The Arts Fuse Space http://artsfuse.posterous.com The Arts and Culture of New England posterous.com Thu, 17 May 2012 17:56:00 -0700 Fuse Dance Review: Boston Ballet Ends 48th Season on an Encouraging Note http://artsfuse.posterous.com/fuse-dance-review-boston-ballet-ends-48th-sea http://artsfuse.posterous.com/fuse-dance-review-boston-ballet-ends-48th-sea

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Isaac Akiba, Paul Craig, James Whiteside, and Brittany Summer in Fancy Free. Photo: Gene Schiavone

 

Fuse Dance Critic Iris Fanger evaluates the final Boston Ballet performances of the season (which ends on May 20th).

 

-- Bill Marx

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1418448/Marxpix_3.jpg http://posterous.com/users/hckcZy5ZkL1eW billmarx billmarx billmarx Thu, 17 May 2012 17:46:00 -0700 Fuse Film Review: “Sound of My Voice” http://artsfuse.posterous.com/fuse-film-review-sound-of-my-voice http://artsfuse.posterous.com/fuse-film-review-sound-of-my-voice

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Brit Marling in Sound of My Voice -- a film of artful, genre-bending ambiguity.

 

Fuse Film Critic Tim Jackson salutes the artful ambiguity of the genre-bending film Sound of My Voice,  as well as the beauty and talent of actress Brit Marling.

-- Bill Marx

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1418448/Marxpix_3.jpg http://posterous.com/users/hckcZy5ZkL1eW billmarx billmarx billmarx Thu, 17 May 2012 17:44:00 -0700 Fuse Theater Review: An Inspirational “Woody Sez” http://artsfuse.posterous.com/fuse-theater-review-an-inspirational-woody-se http://artsfuse.posterous.com/fuse-theater-review-an-inspirational-woody-se
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Andy Teirstein, David M. Lutken, Helen Jean Russell, Darcie Deaville in Woody Sez. Photo: Todd Oldham

Fuse Music Critic Anthony Palmer thinks Woody Sez: The Life & Music of Woody Guthrie is a thoroughly enjoyable and effectively assembled presentation of Guthrie’s rich legacy to American culture and history. At the American Repertory Theater through June 3.

-- Bill Marx

 

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1418448/Marxpix_3.jpg http://posterous.com/users/hckcZy5ZkL1eW billmarx billmarx billmarx Thu, 17 May 2012 17:41:00 -0700 Fuse Theater Review: “Cupcake” — A Musical for Pastry Lovers http://artsfuse.posterous.com/fuse-theater-review-cupcake-a-musical-for-pas http://artsfuse.posterous.com/fuse-theater-review-cupcake-a-musical-for-pas

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Hallie Brevetti as the Librarian, Grant MacDermott as Tom, and Max Sangerman as the Lifeguard in Cupcake. Photo: Joel Benjamin

 

Fuse Theater Critic Peter-Adrian Cohen says if you want the theatrical equivalent of fun in the sun, Cupcake (receiving its world premiere at Club Cafe Boston), is for you. But those looking for substance should approach with extreme caution.

-- Bill Marx

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1418448/Marxpix_3.jpg http://posterous.com/users/hckcZy5ZkL1eW billmarx billmarx billmarx Mon, 14 May 2012 18:16:00 -0700 Fuse Book Review: “Emmaus” — A Fictional Puzzle Wrapped in a Spiritual Enigma http://artsfuse.posterous.com/fuse-book-review-emmaus-a-fictional-puzzle-wr http://artsfuse.posterous.com/fuse-book-review-emmaus-a-fictional-puzzle-wr

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Fuse Book Critic David Mehegan finds Emmaus, the latest book in translation from Italian writer Alessandro (Silk) Baricco, to be too elusive for its own good. Published by McSweeney's.

