As one of the most unusual summers any of us has ever known starts to wind down, the Maine arts community continues to find ways to stay relevant and keep people engaged with the performing arts. From virtual to small-audience inside and larger outdoor performances, theater and music will go on this fall despite the ongoing pandemic. Here are a few late summer stragglers and early to mid-autumnal music, film and theater offerings, both online and in person, to consider while the days grow shorter and our perseverance as Mainers continues to get tested.

‘Adam & Eve: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Garden’
7 p.m. Thursday, 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Sept. 17 to Oct. 3. Footlights Theatre, 190 Route 1, Falmouth, $20. footlightstheatre.com
Think you know the story of Adam and Eve? Think again! Playwright Lisa Hoffman penned the rib-splitting comedy “Adam & Eve: A Funny Thing on the Way to the Garden,” and you’ll be more than tempted to see it, especially given the extensive pandemic safety precautions being taken by Footlights Theatre. You’ll join the surprisingly comical couple as they navigate garden variety topics like love and sex, with a slithering sidekick offering advice. How do you like them apples?

Ryan Peters, AKA Spose Photo by Christina Wnek

Spose & The Humans with special guest J Spin
7 p.m. Sept. 18 & 19. Narrow Gauge Cinema Drive-In, 15 Front St., Farmington, $100 per four-person car. narrowgaugecinema.net
Spose, whose real name is Ryan Peters, is Maine’s king of hip-hop, and he and his band will be playing a pair of outdoor, drive-in shows in Farmington. J Spin, a 21-year-old hip-hop artist from Wells known for his song “Home” featuring Spose, will kick things off, then Spose & The Humans will take the stage. The Humans are Dave Gutter, Jon Roods, Kyle Gervais and Derek Gierhan. Spose has a wide swath of material to choose from including his latest album “Nonperishable,” released earlier this year. A decade ago, the song “I’m Awesome” took off and its video has been viewed more than 16 million times. “Gee Willikers” and “Nobody” have more than two million views and “Knocking on Wood,” more than a million. Spose’s streaming numbers are just as impressive. You’ll enjoy this concert from the socially distant safety of inside, or just outside, your car.

Back with Bach
7 p.m. Sept. 26. Streaming live from Merrill Auditorium, free but reservation required. porttix.com
Portland Municipal Organist James Kennerley will have Merrill Auditorium all to himself for the Back to Bach performance, but you can be with him in spirit and online via a livestream. The concert dedicated to the music of Johann Sebastian Bach was postponed in March, but Friends of the Kotzschmar Organ decided the time was right for people to be able to experience it. Bach is considered to be the “high priest” of the pipe organ, and Portland sure does have an epic one at Merrill Auditorium.

Portland’s municipal organist James Kennerley. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer

‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’
6:30 p.m. Oct. 17. Saco Drive-In Theater, 969 Portland Road, Saco, $15 per car. porttix.com
Friends of the Kotzschmar Organ invite you to pile into your car and head to Saco where you can enjoy a unique drive-in experience. The 1923 silent version of “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” is being screened at Merrill Auditorium with accompaniment on the famous instrument by Portland’s municipal organist James Kennerley who will play an improvised score. On a mid-October evening, they’ll be showing that filming with Kennerley’s soundtrack on the massive drive-in screen. But that’s not all, using a pay-what-you-can format, you’ll also be able to catch it online on Halloween weekend from noon on Oct. 30 through 11 p.m. on Nov. 1. Quasimodo will be waiting.

The Ogunquit Playhouse Patio Cabaret series includes stars from some of their previous productions. Andy Christopher, Jonathan Mousset, Matt Magnusson and Matthew Amira in the 2018 production of “Jersey Boys.” Photo by Gary Ng.

‘Talley’s Folly’
October (date TBD). Portland Stage, 25A Forest Ave., Portland. portlandstage.org
Portland Stage is still ironing out the details, but the good news is you can expect the theater company to jump back into the performing fray in October. “Talley’s Folly,” written by Lanford Wilson in 1980, will be presented in front of small audiences and will feature a cast of two. The romantic comedy’s story, set in 1944,  unfolds on an Independence Day night in Missouri. Portland Stage is also hoping to present the premiere of Maine playwright Callie Kimball’s “Perseverance.”

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