.m.

No Exit--North End Theater Company, 37 Clark St., Boston, 8:30 p.m.

Great American Backstage Musical--8 p.m.

Murder at the Howard Johnson's 8 p.m.

Grease--8 p.m.

Aria da Capo-Explosives "B" Cabaret, Science Center A, 8 p.m.

Ariel Chamber ensemble--works of Schubert, Falla, and Schonberg; Louis Bagger, harpsichord; Susan Larson, Soprano and sprechstimme; Sanders Theater, 8:30 p.m.

New England Conservatory Scholarship Chamber Quartet--works of Mozart, Kodaly, and Schubert; Sachiko Mori, violin; Peter Slowik, viola; Koji Yanagulda, cello; and Carol Rankin, plano; Jordan Hall, 8 p.m.

The Waterfield consort--16th and early 17th century music of Holborne, Dowland, and Byrd; 5 Commonwealth Ave., Boston, 8:30 p.m.

Cat's Eye, Rough Trade, and Xerox Love--Boston Film/Video Foundation, 39 Brighton Ave., Allston

Stompers and Dawgs--The Paradise, 8:30 p.m.

Boston Cream--Oxford Ale House

Eric Rose and the Deputies--Inn Square Men's Bar

Small wonder--Jack's

Thunder Train and The Fans--The Rat, 8:30 p.m.

Lou Killen--The Music Emporium, 2018 Mass Ave., 8 p.m.

The Quintet--Pooh's Pub, 464 Commonwealth Ave., Boston

Crockett--The Idler

Mary McCaslin and Jim Ringer Passim

Nameless Season Closing Show--The Nameless

Harry Belafonte--Orpheum Theater, 8 p.m.

Boston Jazz Conspiracy--1369 Jazz Club

Allen Estes Band--Jonathan Swift's

Devon-Square--Springfield St. Saloon

The Martells--Speakeasy

Boston Crafts Expo--Commonwealth Pler Exhibition Hall, Northern Ave., Boston, 12 noon-10 p.m.

American Indian Astronomy--Dr. John Eddy, Harvard--Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden St., 8:15 p.m.

Electrodynamics in Condensed Matter: Some Particular Examples--Prof. Hendrik Casimir, Royal Dutch Academy of Arts and Sciences, Pierce 209, 4 p.m.

Saturday

Beyond the Fringe--8 p.m.

Don't Drink the Water--9:15 p.m.

The Clouds--4:30 p.m.

No Exit--8:30 p.m.

Great American Backstage Musical--8 p.m.

Romeo and Jullet--Boston Shakespeare Company, Horticultural Hall, 300 Mass. Ave., Boston, 12 noon (All Seats $.03 or less)

Murder at the Howard Johnson's--2 and 8 p.m.

Grease--2 and 8 p.m.

Aria da Capo--8 p.m.

New England Conservatory Youth Chamber Orchestra--works of Beethoven, Mendelssohn, and Mozart; Carolyn Fodor, soloist; Jordan Hall, 8 p.m.

Harvard-Radcliffe Ensemble Society--chamber music concert; Sanders Theater, 8 p.m.

Works of Beethoven and Brahms--Laufey Sigurdardottir, violin; Kathleen Forgac, plano; Adams LCR, 8 p.m.

Pattl Smith Group--Orpheum Theater, 8 p.m.

Zaitchik Bros,--The Paradise, 8:30 p.m.

Boston Cream--Oxford Ale House

Eric Rose and The Deputies--Inn Square Men's Bar

Small Wonder--Jack's

Thunder Train and The Fans--The Rat, 8:30 p.m.

John McCutcheon--southern mountain music, Lowell House, 8:30

The Quintet--Pooh's Pub

Berkeley Women's Music Collective--Paine Hall, 8 p.m.

Kirkpatrick & Myers--The Idler

Mary McCaslin and Jim Ringer--Passim

Nameless Season Closing Show--The Nameless

Boston Jazz Conspiracy--1369 Jazz Club

Allen Estes Band--Jonathan Swift's

Devon-Square--Springfield St. Saloon

The Martells--Speakeasy

Visions--Wayne Kirton, plano; Jerome Crichton, percussion; Jackie Bear, tenor saxophone; and Paul Crichton, bass: Dunsters JCR, 2 p.m.

Boston Kite Festival--Franklin Park, 11 a.m. 3 p.m.

Boston Crafts Expo--10 a.m. 10 p.m.

Small Talk About Great Books--Dr. Herman Liebaers, Grand Marshall of the Royal Court, Royal Palace, Belglum; Boston Public Library, 8 p.m.

Sunday

Don't Drink the Water--2 p.m.

No Exit--8:30 p.m.

Grease--3 and 8 p.m.

Works of Besthoven and Chopin--Greg Lauffer, plano; Cabot Living Rm., South House, 4 p.m.

Works of Purcell, Saint--Saens, Hindemith, Jacobi, and Arban--Norman Birge, trumpet; David Sogg, bassoon; and Peter Lurye, plano; Cabot Living Room., South House, 8 p.m.

Works of Beethoven and Schumann--John Hornor, baritone Patricia Zander, plano; Lynn Chang, violin; and Yo-Yo Ma, cello; Leverett JCR, 3 p.m.

New England Barbque Ensemble--European music ca. 1550-1600; University Lutheran church, 5:30 p.m.

Musica Orbis--Cambridge Common, 8 p.m.

Jan & Dean--The Paradise, 8:30 p.m.

Zacharia--Inn Square Men's Bar

The Janie Barnett; Group--Jack's

Mothers Day Benefit for WTBS--The Rat, 4:30 p.m.

