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Classical Music Feature: D’Anna Fortunato and The Music of Our Time

March 30, 2011
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One of the most interesting concerts of the season occurs on April 5th at NEC’s Jordan Hall in Boston, MA. The wonderful mezzo soprano D’Anna Fortunato will perform, with a stellar group of musicians, vocal chamber music of the twentieth century in honor of Gunther Schuller’s 85th birthday.

Book Review: Time, Beautiful and Cruel — The Story of Composer George Russell

March 23, 2011
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In the best of all possible worlds, Duncan Heining’s biography will be the cornerstone of the edifice that time will erect to the memory of George Russell and his gift to music. Whether that will happen or not remains to be seen. In some ways, because of the vagaries of the book business, it’s up…

Theater Review: A Superb “Educating Rita”

March 21, 2011
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Willy Russell’s play is a keeper. It’s tightly-crafted, emotionally generous, and—most of all—FUN! It provides one hell of a dramatic vehicle for a director attuned to the comedy of “higher” education. Educating Rita by Willy Russell. Staged by the Huntington Theatre Company at the Boston University Theater, Boston, MA, through April 10. By Helen Epstein…

Book Review: Exploring “The Memory of Love” in postwar Sierra Leone

March 17, 2011
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In her second novel, Aminatta Forna gives us a moving story of the toll that the terrible civil war in Sierra Leone has taken and is still taking, years after it supposedly ended.

Visual Arts Review: Gaza in Photographs — Up Close and Personal

March 13, 2011
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Though unquestionably didactic, Skip Schiel’s images are also haunting glimpses of the perilous nature of life in Gaza. The photographs never feel invasive or forced; they simply capture moments of intimate truth between photographer and subject.

Theater Review: “DollHouse”: A Door Slams in Connecticut

March 11, 2011
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Dramatist Theresa Rebeck’s updated version of Ibsen’s play strengthens one key aspect of A Doll’s House—its picture of savage incomprehension between man and woman, which drives Ibsen’s call for independence and self-respect in a society that rewards complacency, greed, and childish role-playing. DollHouse by Theresa Rebeck. Based on A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen. Directed…

Visual Arts: My Main Man Mani — A Persian Preacher Who Made Art and Founded a Religion

March 10, 2011
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I have a weakness for cosmic audacity. The history of religions, which I studied before art history, is full of examples that give me a deep inner thrill.

Judicial Review #4: What Is This Thing Called Food?

March 8, 2011
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What is a Judicial Review? It is a fresh approach to creating a conversational, critical space about the arts and culture. This is our fourth session, this time deliberating on the relationship between science and food. It could be foam or gel, popcorn cloud or liquid ham, in the hands of the chefs of avant-garde…

Movie Review: The Adjustment Bureau — A Posse of Dangerous Angels

March 8, 2011
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The Adjustment Bureau is a surprisingly good, romantic movie considering that angels are determining the fate of star-crossed lovers and the plot is driven by such lines as “if you stay together, you will not only ruin your dreams, you will also ruin hers.” The Adjustment Bureau. Directed by George Nolfi. The cast includes Matt…

Culture Vulture: Reflections on the Jewish Film Festival

March 7, 2011
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Running through March 14, the Jewish Film Festival is a thinking person’s cinema experience with provocative introductions and post-film Q and As.

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