Arts First

ANNUAL ARTS FESTIVAL | AT HARVARD UNIVERSITY

By ANTHONY VECCHI

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Toss a rainbow lei around the neck of the John Harvard statue because it's time to partay! Pedantry aside, stop being such a highfalutin literati and start rocking out to Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture," accompanied by hydrogen balloons and kazoos. Four days at Harvard—filled with a multifarious menagerie of art, film, music and theater—can certainly be overwhelming to those with wan faculties of excogitation. Thus, here are a few helpful stratagems to ameliorate the megrims of the unprepared: On Saturday there are 109 scheduled events, an insurmountable number. It will simply not be possible to check out the Yiddish theater revue AND the classical guitar combo, so what it really comes down to is compromise and time management. Start off light with the Japanese tea ceremony or children's outdoor theatre performance, slowly moving your way to something zestier, like the jazz a cappella group. If you play your cards right, by the end of the evening there will be enough endurance left to handle the mainstage musical production of Sweeney Todd.

[May 1–4. Harvard University, Cambridge. 617.495.8699. fas.harvard.edu/arts]