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  • The Resurrection of Son House

    Legendary Mississippi Blues Singer

    By: Herbert Simpson - May 11th, 2019

    The show is emotional, bewitching, and always entertaining. It is based on the biography of Son House by Rochester native Daniel Beaumont. But ultimately it is a celebration.

  • A New Take on Immigration

    Sea Dog Theater Produces a Winner

    By: Rachel de Aragon - May 09th, 2019

    The Rare Biosphere, a new play by Chris Cragin Day presented by the Sea Dog Theater and directed by Christopher J Domig is a charming and poignant look at at the question of immigration. Through the lives of a very American adolescent lens we are confronted with realities which upset the norm-- and intensify choices

  • Summer at MASS MoCA

    Complete Schedule of Exhibitions, Festivals, and Events

    By: MoCA - Apr 28th, 2019

    On May 25, come for MASS MoCA’s 20th birthday blowout that spreads across the museum campus to encompass new exhibitions, art-infused versions of your favorite games, live music by performers from both near and far, great food, and a world of fun. The day’s events kick off with An Afternoon of Conversation & Song with Annie Lennox at 4pm, a rare solo-acoustic performance to benefit the Annie Lennox Foundation (as well as MASS MoCA’s Fund for New Music).

  • All in the Timing by David Ives

    Comedy by Tony Winner at North West Rep

    By: Jack Lyons - Apr 28th, 2019

    David Ives won a Tony for the sado/masochistic, dark comedy "Venus in Fur." Although written twenty-six ago, "All in the Timing" features six comedy vignettes that are highly relevant to audiences of 2019. There is no dated material in this cleverly written and sensationally performed production.

  • Emmeline by Tobias Picker

    Classic Contemporary Opera at Manhattan School of Music

    By: Susan Hall - Apr 27th, 2019

    Manhattan School of Music mounts a superb production of Tobias Picker's Emmeline this spring. Directed by the gifted Thaddeus Strassberger, the work has been moved into the present and resonates as a universal tale. George Manahan. who conducted the world premiere of the work at Santa Fe Opera over twenty years ago, led the orchestra, revealing all the richness of the score. Young talent created unforgettable characters in this re-telling of a Greek myth.

  • The Niceties by Eleanor Burgess

    Directed by Kimberly Senior at LA's Geffen Playhouse

    By: Jack Lyons - Apr 27th, 2019

    “The Niceties”, a sharp, intelligently written drama by playwright Eleanor Burgess that is smartly and seamlessly directed by seasoned director Kimberly Senior, is currently on stage at the Geffen Playhouse, in Los Angeles. What begins as a polite clash in perspectives in age and place explodes into an urgent debate about race.

  • You Me and Art: Artists in the 21st Century

    A Book of Interviews by Marta Gynp

    By: Charles Giuliano - Apr 27th, 2019

    A book of interviews by Dutch art historian Marta Gynp "You Me and Art: Artists in the 21st Century" is lively, eclectic and informative. Of the twenty individuals she interacts with some are well known and others less so. In several instances what artists had to say about their work changed how I respond to it. In an engaging and familiar manner she was able to get behind the facade to probe intimate thoughts and insecurities. That approach reveals a humanistic view of how work evolves from studios to galleries and museums.

  • Toulouse Lautrec and the Stars of Paris

    Collaboration of MFA and Boston Public Library

    By: Charles Giuliano - Apr 26th, 2019

    The special exhibition “Toulouse Lautrec and the Stars of Paris” is a collaboration of the Museum of Fine Arts and The Boston Public Library. Their great combined depth in prints and posters is supplemented with loans from other museums. In addition to his signature graphic works the exhibition is expanded with paintings, photographs, and sculptures by other impressionist and post impressionist artists.

  • An Important New Sondheim Overture

    Lisa Yuen Narrates Tale of International Intrigue at Lyric Theater

    By: Matt Robinson - Apr 26th, 2019

    Lisa Yuen returns to Boston's Lyric Stage performing multiple, male roles in Stephen Sondheim's Pacific Overtures. If you are familiar with the musical expect to see a fresh and accessible revival by director Spiro Veloudos. The production runs from May 10 through June 18.

  • Anastasia On Tour

    Broadway Musical Adaptation in Ft. Lauderdale

    By: Aaron Krause - Apr 25th, 2019

    Anastasia offers eye-popping visuals, soaring music and heartfelt emotion. The projections seem stunningly authentic, yet never get in the way of the emotion or story. This equity production is in South Florida before heading north and then west. Cast and behind-the-scenes artists shine.

  • Bauhaus Centennial a Global Celebration

    Numerous Exhibitions and Publications

    By: Charles Giuliano - Apr 25th, 2019

    In 1919 Walter Gropius retrofitted the Grand-Ducal Saxon School of Arts and Crafts into what he dubbed Bauhaus. In its centennial year there are global celebrations through media coverage, publications and exhibitions. It has been reported that there are 600 shows in Germany. We have been reading and visiting work on view at the Museum of Fine Arts and some 200 objects from the 50,000 donated through Gropius and others to Harvard University. He joined the Graduate School of Design as its director in 1937.

  • Boston Lyric Opera’s The Handmaid’s Tale

    Based on the Novel by Margaret Atwood

    By: Doug Hall - Apr 24th, 2019

    The award winning Hulu production of Margaret Atwood's "The Hanmaid's Tale" will make this Boston Lyric Opera production readily familar to audiences. Composer Poul Ruders’ stunning contemporary score brings this dark social tale to the stage in large-scale, presenting his work with a massive, multi-faceted approach to orchestration. BLO has commissioned Ruders to create a new edition of the opera, bringing an expected orchestra size to approximately 65 players, with a chorus of about 34 singers.

