Vampire Weekend may hail from New York City, but with their boat shoes, button downs, and lyrics like, “Irish and proud, baby, naturally/But you got the luck of a Kennedy,” Massachusetts is their true spiritual home.
May 232013
May 232013
This fascinating book ends, leaving the reader with all sorts of questions — but that is exactly what really good fiction always does. Opening our minds, etching characters in our imaginations, and generating all sorts of possibilities.
May 222013
This meticulous biography of Anglo-American poet Denise Levertov is the labor of many years and of deep reflection and care.
May 222013
Anat Gov does a fine job on the meta-playwriting level. “Best Friends” is a genre piece that is also an affectionate commentary on the genre to which it belongs.
May 212013
The last Chameleon Arts Ensemble performance of this season, “mystic moons and dream music,” promised much, with three famed masterpieces by Debussy, Stravinsky, and Schoenberg.
May 202013
This Judicial Review deals with the Boston premiere of John Harbison’s opera version of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby. Read the reactions and join the conversation.
May 202013
Despite the show’s darkness, “East 100th Street”‘s exploration of Harlem in the ’60s is in many ways a testament to the endurance of love.
May 202013
The Lyric Stage Company of Boston’s production can’t quite get its arms around all of the varied elements in this exhilarating musical, but some terrific performances make up for other weaknesses.
May 192013
The show was like topping a delicate wedge of artisanal cheese with a handful of artisanal trail mix. Both the Christian Science Plaza and the sculptures themselves are exquisite on their own, but together the experience felt disjointed and oddly incompatible.
May 182013
The ebullient entertainer Maurice Hines held court this week at a packed Cutler Majestic Theater, along with a score of other very talented musicians and tap dancers. What an evening!
May 182013
The influence of two centuries of dandies on fashion — and the artful, strategic, ready-for-the-paparazzi self-presentation at the heart of modern celebrity — is on wide-ranging and colorful display in the Rhode Island School of Design Museum exhibit.
May 172013
Songs sometime climax with Nicky Schrire improvising in a pure tone way up in her top register, like a bird darting on an updraft.
May 172013
Despite its aura of “Gidget Goes Hawaiian,” and the profusion of cute props like rubber duckies and ukeleles, The Hypocrites’ production is smart enough not to mess (too much) with the original score and lyrics.
May 162013
The only way to sort of enjoy “Family Tree” is with modest expectations; and indeed, this is the most modest of series, as Christopher Guest cuts his molars on TV with a program which rarely tries to be more than fairly amusing, mildly ambitious, a kind of bemused apprentice work in a new medium.
May 152013
Yes, there is dance in New England this summer, but those who love motion may need to embark on a little themselves to journey further afield to watch it. The trip, I can assure you, will be worth it.
May 142013
Any American arts critic worth his or her salt is part of a bohemian fringe, is aware of the political resonance of reviews, and is dedicated to sparking serious dialogue about arts and culture.
May 132013
Tamir Hendelman’s remarkable keyboard skills are matched by his immense versatility. He’s an award-winning composer and popular session player who brings all-star talent to every gig.
May 122013
Despite “Middle C”’s relative cheeriness, the novel passes a tough sentence on the human race, so uncompromising that its protagonist has a hard time writing it down.