Speed-the-Plow By David Mamet Presented By Bad Habit Productions 8:00 pm tonight and Saturday, 2:00 pm Sunday Factory Theatre, 791 Tremont St., Boston. $12. Tickets and information They are the largely thankless theatrical roles, the parts that move a piece along but don't bring with them the promise of glory. Take Hamlet in Tom Stoppard's "Rosencrantz & Guilderstern Are Dead" and Rose Maxson in August Wilson's "Fences" - both necessary characters, but parts designed as......

Console yourselves, people. Go out tonight. Puppetry! The Bread and Puppet Theater launches a run of several projects at the Cyclorama, including The Divine Reality Comedy, the "family-friendly" The Divine Reality Comedy Circus, and a "cheap art" show. And, yes, there will be bread--rye brad with garlic aioli, to be precise. Boston Center for the Arts Cyclorama, 539 Tremont St., South End. Runs through February 10. Movies The Coolidge Corner Theater is celebrating the......

Movies Catch a sneak preview of In Bruges, starring Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson. The movie, which screened at Sundance, follows two hit men who are forced to vacation in the tourist hotspot. CNN dared to call the film "Tarantino-esque." Whether or not "Tarantino-esque" fits, the trailer is full of some sharp one-liners. Director Martin McDonagh will be there. Brattle Theatre, 7:00 pm. Doors open at 6:00, and getting there early is recommended. Check out......

This week the music world turns its gaze to the party they call SXSW. A number of local bands are hitting the scene in hopes that it will propel them to some worldwide tour – or at least help them get out of that "garden level" apartment in Medford. While some eyes turn south to Texas where an immigration debate runs wild the US immigration policy has taken a toll on the local concert......

This short work week is long on music. The small show battles the bigger venue this week as the students invade the city. When they come back it seems the shows start up with vigor. Lots of 18+ hit the mark – and they've still got summer money in their pockets. What's this mean? Quite possibly there will be a few more sell outs than usual as the concert funds still run high. Fair......

Now that we're on this eight days a week kick for doing these picks it seems like it might be time for a new graphic. We'll give you a cookie if you design us a new one. Or maybe a Newcastle next time you catch us at the Middle East. Promise. Monday 8/7 The Roots with Talib Kweli It may not be a Brooklyn block party hosted by Dave Chappelle, but it will be......

Filter Magazine, along with a few other corporate sponsors, including Honda, and local establishments Fenway Recordings and The Weekly Dig are hosting a free show from NY’s The Walkmen in Boston tonight. Yes free. Yes, the same Walkmen who sold out the Middle East a month ago. Just get your act together and your internet-wandering backside over to this Filter link and RSVP. Oh, and don’t stop too many times along the way over......