‘Waitress,’ Dionne Warwick in concert, more events for Women’s History Month

With half the world’s population to celebrate and acknowledge, there’s no shortage of arts and events this Women’s History Month. Catch a show, explore history, sing along, or just dance.

WOMEN IN ART

“Audrey Flack: Mid-Century to Post-Pop Baroque” at the Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill through March 30 pays homage to a local art star. “Audrey Flack is one of the most consequential artists of the last century and this century,” said Parrish director Mónica Ramírez-Montagut. “She was at the center of Abstract Expressionism, the most important art movement for the United States in the history of art.”

From early watercolors, through photo-realist still life compositions, to large scale bronze sculptures and what she called “Post-Pop Baroque,” Flack’s work infuses art historical trends with feminist flair. Look for bright, cheery images that include pop culture and superheroes in work that’s playful but deep. “She always kept true to herself,” said Ramírez-Montagut of the artist who died in 2024, “questioning the status quo as a woman because that’s the job of the feminist — to continue questioning the established social constructs that don’t serve women well and yet we are expected to comply with.” She added, “She was a force of nature.”

The Heckscher Museum of Art in Huntington features rule-breaking photographer Berenice Abbott in the exhibit “Embracing the Parallax” through March 30. When an editor warned her not to shoot in neighborhoods where “nice girls” didn’t go, Abbott replied, “I’m not a nice girl. I’m a photographer. I go anywhere.” She indeed went all over New York, capturing stunning images and, together with her partner, Elizabeth McCausland, advanced the art of photography.

At Stony Brook University’s Paul W. Zuccaire Gallery, see the work of this year’s MFA graduates in “Traces,” which runs March 4 through April 12. With photographs, sculptures and video, Diana Salomon, Hagar Masoud and Ria Rajan give a view to the future through the lens of the present. The Southampton Arts Center joins forces with women of the Peconic branch of the American Institute for Architects on March 27 for a film and networking session about community building.

To see ways women have worked to change history, head to Stony Brook for the Long Island Museum’s two exhibitions, “Building the Ballot Box: Long Island’s Democratic History” (through May 18) and “Voices and Votes: Democracy in America” (through April 6). The latter includes special recognition of suffragists and New York women in political offices. Women Sharing Art, a collective of Long Islanders, respond to the question of voting rights in “Therefore, I Am!” at the Central Islip Courthouse Art Gallery through March 31.

SCREEN AND STAGE

Huntington’s Cinema Arts Centre has some special films telling women’s stories, including “Camille Claudel” about the famed French sculptor on March 4 at 7 p.m., and a screening of Steven Spielberg’s “The Color Purple” followed by a talk about the Alice Walker novel on March 10 at 7:30 p.m. In Northport, the John W. Engeman Theater’s production of “Waitress: The Musical” (March 13-April 27) offers its take on female empowerment through sisterhood, perseverance and pie.

Do you know the way to Westbury? If so, you’ll want to catch Grammy Award winner Dionne Warwick at Flagstar at Westbury Music Fair on March 8, which is also International Women’s Day. As part of the Suffolk County Historical Society Museum in Riverhead’s “Harlem Blues & Jazz Band” exhibit, two concerts are planned: “Ladies Have Chops” led by pianist Bertha Hope (1 p.m. March 8) and a blues concert featuring bandleader and drummer Bernice Brooks (1 p.m. March 22). Amy London sings chart toppers and classics in “Women in Jazz and Popular Song” at Hofstra University’s Helene Fortunoff Theater in Hempstead (7 p.m. March 13).

On March 8 at 6 p.m., The Church in Sag Harbor hosts a dance party celebrating the contributions of women, and it’s not just a girl’s night out. “We would love to have men come and celebrate with us, too, and be the great allies that they can be, and most of the ones that I know are,” said Church co-founder and one of the honorees, April Gornik. It’s a way to meet, exchange ideas and give a shout out to women who inspire.

Said Gornik, “The great power of women is establishing connections, making things happen and working with others. Strength in numbers is our fundamental superpower.”