Arsenal Center for the Arts

Opera Review: Boston Midsummer Opera Provides the Perfect Summer Break

July 22, 2016

Posted in Classical Music, Featured, Music, Opera, Review

Boston Midsummer Opera may be performing in a new location, but all their virtues have arrived at Watertown intact.

Theater Review: Are the Iraqis “Waiting for Gilgamesh”?

July 9, 2014

Playwright Amir Al-Azraki is in the camp that believes that the Iraqis themselves bear much of the responsibility for the chaos in their country.

Coming Attractions in Theater: January 2011

December 26, 2010

Posted in Coming Attractions, Featured, Theater

The new year kicks off with some welcome signs of frisky energy, though it would be nice to see more new plays. Respectability is provided by a homage to Rose Kennedy as well as productions of Pulitzer and Tony award-winning scripts. Marionettes and politics arrive via Bread and Puppet and An Exciting Event. As for…

Theater Review: A Listenable ‘Opus’

April 10, 2010

Posted in Featured, Theater

“Musicians take all the liberties they can.” — Ludwig Von Beethoven Opus by Michael Hollinger. Directed by Jim Petosa. Staged by the New Repertory Theatre at the Arsenal Center for the Arts, Watertown, MA, through April 17. Reviewed by Bill Marx In Opus, dramatist Michael Hollinger belies Beethoven’s frustrated observation about the free-wheeling nature of…

Coming Attractions in Theater: April 2010

April 1, 2010

Posted in Books, Coming Attractions, Featured, Theater

Any month that includes an attempt to get kids into the poetry of Shakespeare, inspirational women, and talking chickens looks fairly promising. By Bill Marx 1: Shakespeare and the Language that Shaped a World by Kevin G. Coleman. Directed by Jenna Ware. Presented by Shakespeare and Company at the Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre, Lenox, MA,…

Coming Attractions in Jazz: March 2010

March 1, 2010

Posted in Coming Attractions, Jazz, Music

By J. R. Carroll March is the month for Elder Statesmen—and drummers. Bassist Buster Williams has played and recorded with, well, damn near everyone, and currently leads his own Something More Quartet; they’ll be coming to Scullers on March 2 at 8 p.m. Photo by Mandy Hall, available under a Creative Commons Attribution license. Drummer…

Coming Attractions in Theater: March 2010

February 27, 2010

Posted in Coming Attractions, Featured, Theater

Highlights on stage this month include the world premiere of a drama about evolution by a respected local playwright and an intriguing collection of plays and musicals that bring an unusual perspective to topics ranging from love and music to extinction and dehumanization. And the wait is over: a show featuring singing dinosaurs has arrived.…

Coming Attractions in Jazz: January 2010

December 28, 2009

Posted in Coming Attractions, Jazz, Music

By J. R. Carroll If January inspires a desire for warmer climes and a trip to the tropics isn’t in the cards, you can still come in out of the cornstarch and dry your mukluks as musicians who’ve brought their traditions to Boston from around the world turn up the heat. Zili Misik and their…

Coming Attractions in Jazz: October 2009

September 28, 2009

Posted in Coming Attractions, Film, Jazz, Music

For a genre that supposedly expired in the 1950’s, the big band’s vital signs seem remarkably robust here in Boston. By J. R. Carroll A welcome recent addition has been the compositions and arrangements of tenor saxophonist Florencia Gonzalez, which layer vivid sonorities and intricate counterpoint atop Afro-Uruguayan candombe and Argentinian tango. She brings her…