Two "must-sees" close this weekend

The two are: Candide at the Huntington, and The Speaker's Progress at ArtsEmerson.  Candide is a kind of masterpiece reborn; a truly incredible cast - led by the unbelievable Lauren Molina and Geoff Packard (at left), under the inspired direction of Mary Zimmerman, solve every problem in this famously problematic musical - which boasts one of Leonard Bernstein's greatest, deepest scores.

Meanwhile The Speaker's Progress - a brilliant re-working of Twelfth Night in the heady milieu of the Arab Spring - is a dazzling sketch by the man who may be the next Peter Brook, Sulayman Al-Bassam.  One thing I'm sure of is that Zimmerman and Al-Bassam are two of the greatest directors on the planet today; whether you choose one's definitive renovation or the other's breathless, up-to-the-minute re-interpretation, be sure to catch at least one of these stunning productions before Sunday.