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March Short Fuses — Materia Critica

March 1, 2025
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Each month, our arts critics — music, book, theater, dance, television, film, and visual arts — fire off a few brief reviews.

Cultural Commentary: On the National Arts

February 28, 2025
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There’s nothing benign about what just happened on the banks of the Potomac. Indeed, the president’s move makes history of the most nefarious kind: for the first time, the federal government has hijacked what is supposed to be the nation’s premiere arts institution in an effort to explicitly censor voices and viewpoints it deems undesirable.

Book Review: “Banal Nightmare” — A Smart Lampoon of the White and the Privileged

February 28, 2025
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Although novelist Halle Butler portrays the lives of millennial women (and men) as unhappy, anxious, and stressed, she does so in a highly entertaining way.

Theater Review: “The Odyssey” — From a Woman’s Point of View

February 27, 2025
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A lot goes on in an epic — three acts over three hours with two intermissions — and there’s boatloads for Kate Hamill to dramatize and for the audience to digest.

Concert Reviews: Jazz Journal — An Overview of Recent Live Shows

February 27, 2025
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A Boston jazz critic’s notebook — three shows at Regattabar and one at the Lilypad.

Short Fuse Podcast #70: Reading and Talking Film — Sonya Chung, Film Forum

February 27, 2025
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In this engaging conversation, Elizabeth Howard speaks with Sonya Chung, the director of Film Forum in New York, about the intersection of film and literature, the relevance of the Oscars, and the impact of independent films.

Weekly Feature: Poetry at The Arts Fuse

February 27, 2025
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This week’s poem: Elizabeth Savage’s “The Strong Man Vaguely Seen”

Classical Album Reviews: Debussy Sonatas and Arc III

February 27, 2025
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Nash Ensemble’s new album captures much of what makes Claude Debussy’s chamber music so fresh and beloved. Orion Weiss’s Arc III is smart, timely programming, dispatched with insight and care.

Theater Review: “Hedda Gabler” — The Pistol Packin’ Charm of the Bourgeoisie

February 26, 2025
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It is always a pleasure to see Ibsen on stage, but this production of one of his masterpieces is generally humdrum.

Jazz Album Reviews: A Cornucopia of Tenor Saxophonist Mark Turner

February 26, 2025
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Whether he’s playing in the middle, on the edge, or is just flying out on his own, veteran tenor saxophonist Mark Turner reconfirms on these three new releases that he is still finding his own way.

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