This Rough Magic

Lost lovers of Shakespeare must labor each year — for centuries, apparently — against the preconception that the Bard’s work is boring. Surely, many stagings are. But they weren’t a bore in Will’s day, and they needn’t be now. This week, the Theatre Arts department at Mount Holyoke College has the right idea: get the music and dance students in the mix. The evening’s resulting onstage mash-up of ideas and styles will include performances of Elizabethan settings of songs from The Tempest, music from various 17th century adaptations, semi-staged excerpts from this most strange and wonderful play, plus some lively Renaissance dancing. 

 A Tempest Evening — The Music of Shakespeare: Friday at 8 p.m. Free. McCulloch Auditorium, Pratt Music Hall, Mount Holyoke College, 50 College St., South Hadley. (413) 538-2306, mtholyoke.edu/events.

— Hunter Styles