 

-- Bill Marx

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1418448/Marxpix_3.jpg http://posterous.com/users/hckcZy5ZkL1eW billmarx billmarx billmarx Mon, 14 May 2012 18:10:00 -0700 Fuse Music Commentary: “Maestro” — Breaking Boundaries http://artsfuse.posterous.com/fuse-music-commentary-maestro-breaking-bounda http://artsfuse.posterous.com/fuse-music-commentary-maestro-breaking-bounda

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Fuse Classical Music Critic Anthony J. Palmer offers a pithy commentary on what Hershey Felder in Maestro: Leonard Bernstein (A Play With Music) says about the ways that musical categories damage the imaginative health of our culture. Presented by ArtsEmerson

-- Bill Marx

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1418448/Marxpix_3.jpg http://posterous.com/users/hckcZy5ZkL1eW billmarx billmarx billmarx Mon, 14 May 2012 18:05:00 -0700 Fuse Book Review: “When the Night” — A Memorably Icy Love Story http://artsfuse.posterous.com/fuse-book-review-when-the-night-a-memorably-i http://artsfuse.posterous.com/fuse-book-review-when-the-night-a-memorably-i

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Fuse Book Critic Roberta Silman admires When the Night, a novel from Italy that explores the vicissitudes of love in a very cold climate.

 

-- Bill Marx

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1418448/Marxpix_3.jpg http://posterous.com/users/hckcZy5ZkL1eW billmarx billmarx billmarx Fri, 11 May 2012 06:02:00 -0700 Fuse Dance/Movie Review: The Passing Parade — A Film about the Joffrey Ballet http://artsfuse.posterous.com/fuse-dancemovie-review-the-passing-parade-a-f http://artsfuse.posterous.com/fuse-dancemovie-review-the-passing-parade-a-f

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Arpino rehearsal shot from the 1980s

Fuse Dance Critic Debra Cash argues that a new documentary about the Joffrey Ballet is an unsatisfying exercise in hero worship.

-- Bill Marx

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1418448/Marxpix_3.jpg http://posterous.com/users/hckcZy5ZkL1eW billmarx billmarx billmarx Thu, 10 May 2012 17:18:00 -0700 Fuse Classical CD Review: Jeremy Denk’s Ligeti/Beethoven (Nonesuch) http://artsfuse.posterous.com/fuse-classical-cd-review-jeremy-denks-ligetib http://artsfuse.posterous.com/fuse-classical-cd-review-jeremy-denks-ligetib

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Fuse Classical Music Critic Jonathan Blumhofer thinks that pianist Jeremy Denk's debut CD on the Nonesuch label is revelatory on several levels. The recording is scheduled for release on May 15th.

 

-- Bill Marx

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1418448/Marxpix_3.jpg http://posterous.com/users/hckcZy5ZkL1eW billmarx billmarx billmarx Thu, 10 May 2012 06:32:00 -0700 Fuse Theater Review: Boxed In — “Yesterday Happened: Remembering H. M.” http://artsfuse.posterous.com/fuse-theater-review-boxed-in-yesterday-happen http://artsfuse.posterous.com/fuse-theater-review-boxed-in-yesterday-happen

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Man Meets Brain: Barlow Adamson as Henry Molaison in Yesterday Happened: Remembering H.M. Photo: A.R. Sinclair Photography.

 

Fuse Theater Critic Bill Marx finds this world premiere production -- based on a real-life case of enormous importance for the study of memory and the brain -- compelling. But concludes it does not go far enough creating what could have been a terrifying vision of imaginative vertigo.

 

-- Bill Marx

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1418448/Marxpix_3.jpg http://posterous.com/users/hckcZy5ZkL1eW billmarx billmarx billmarx Wed, 09 May 2012 05:44:00 -0700 Judicial Review # 8: Making Sense of the “Assassins” http://artsfuse.posterous.com/judicial-review-8-making-sense-of-the-assassi http://artsfuse.posterous.com/judicial-review-8-making-sense-of-the-assassi

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Contemplating Mayhem: A scene from Assassins. Photo: John Zakarsky.

