Erin Keane

There was a time when summer didn't yield such an abundance of theatrical riches in Louisville, with the big houses dark and maybe a handful of small company revivals to sustain us through the long humid season.

Louisville musician Jason Noble died this morning at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., where he was a patient in a clinical trial for a new cancer treatment. Noble was diagnosed with synovial sarcoma in 2009. He was 40.

It’s fine to hit the downtown First Friday Trolley Hop without a plan. Park, wander in and out of galleries, grab a drink or dinner with friends and hop a TARC trolley from one end of downtown to the next and back—you’re sure to find something to catch your eye or ears.

But with so many events and gallery receptions happening at once, it’s easy to get overwhelmed, so every month we take a look at five don’t-miss art events happening during the hop.

“Like a Man” is singer/songwriter Adam Cohen’s first record since 2004. Cohen had some modest success with his band Low Millions ("Ex-Girlfriends"), but after a promising start, his musical career stalled.  

After decades of trying to distance himself from his famous father’s sound (he's the son of famed songwriter and poet Leonard Cohen),  he’s reclaiming his place in the Cohen legacy. “Like a Man” pays deliberate homage to his father’s songs while allowing Cohen to come full circle with a mature and vulnerable sound of his own.

Despite a recent report by WAVE 3 that the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival is in financial trouble, incoming board president Allen Harris says the company as a whole is financially sound.

Love hurts. It also bleeds, scars and sometimes needs a trip to the emergency room. 

Theatre [502] continues its second season this week with Rajiv Joseph’s “Gruesome Playground Injuries.” Leah Roberts and company co-artistic director Mike Brooks will play Kayleen and Doug, two accident-prone lovers who trace their 30-year relationship from the schoolyard to adulthood, beginning at age 8. 

The play opens Friday and runs through August 11 in the Victor Jory Theatre at Actors Theatre of Louisville. 

If you visit the main library on Friday without a costume, you might find yourself underdressed. AnimeCon is the Louisville Free Public Library's annual celebration of Japanese animation and culture for teens, and a costume competition is part of the event. Teens (Friday's event is for ages 12-19) come dressed as their favorite animated character and compete for prizes.

The event is free, but registration is required. 

The Bard’s Town Theatre broadens its focus this season with an outstanding production of Samuel D. Hunter’s “A Bright New Boise.” This tightly-wound family drama about a disgraced evangelical who takes a job at an Idaho Hobby Lobby won an Obie Award in 2011 and has enjoyed a number of exciting regional premieres over the last season by companies like Washington, D.C.’s Wooly Mammoth Theatre and Chicago’s LiveWire.

Actors Theatre of Louisville will open the doors to its costume shop Saturday for a cocktail party hosted by the GO Board, a group of young professionals who raise money and awareness on behalf of the theater. Costumes and Cocktails is the GO Board’s main recruitment event for the year. The GO Board offers networking and exclusive inside-the-production events for the under-45 theatergoing crowd.

"We all kind of have a joint love for the theater and appreciate supporting the theater," says board co-president Emily Lamb.

The Kentucky Arts Council has announced the recipients of this year’s Governor’s Awards in the Arts. Long-time Courier-Journal music writer Jeffrey Lee Puckett is among the honorees.

The Governor’s Awards are the commonwealth’s highest honor in the arts. The annual awards recognize individuals and businesses who have made a significant impact on the Kentucky arts landscape. They’re awarded in nine categories, including media.