John Lozada, the Equity and Inclusion Director for the Committee for Public Counsel Services, was named this year’s recipient of the Lucia Mayerson-David Lifetime Achievement Award at El Jolgorio Navideño, the largest Latino holiday gala in New England.

Several years ago, playwright Mary M. McCullough overheard a longtime married couple bickering about why the husband wouldn’t leave the house. McCullough jotted down a few lines of dialogue and put it away. Now, drafts later, that conversation reemerges in the debut of McCullough’s play, “Smoked Oysters,” playing at Greater Egleston High School in Roxbury Monday through Wednesday, Jan. 20–22.

Through Feb. 9, the Lyric Stage Company debuts a show as sweet as its name. “The Cake,” written by Bekah Brunstetter, follows a traditional Southern baker named Della who is thrown into moral conflict when her deceased best friend’s daughter Jen asks for a wedding cake for her same-sex marriage.

Martin Luther King Jr. first came to Boston in 1951 to study at Boston University’s School of Theology. He received a Ph.D. in Philosophy in 1955.

Mayor Martin Walsh announced transformative new plans for housing on Tuesday night, pledging $500 million over the course of five years to ensure liveability and curb inequity.