Hear Ye! Hear Ye! Our eighth Judicial Review session evaluates the Boston University College of Fine Arts production of the 1990 Stephen Sondheim/John Weidman musical Assassins, which looks at the lives of men and women who attempted (successfully or otherwise) to kill the President of the United States.

The JR panel includes Hugo Burnham, the drummer and a founding member of England’s post-punk band Gang of Four, and Jeff Melnick, an associate professor of American Studies at UMass Boston, where he specializes in twentieth-century US history. Feel free to join the conversation!

 

-- Bill Marx

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1418448/Marxpix_3.jpg http://posterous.com/users/hckcZy5ZkL1eW billmarx billmarx billmarx Mon, 07 May 2012 17:15:00 -0700 Fuse Opera Review: Back to the Future — Boston Baroque’s “Orfeo ed Euridice” http://artsfuse.posterous.com/fuse-opera-review-back-to-the-future-boston-b http://artsfuse.posterous.com/fuse-opera-review-back-to-the-future-boston-b

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Li-Ann Lim of Balletrox, rehearsing her dance solo in the final scene of Boston Baroque's Orfeo ed Euridice.

Fuse Classical Music Critic Anthony J. Palmer admires the moxie of conductor Martin Pearlman and Boston Baroque -- they chose to stage the original (1762) version of Gluck's opera.

-- Bill Marx

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1418448/Marxpix_3.jpg http://posterous.com/users/hckcZy5ZkL1eW billmarx billmarx billmarx Mon, 07 May 2012 07:08:00 -0700 Fuse Concert Review: Boston Symphony Orchestra/Bernard Haitink at Symphony Hall http://artsfuse.posterous.com/fuse-concert-review-boston-symphony-orchestra-86343 http://artsfuse.posterous.com/fuse-concert-review-boston-symphony-orchestra-86343

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Soloists Jessica Rivera, Meredith Arwady, Roberto Sacca and Gunther Groissbock perform with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Tanglewood Festival Chorus in Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 led by Bernard Haitink at Symphony Hall. Photo: Stu Rosner.

 

The Boston Symphony Orchestra presented Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in all its strange glory as the final work on its 2011-12 subscription season, and Fuse Classical Music Critic Jonathan Blumhofer says that the performance had its rough patches. "Still, there’s something about imperfection in performances of the Ninth that can make for very intense and memorable concert experiences."

 

--- Bill Marx

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1418448/Marxpix_3.jpg http://posterous.com/users/hckcZy5ZkL1eW billmarx billmarx billmarx Sun, 06 May 2012 05:49:00 -0700 Fuse Film Review: The Independent Film Festival of Boston — Ten Movies To Look For http://artsfuse.posterous.com/fuse-film-review-the-independent-film-festiva http://artsfuse.posterous.com/fuse-film-review-the-independent-film-festiva

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An image from the documentary Gregory Crewdson: Brief Encounters.

Arts Fuse Film Critic Tim Jackson points out ten films, recently screened at The Independent Film Festival of Boston, that are worth watching out for.

 

-- Bill Marx

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1418448/Marxpix_3.jpg http://posterous.com/users/hckcZy5ZkL1eW billmarx billmarx billmarx Fri, 04 May 2012 19:13:00 -0700 Fuse Theater Review: An Earnest “Troilus and Cressida” http://artsfuse.posterous.com/fuse-theater-review-an-earnest-troilus-and-cr http://artsfuse.posterous.com/fuse-theater-review-an-earnest-troilus-and-cr

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Things are not working out for Cressida (Brooke Hardman) in the ASP production of Troilus and Cressida. Photo: Stratton McCrady.

 

Fuse Theater Critic Bill Marx has a soft spot for the nihilistic plays penned by Shakespeare -- he reviews the Actors' Shakespeare Project's production of the sardonic "Troilus and Cressida," directed by Tina Packer. He is not convinced that the staging gets at the clownish ugliness of the script.