Sabra Dow--Up From Under Coffeehouse, 136 River St., Central Square, 3 p.m.

Bob Halperin--The Idler

Mary McCaslin and Jim Ringer--Passim

Mark Janifer Quintet--Busch-Reisinger Museum, 3 p.m.

Leslie Cook Memorial Concert--Jonathan Swift's

Chris Connor--Lulu Whit

Cambridge River Festival--Opening ceremony, Cambridge Common, 12:30 p.m. -3 p.m.; Dedication of the Charles River Baein on the National Register of Histroic Places. Weeks Footbridge, 3:30 p.m.

White Dance--Contemporary Japanese dance by Elko and Koma, Museum of Fine Arts, 2 p.m.

Boston Crafts Expo--10 a.m. -8 p.m.

Festival of Women in the Arts--Hyatt Regency Hotel, 7:30-10 p.m.

The Health Effects of Nuclear Power--Dr. Ira Holfand, Mt. Auburn Hospital; Morse Auditorium, 602 Commonwealth Ave., Boston, 11 a.m.

Monday

Harvard Chamber Orchestra--works of Mozart, Stravinsky, and Schumann; Sanders Theater, 8:30 p.m.

Dinosaur Annex--works of Babbitt, Grainger, Lister, Savage, Wheeler, Johson, and Schoenberg; Institute of Contemporary Art, 8 p.m.

The Blend--The Paradise, 8:30 p.m.

Zachariah--Inn Square Men's Bar

The Didl Stewart Band--Jack's

Jitterbug Waltz--The Idler

Robin Lane and the Charbusters--Jonathan Swift's

Transiations--Poems and music with Judith Raskin, soprano; Money Ritt, Plano; and Joanne Hamlin, reader; Agaesiz Theater, 7 p.m.

New England Theater Audiances--panel discussion with members of Providence Trinity Square Repertory Company, Yale Repertory Theater, Next Move Theater, and Boston Shakespeare Company; Horticultural Hall, 300 Mass. Ave., Boston, 8 p.m.

The Magazine Industry of the 1980s--M.J. (chip) Block, Jr., president, Redwood Communications, Rm 24, Alken Computation Lab, 4 p.m.

Gravitational Waves and the Binary Pulsar--Prof. Joseph Taylor, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Jefferson 250, 4:30 p.m.

Central Asian Emigres in Afghanistan: Problems of Ethnic and Religious identify--Audrey Shalinsky, Rm. 1, Coolidge Hall, 5 p.m.

Tuesday

Twelth Night--Boston Shakespeare Company, Horticultural Hall, 8 p.m.

The Long Way Home--Longfellow Hall, 8 p.m.

Boston Conservatory Chorale--Handel's Alexander's Feast, Church of the Advent, Mt. Vernaon and Brimmer St., Boston, 8 p.m.

Marlo Escudero--flamenco guitar, Gardner Museum, 8 p.m.

Tin Huey--The Paradise, 8:30 p.m.

Zonkaraz--Jack's

Rod McDonald--The Idler

Cambridge Slavic Chorus--Eastern European folk music, Sanders Theater, 8 p.m.

Norman and Nancy Blake--Jonathan Swift's

We Can Make Affirmative Action Happen--Margaret Burnham, Judge, Boston Municipal Court; Community Church Center, 565 Boylston St., Boston, 7:30 p.m.

Reading from "Golden Spark, Little Saint," the Story of St. Foy of Agen--Hannah Green, professor of Writing, Columbia University, Agassiz House, 4 p.m.

Historical Study of Aging in New England--John Dernos, professor of History, Brandeis University, 9 Bow St., 12:15 p.m.

Expression Technique in Korean and the Improvement of Korean Language--Jean Kyu-Tae, professor of Korean Literature and Language, Yensel University, Seoul, Rm. 2, Coolidge Hall, 5 p.m.

Phillip Hofer as a Collector: Selections from the Frances L. Hofer Bequest--Phillip Hofer, curator emeritus of Printing and Graphic Arts, Houghton Library, Fogg Art Museums 4 p.m.

Wed.

Hamlet--Boston Shakespeare Company, Horticultural Hall, 8 p.m.

The Long Way Home--8 p.m.

The Honey Lounge--The Paradise, 8:30 p.m.

Zonkaraz--Jeck's

Rod McDonald--The Idler

Roy Bookbinder--Passim

Geoff Muldareand Amos Garrett--Jonathan Swift's

Chemistry and Dynamics of the Lower Atmosphere of Venus--Ronald Prinn, professor of Meterology, MIT, Rm, 100F, Pierce Hall, 12:15 p.m.

Stratis Haviaris--curator of Woodberry Poetry Room, reading from When the Tree Sings; Ellot JCR, 8 p.m.

Health Hazards of Radiation--Dr. Ira Helfand, Instructor in Clinical Medicine, Mt. Auburn Hospital, 12 noon.

Polish-Soviet Relations and the Jewish Question--Michael Checinski, associate, Russian Research Center, Rm. 4, Coolidge Hall, 4 p.m.

Human Rights-Rhetoric v.a Realtly--Joshua Rubenstein, New England coordinator, Amnesty International; John J. McAward, associate director, International programs, Unitarian Universalist Service Committee; and Alan M. Dershowitz, professor of Law; 3 Church St., 8 p.m.

Analysis of Observational Data: The Robusiness of Mathematical Models in the Presence of Bias--Sonjz McKinlay, mathematician, Agassiz House, 4 p.m.