  • The Pretenders Coming to MASS MoCA

    North Adams Back on the Chain Gang

    By: MoCA - Apr 23rd, 2019

    Yet again MASS MoCA has scored the top rock event of the summer. Chrissie Hynde and the Pretenders will perform on Friday, July 26.

  • Hilma af Klint, The Opera

    Guggenheim Presents Benjamin Staern's Chamber Opera

    By: Susan Hall - Apr 23rd, 2019

    The Works & Process series at the Guggenheim Museum is full of surprise and delight. The notion that one’s experience of art can be enhanced by music is not new. Yet in the case of Hilma af Klint, the exhibit of whose works has been the sensation of the New York art season, using a chamber opera to take us inside her experience, was enormously helpful for a better understanding of the woman and her work.

  • Tanglewood Adds Pops Tribute to Queen

    Marc Martel to Perform Freddie Mercury Hits

    By: BSO - Apr 23rd, 2019

    On Thursday, June 27 at 8 p.m., the Boston Pops and special guest Marc Martel join together for a celebration of the legendary rock band Queen. Martel, known for his striking vocal resemblance to Freddie Mercury, Queen’s lead singer, has been fronting Queen's official tribute show, The Queen Extravaganza, since 2011.

  • ONE Festival at Opera Omaha

    Philip Glass, Ellen Reid and Charles Gounod Featured

    By: Susan Hall - Apr 21st, 2019

    The ONE Festival of Opera Omaha celebrated its 2nd anniversary this year. It has already become a must visit for opera lovers throughout the world. The productions here are first rate. Bringing in James Darrah, who is a director of choice for many of the best young composers, has excited opera fans. This year did not disappoint.

  • Jean Bergantini Grillo on Boston Media

    Senior Editor and Art Critic for The Cambridge Phoenix

    By: Charles Giuliano - Apr 21st, 2019

    Jean Bergantini Grillo was hired as a senior editor and columnist when The Cambridge Phoenix was launched by Jeffrey Tarter on October 9, 1969. She worked with renowned editor Harper Barnes trying to bring shape and coherence to a staff of hippie writers. Today she is writing a play about that era and its macho newsroom. She was one of three women on staff and knew how to use her elbows. She later wrote for The Village Voice, an experience described as chaotic, but loved four years with the Daily News.

  • First Love Is the Revolution by Rita Kalnejais

    At Steep Theatre in Chicago

    By: Nancy Bishop - Apr 21st, 2019

    Rita Kalnejais’ play, which premiered in London in 2015, is a gorgeous display of animal choreography, directed by Devon de Mayo. As I watched this zoo-rama of animals scuffle among themselves and fight their antagonists, both animal and humans, I was smitten with the energy and genius of their movements.

  • Cole Porter's Kiss Me Kate

    On Broadway at Roundabout Theatre’s Studio 54.

    By: Karen Isaacs - Apr 20th, 2019

    It is great to have Kelli O’Hara back on Broadway. As Lilli/Kate she once again proves herself a fine actress who can develop chemistry with every leading man she plays opposite.

  • MFA Director Matthew Teitelbaum

    Embracing Modern and Contemporary Art

    By: Charles Giuliano - Apr 20th, 2019

    Since the 1960s and Perry T. Rathbone I have interviewed every director of the Museum of Fine Arts. Sitting recently with Matthew Teitelbaum was refreshingly different. We were renewing a relationship that started in 1989 when he was a curator for Boston's Institute of Contemporary Art. In 1993 he returned home to become senior curator at Toronto's Art Gallery of Ontario. He became director there before coming to the MFA in 2015 as its eleventh director. While in the thick of staff changes and policy strategies he invites us to evaluate progress over the next five years.

  • Hershey Felder: A Paris Love Story

    At TheatreWorks Silicon Valley

    By: Victor Cordell - Apr 19th, 2019

    Hershey Felder now takes on the life and works of Claude Debussy in a world premiere at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley. The great turn of the century composer is credited as the originator of the classical music genre of impressionism, though he didn’t care for the term

  • Murder Ballad

    South Florida's Measure for Measure Theatre

    By: Aaron Krause - Apr 18th, 2019

    While sound issues require fixing, Measure for Measure Theatre's mounting of Murder Ballad offers an engrossing theatrical experience. Strong singing, emoting characterize this non-traditional theatrical experience. Murder Ballad, which featured Off-Broadway, centers on a love triangle gone wrong.

  • Cambodian Rock Band by Lauren Yee

    Winner of Harold and Mimi Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award

    By: Nancy Bishop - Apr 18th, 2019

    Lauren Yee manages to create a small miracle with her brave, heartwarming and funny play Cambodian Rock Band. Victory Gardens’ new production, directed by Marti Lyons, skims across two time periods—from present-day Phnom Penh to a 1975 Cambodian prison.

  • Bound by Huang Ruo at Baruch Performing Arts Center

    Freshly Squeezed Opera Presents New York Premiere

    By: Susan Hall - Apr 16th, 2019

    Bound, Huang Ruo's chamber opera, is produced at the Rose Nagelberg Theatre in the Baruch Performing Arts Center. Originally commissioned by Houston Grand Opera, this production is the New York premiere. It is a fresh take by Freshly Squeezed Opera. Ashley Tate who specializes in multi-media production, directs.

  • Ellen Reid Wins Pulitzer for Prism

    Composer's Generosity of Spirit and Notes

    By: Susan Hall - Apr 16th, 2019

    Ellen Reid has been a hot item this year. Four venues in Los Angeles commissioned work from her. Now Prism, a Beth Morrison production, has won the Pulitzer prize for music. We wandered her soundscape in Omaha created for her by Opera Omaha at the Josyln Art Museum. Distinguishing composing notes from the listener's experience, Reid brings new sounds to an audience.

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