Review

Children’s Book Reviews: Exciting Innovators –Three Surprising Picture-Book Biographies

March 25, 2024
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Three lesser-known innovators are profiled in these intriguing picture book biographies.

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Jazz Appreciation: Moppa Elliott Does It All for You

March 25, 2024
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Moppa Elliott is an important jazz composer and a dynamic leader. When he brings a group to our area (which happens only rarely), do not miss the gig. When he issues a new recording, pay attention.

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Theater Review: “Cost of Living” — A Powerful Drama About Our Longing to Connect

March 24, 2024
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Critical to the success of “Cost of Living” is playwright Martyna Majok’s refusal to resort to tropes about people with disabilities and those who care for them.

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Classical Album Reviews: The Sinfonia of London and Susanna Mälkki with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra

March 24, 2024
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The Sinfonia of London and Susanna Mälkki with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra release recordings filled with color and beauty.

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Album Review: “Art Songs of the Jewish Diaspora” — Compelling Music with Equally Compelling Backstories

March 23, 2024
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This is an album that I recommend heartily to anyone who enjoys exquisite music making, stunning booklet artwork, and serious scholarship.

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Film Reviews: Dispatch from the Boston Underground Film Festival (Part 1 of 2)

March 23, 2024
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This time around, I decided to go all in and totally movie-pill myself by seeing all 12 films in the feature line-up at the expense of my own sanity. Just kidding …

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Film Review: “Late Night with the Devil” — Retro Occult Wizardry

March 22, 2024
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The Cairnes brothers explore how the analog media trickery of a bygone era may illuminate our current obsession with what is real.

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Opera Album Review: A Gold-Medal Recording of a Baroque Opera about the Ancient Greek Olympics

March 22, 2024
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The shamefully belated release of the first recording (1992!) of “L’olimpiade,” a major work by Hasse (a renowned contemporary of Handel and Vivaldi), featuring some of the best singers of the day, including male soprano Randall K. Wong.

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Television Review: “Palm Royale” — Eating the Rich Right

March 21, 2024
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Because the upheavals of the ’60s parallel various breakdowns that are happening at the moment, “Palm Royale” turns out to be an effectively pointed lampoon, rather than just another gratuitous swipe at the upper crust.

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Doc Talk: Outsider Insights at the Salem Film Fest

March 21, 2024
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This year’s Salem Film Fest spotlights the price of being a rebel.

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