-- Bill Marx

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1418448/Marxpix_3.jpg http://posterous.com/users/hckcZy5ZkL1eW billmarx billmarx billmarx Fri, 04 May 2012 11:16:00 -0700 Fuse Book Review: Orhan Pamuk’s Museum of Innocence Opens http://artsfuse.posterous.com/fuse-book-review-orhan-pamuks-museum-of-innoc http://artsfuse.posterous.com/fuse-book-review-orhan-pamuks-museum-of-innoc

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Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk’s new museum, named for and based on his 2008 novel, The Museum of Innocence, has opened in Istanbul. Here is Arts Fuse Critic Christopher Ohge's review of the book

--- Bill Marx.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1418448/Marxpix_3.jpg http://posterous.com/users/hckcZy5ZkL1eW billmarx billmarx billmarx Thu, 03 May 2012 08:19:00 -0700 Arts Fuse Editor Bill Marx Talks @ Boston University about Arts Coverage, Teaching, and Books in Translation http://artsfuse.posterous.com/arts-fuse-editor-bill-marx-talks-boston-unive http://artsfuse.posterous.com/arts-fuse-editor-bill-marx-talks-boston-unive

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Arts Fuse Editor Bill Marx

One of my students at Boston University, Kyle Clauss, has a program on the school’s radio station WTBU. He had me on to talk about The Arts Fuse, teaching, and books in translation, among other subjects. Here is a podcast of the conversation, which took place on April 12th, for those who are interested . . . .

 

-- Bill Marx

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1418448/Marxpix_3.jpg http://posterous.com/users/hckcZy5ZkL1eW billmarx billmarx billmarx Thu, 03 May 2012 08:08:00 -0700 Arts Fuse Coming Attractions: Jazz Week 2012 Update http://artsfuse.posterous.com/arts-fuse-coming-attractions-jazz-week-2012-u http://artsfuse.posterous.com/arts-fuse-coming-attractions-jazz-week-2012-u

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Bassist Fernando Huergo

Fuse Jazz Critic J.R Carroll continues his picks for Jazz Week, 2012, focusing on the event-packed first weekend in May.

-- Bill Marx

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1418448/Marxpix_3.jpg http://posterous.com/users/hckcZy5ZkL1eW billmarx billmarx billmarx Thu, 03 May 2012 08:01:00 -0700 Arts Fuse Classical Music Sampler: May 2012 http://artsfuse.posterous.com/arts-fuse-classical-music-sampler-may-2012 http://artsfuse.posterous.com/arts-fuse-classical-music-sampler-may-2012

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This month pianist Cecile Licad performs works of Liszt and Chopin in Boston.

Arts Fuse Classical Music Critic Susan Miron selects the best concerts coming up around New England this month. Highlights include pianist Cecile Licad and Boston Baroque performing Gluck’s Orfeo and Euridice.

-- Bill Marx

 

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1418448/Marxpix_3.jpg http://posterous.com/users/hckcZy5ZkL1eW billmarx billmarx billmarx Wed, 02 May 2012 08:34:00 -0700 Fuse Theater Review: A High-Octane “Fela!” http://artsfuse.posterous.com/fuse-theater-review-a-high-octane-fela http://artsfuse.posterous.com/fuse-theater-review-a-high-octane-fela

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Fela (Sahr Ngaujah) learns from Sandra (Paulette Ivory) and Funmilayo (Melanie Marshall). Photo: Tristram Kenton

The biographical value of Fela!, a Tony award-winning musical about Afrobeat creator/performer and political activist Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, is murky. But Fuse Theater Critic Alyssa Hall thinks the show's ferocious music and amazing dancing more than makes up for the thin storyline. The touring production of the show is being presented by Arts Emerson at the Cutler Majestic Theatre through May 6.

 

-- Bill Marx

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1418448/Marxpix_3.jpg http://posterous.com/users/hckcZy5ZkL1eW billmarx billmarx billmarx