Commentary

Film Commentary: Death Knell for American Independent Cinema?

June 23, 2017
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The well has evaporated for much of new American independent cinema.

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Visual Arts Commentary: A Tale of Two Bridges

June 21, 2017
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Two stories about how a public process, because of politics, can make it very difficult, and costly, to connect two points.

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Theater Commentary: Trump, Julius Caesar, and Political Farce

June 19, 2017
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If the ballyhoo around the Public Theater’s Julius Caesar is a sign of the times, then we have a lot more than Trump to fear.

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The Arts Fuse Mentorship Program: An Introduction

May 29, 2017
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My thought was that it would exciting to invite high school students from diverse backgrounds to become better educated about arts criticism.

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Literary Homage: Denis Johnson, American Dostoevsky

May 28, 2017
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Denis Johnson’s spiritual vision was dark and more than a little scary but also supremely generous.

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Visual Arts Commentary: “Portraits of Courage” — Critical Misfire

May 27, 2017
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Why do critics like the New Yorker‘s Peter Schjeldahl rush to absolve G.W. Bush?

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Theater Commentary: “Trumpismo avant la lettre” and the Elliot Norton Awards

May 22, 2017
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Hypnotized by celebrity and the monied class, our stage critics have become a gaggle of cheerleaders, feckless enough to call Diane Paulus a “visionary.”

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Commentary and Preview: The Shrinking Scene v. Jazz Week and the Thelonious Monkfish Jazz Festival

April 22, 2017
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I try to be optimistic, but it’s hard not to observe that the jazz club scene in eastern Massachusetts is worse than it’s been in decades.

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Music Commentary: Thoughts on the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s 2017-18 Season

April 11, 2017
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On paper, at least, the upcoming season of the BSO is a bit of a letdown: cautious, unthreatening, comfortable.

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Theater Commentary: Resist Trump? Boston’s Stages Opt Out

April 5, 2017
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Resistance, at least in Boston theater, is futile.

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