This five-concert series is part of the 2004 IMC National Seminar and Festival of Male Choruses. Men’s choruses from across the U.S. and Canada will assemble for the three-day event hosted by the Harvard Glee Club and the Intercollegiate Men’s Choruses; high school, college and adult choruses will all be performing. Special guest appearances by such groups as professional chamber ensemble Cantus will also be on hand. Friday, 5 p.m. and 8:30 pm. Saturday, 2:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Tickets $15 regular, $7 students and seniors. Any 3 concerts for $39. Sanders Theater. (LFL)

VISUALS | Gauguin Tahiti

The paintings that Paul Gauguin produced between his departure for Tahiti in 1891 and his death in the Marquesa Islands in 1903 are currently on display at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. The canvasses are among Gauguin’s most mysterious, colorful and exotic. The exhibition’s Boston stop will be its only showing in the U.S., so be sure to see it while you can. “Gauguin Tahiti” runs through June 20. (SLS)

THEATER | Trojan Women

From the Athena Theatre Company, who brought you the Valentine’s Day edition of the Vagina Monologues, comes one of Euripides’ lesser known plays. Trojan Women, first staged and produced in 415 B.C., is a portrayal of a tragic situation whereby Euripides dramatizes the postwar conditions of the women of Troy and describes the spoils of war. Runs March 11-13. Tickets $6. 8 p.m. Agassiz Theatre. (GCS)

THEATER | The Birthday Party

The American Repertory Theater presents The Birthday Party, one of the great black comedies of the twentieth century, returning to the stage under visionary director JoAnne Akalaitis. First premiered in 1958, Harold Pinter’s story is one of peril and intrigue in a rundown English boarding house. Runs through March 6-27. Tickets $35 – $69, $12 student tickets available day of show. 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday, 7:30 p.m. weekdays. Loeb Drama Center, 64 Brattle St. (LFL)

VISUALS | Life as Art

This ongoing exhibit presents a close look back at the careers of painters Gregory and Frances Cohen Gilespie. The exhibition consists of 25 paintings in all, and is a representative look at the influential styles of both artists. The two artists catch the interest of many because of the way in which they influenced each other through their portrayals of realism in early Italian and Flemish painting. Runs through March 28. Sackler Museum. (GCS)

FILM | Robot Stories

By popular demand, the Coolidge Corner Theatre is bringing back Greg Pak’s award-winning Robot Stories for this week only. A collection of four short films that explore the potential impact of future artificial technology on human relationships, Robot Stories earns the Crimson Arts stamp of approval for combining its conversation-sparking material with a remarkably profound understanding of human emotion. Particularly strong is Pak’s sympathy towards the challenges of motherhood, expressed in the film’s most effective segment, “My Robot Baby,” wherein a mother adopts a mechanical baby to prove herself adept at adoption. When the baby starts to break down, the mother faces a frightening and poignant dilemma. Runs through March 18. Tickets $9. 5:45 pm and 9:30 pm. Coolidge Corner Theatre, 290 Harvard St., Brookline. (BBC)

Films

50 FIRST DATES

Adam Sandler plays Henry Roth, a veterinarian in Hawaii who is well-known for loving then leaving tourists, fearing any long-term commitment that could put a damper on his individuality.  One day, however, he sees comely Lucy Whitmore (Drew Barrymore) in a waffle house and is mesmerized by something about her, presumably her resemblance to that girl from E.T. After Roth flirts with her, they agree to meet for breakfast the next day. When he arrives however, she doesn’t remember him; soon, he discovers that she has complete short-term memory loss. Obviously, he must woo her anew every day, often with the help of his animal coterie or his wacky friends like gay Polynesian Ula (Rob Schneider) and Lucy’s oddly lisping muscleman brother Doug (Sean Astin).  The film comes equipped with the usual Sandlerian antics, but a special surprise ending partially redeems the general boorishness. (SAW)

CITY OF GOD