The very famous, very popular Blue Man Group, which consists of three mysterious blue bald characters, will be performing in Boston for the next few months. The trio is best known for its unique theatrical performances, multi-sensory experiences that incorporate everything from science to vaudeville. Just how interesting are their performances? Audiences sitting in certain sections of the theater are provided with ponchos and warned to dress casually, as they may be splattered with "edible and washable materials which could come flying off the stage during the performance." (Through Dec. 29, Charles Playhouse, Boston. Call (617) 426-6912 for more information.)

The Northampton Arts Council and the Academy of Music Theatre will present Anime 2, a festival of Japanese animation. Six films will be shown over two days. The event will also feature Cosplay, an event to which participants come dressed up as their favorite anime characters for a chance to win prizes. (Sat. & Sun., 11:00-6:30 p.m., Academy of Music Theatre. $20 for both days, $12 for one day or $6 for one movie. Call 587-1269 for more information.)

According to The New York Times, "If life were everything it should be, it would be more like 'Hairspray.'" The hit musical comedy opened on Broadway in August 2002 and won eight Tony Awards in 2003, including Best Musical. At the center of the spectacle is a story about an overweight girl in 1960s Baltimore with a lifelong passion for dance, who gets a chance to perform on a local TV dance program and becomes a celebrity overnight. Now New Englanders can witness life as it should be for themselves when the show comes to town-well, Hartford, anyway. (Starts Sun., through Oct. 5, Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, Hartford. Call (860) 987-5900 for more information.)

The Odyssey Bookshop will begin their "Sundays with Shakespeare" series with a discussion group led by UMass's Arthur Kinney, professor of English and director of the Massachusetts Center for Renaissance Studies. A session of the series will be held on the third Sunday of every month. The first will center around "Romeo and Juliet." (Sun., 11 a.m., Odyssey Bookshop.)

Currently at the box office, "Dirty Pretty Things" threatens to blemish your skirt-and-sweater, sugarsweet image of Audrey

Tautou, everyone's favorite French import since "Amélie." Don't expect the rising Tautou, now working with Alain Resnais, to return to her little-girl cardigans anytime soon. Rather, rent "Happenstance," which, translated appropriately, should be "The Beating of the Butterfly's Wings." About the wonders of fate, the 2001 film lilts gracefully among the lives of six Parisians connected by such things as cigarettes and nose bandages. Tautou's melancholic metro scenes, dusky eyebrows over crimson frown and all, is just as you loved it in Amélie-not that we encourage typecasting.