Things to Do in Gardner

The Brattle Theatre’s screens have been glowing with an eclectic slate of films since 1953, but its cultural legacy stretches back to 1890 when it first opened as a live theater. Its productions seemed destined to eventually intertwine with the burgeoning Hollywood industry, and today, the venue keeps its artistic roots alive by showing a full roster of classic, foreign, and independent movies. The cinema-savvy staff frequently bundles pictures into special repertory series—past programs have centered around a vast array of topics, ranging from tributes to Greta Garbo and Ingmar Bergman to a series of documentaries on Clark Gable's mustache. To bolster the cinematic experience, moviegoers snack on locally-made concessions including traditional box office candy as well as baked goods and beer.

Click above to buy tickets for the Boston Derby Dames August 15 games. Click here to buy tickets for the Boston Derby Dames July 18 games.

Today's side deal stages A Midsummer Night's Dream in the fashion that Shakespeare had always intended it to be staged—with mirror balls, roller skates, feather boas, skimpy costumes, and pounding disco anthems. For $18, you get one ticket in the "Dance Floor" section to see the American Repertory Theater's Donkey Show at the OBERON in Cambridge. This ticket can be used for shows on: 1/29 (8 p.m.), 1/30 (8 p.m. or 10:30 p.m.), 2/5 (8 p.m.), 2/6 (8 p.m. or 10:30 p.m.), 2/12 (8 p.m.), or 2/13 (8 p.m. or 10:30 p.m.). Call or drop by the box office at least 24 hours before your desired showtime to reserve your ticket. You must be 18 or older to attend.

Founded in 2007, A Far Cry is a self-conducted chamber orchestra made up of 17 young professional pluckers and bow-wielders, known as the Criers, who have played alongside cellist Yo-Yo Ma and rock band This Will Destroy You within the last month. The New York Times proclaims that the orchestra “brims with personality” that yields “performances of such passionate involvement,” and the Boston Globe writes that "members of the conductor-less string orchestra love nothing more than to throw themselves into a musical phrase with vital conviction." The collective pushes the boundaries of orchestra repertoire, eschewing the tradition of smashing their instruments on a gong after each performance while favoring collaboration and rotating leadership. This particular program features Shostakovich’s dark Eighth Quartet, John Adams’s Shaker Loops, and the premiere of double concerto K2, with fiddler Kip Jones and bassist Karl Doty. Racking up more than 200 of those performances so far, the ensemble has also released three albums and is the chamber orchestra in residence at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, which often entails serving as live statues to fill in for artwork that’s being restored.

A joint effort of the inmates of the Improv Asylum theater and the soon-to-be unleashed comedy club Laugh Boston, the Legends of Boston Comedy New Year’s Eve show offers a knee-slapping alternative to televised events and auld lang sighing. Set in the historic confines of Plymouth Memorial Hall, laughs reverberate and glasses clink in celebratory toasts as favorite veteran comics of the Boston scene let loose with ribald punch lines.

Buckle into the transformative vests and prepare to be transported into another dimension. Laser tag is an affordable way to live out video-game dreams, work out tensions with your roommate, or live out your fantasy of starting a ragtag militia of space marines with Erik from accounting. Instead of cartoon re-runs, treat the kids you babysit or your actual kids to a more active adventure for the imagination. Get a small group together and make it a social excursion—laser tag is great for double dates, office outings, or post-dental cleaning parties.