The Revolutionary Genius of Plants by Stefano Mancuso In one of Roald Dahl’s creepier short stories, “The Sound Machine,” an inventor rigs together a listening device that converts the inaudible screams of plants into human frequencies. When the inventor, named Klausner, plucks a daisy, he hears “a faint high-pitched cry, curiously inanimate.” Do […]
BOOK REVIEW 6.28.18
The Lost Family by Jenna Blum. HarperCollins. 413 pages. $27. A number of writers who teach at Grub Street (an independent “creative writing center” on Boylston Street) have been landing on the bestseller lists and reeling in million-dollar advances. Among them is Celeste Ng, whose novel Little Fires Everywhere is No. 14 this week. […]
THE BEST LOCAL ALBUMS OF 2018 (SO FAR)
From alternative hip-hop to chamber folk, here’s a cheat sheet to Boston’s best music of the year so far.
BOOK REVIEW 5.31.18
There There by Tommy Orange In America we always seem to be in search of the authentic. Whether it’s Jay Z or Cardi B, we like our artists to keep it real. So it’s not surprising that there is a lot of buzz about a novel written by a Native American set in […]
DAY THREE: LOCAL MUSIC AND THE ALLURE OF BOSTON CALLING’S CHILL VIBE
From Cameron Esposito to Weakened Friends, the closing day of Boston Calling had a laid back vibe more festivals need.
DAY TWO: NATALIE PORTMAN AND THE BEST OF BOSTON CALLING RAP
From Tyler, the Creator to Manchester Orchestra, emotional honesty and technical transparency go a long way at Boston Calling.
DAY ONE: BOSTON CALLING AND THE IMPOSSIBLE BARRIER FEMALE HEADLINERS MUST SCALE
Paramore dominated day one of Boston Calling. So why weren’t they a headliner?
A TERRIFIC LOVE! VALOUR! COMPASSION! AT ZEITGEIST STAGE
★★★★☆ There’s no getting around the fact that Love! Valour! Compassion! Terrence McNally’s 1994 Tony-winning dramedy, is beginning to show its age. It was the talk of the town 24 years ago when it opened at the Manhattan Theater Club and promptly made the leap to Broadway. Although Angels in America had […]
GALLERY REVIEWS 5.10.18
Pilgrims, Feeling of a Feeling, and Art in the Age of the Internet Chuck Webster: Pilgrims: Drawings 2017-2018—Steven Zevitas Gallery The naivete in Chuck Webster’s work is misleading. What looks like pan watercolors and marker doodles on sheets of bond is shellac-based inks on vintage paper. The noodly line work comes from the […]
A BLEAK AND BRILLIANT CABARET AT MOONBOX
★★★★★ Taking on iconic material is always a risky thing, particularly something as well known and oft revived as Cabaret. But if there’s anything the 1966 masterwork has demonstrated over the years, it’s that it is not a musical resistant to reinvention. (Bob Fosse proved this with his 1972 film adaptation, as did […]
