In the age of COVID-19, Arts Fuse critics have come up with a guide to film, dance, visual art, theater, and music — mostly available by streaming — for the coming weeks. More offerings will be added as they come in.
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Latest in Visual Arts
Visual Arts Commentary: America’s Historical Monuments — Under Reconsideration
The Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial is the latest product of our heated social/political/cultural debates about America’s memorials and their vision of the country’s past, present, and future.
Latest in Music
Classical Reviews: Boston Modern Orchestra Project plays Harold Shapero, Peter Lieberson’s “Songs of Love and Sorrow,” and Charles Ives’ Complete Symphonies
Discs dedicated to overlooked composers Harold Shapero and Peter Lieberson are well worth your attention. Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra don’t do well by Charles Ives’ final symphony, but the three preceding symphonies fare better.
Latest in Dance
Dance Review/Commentary: “The Grand Union” — The Story of the Accidental Anarchists of Downtown Dance
This fascinating book, and the rich literature of films and writings around it, have helped me feel a bit more positive about these shrunken times.
Latest in Television
Film Review: “Borat II: Subsequent Moviefilm” — A Suitably Savage Satire
Sacha Baron Cohen uncovers enough destructive inanity in Borat II to justify the savagery of its satire of American ignorance.
Latest Podcast
Short Fuse Podcast #31 — The Show Must Go On(line)
This episode is all about creativity and curiosity in the age of Covid. Listen in for a round up of some of the best arts and culture offerings available online.
Latest in Books
Book Review: “The Camera Lies: Acting for Hitchcock” — The Art of Doing Nothing, Well
Dan Callahan has crafted an entertaining and illuminating guide to understanding Hitchcock’s relationship with some of the most iconic actors of the day.
Latest in Theater
Theater Feature: An Interview with Benny Sato Ambush on Directing the Virtual Reading of Anthony Clarvoe’s “The Living”
“A play like The Living pricks the conscience of the country. It is the reason I wanted to produce and direct it.”
Latest in Film
Film Review: “Rebecca” Remade — Pretty But Unnecessary
What is the problem with this Rebecca? It is stunning to look at and well-crafted, but I sometimes felt as though the actors were striving for a tone more suitable to a film other than the one they were in.
Latest in Food
Food Commentary: The Chicken Sandwich Wars — Political Food Fight Revisited
I confess that I was one of those schmucks who tried (and failed) to stay vigilant in my high-minded refusal to eat at Chick-fil-A.
Read the Latest
Film Review: Frederick Wiseman’s “City Hall” — A Kinder, Gentler Government?
City Hall is a quiet, unsentimental celebration of civility in its many forms.
Jazz Album Review: “The Prospector” — A Saxophone-Bass-Drums Combination to Treasure
Nothing detracts from the essentials here – three fine players in creative conversation.
Rock Album Review: Puscifer’s “Existential Reckoning” — Amusing Ourselves to Death
Existential Reckoning confronts today’s lethal inanity in blistering fashion, via songs that posit dire consequences for a country that wants to be entertained more than wants to be informed.
Folk Album Review: Fleet Foxes’ “Shore” — Finding Serenity in Anxious Times
For Fleet Foxes, Shore is impressively consistent. Each track presents a meticulously detailed soundscapes deepened by Robin Pecknold’s varied meditative perspectives.
Jazz Album Review: Keith Jarrett’s “Budapest Concert” — Crystalline Endgame
My guess is that Keith Jarrett probably wasn’t satisfied with this performance. I wouldn’t change a note, a gesture, or a shading.