Melissa Rodman

Visual Arts Review: “Matisse: The Red Studio” – A Lesson in Objects

May 9, 2022
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Making the viewer draw visual connections among Matisse’s pieces in the title painting is at the core of MoMA’s The Red Studio.

Theater Review: “Prayer for the French Republic” — No Safe Haven

March 10, 2022
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Joshua Harmon’s serious but not solemn play focuses on a Jewish family in Paris grappling with the rise of antisemitism.

Opera Review: “Eurydice” – Not a Love Story But a Father-Daughter Dirge

November 27, 2021
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Forget romance. Forget chemistry. Forget star-crossed lovers. At its heart, this Eurydice is concerned with the love between a father and a daughter.

Book Review: “What You Can See From Here” – Hopefully Romantic

June 13, 2021
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There is enough candor and humor, along with a handful of bracingly moody characters, to make Mariana Leky’s vision of perpetual love compelling.

Theater Review: “Days to Come” – Wanting to Say Too Much

January 13, 2021
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Mint Theater Company’s choice to revive Days to Come is more intriguing than Lillian Hellman’s muddled play.

Book Review: “Big Girl, Small Town” – Vinegary Vignettes

November 29, 2020
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This novel’s greatest strength is its frank character sketch of Majella. The protagonist is sharply rendered through her observational, sensory navigation of the people and doings in the fictional Northern Ireland town, of Aghybogey.

Music Commentary: Remembering the Resonant Indie Pop of Sawyer

October 25, 2020
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It should be no surprise that Sawyer seeks and finds new sounds on Less Than More Than. The EP is a deep dive into synth-driven pop that expands on the band’s philosophy.

Book Review: “Beneficence” – A Family, A Farm, An Unshakable Feeling

August 25, 2020
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Beneficence is a novel that lingers, tucking details into its heavy folds.

Book Review: “Pizza Girl” — Savor Every Bite

June 17, 2020
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In her novel Pizza Girl, Jean Kyoung Frazier has given us an exhilarating spin on a long line of road-rebel mothers.

Book Review: “The Talking Drum” – Gentrification From A to B

June 11, 2020
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Despite her story’s potential for uncomfortable confrontations and revelations, the author chooses to pack the vicissitudes of her novel’s changing neighborhoods and their inhabitants’ lives into a neat and tidy package.

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