Arts
I Choose You!
There is always another confrontation with Gary on the horizon, always another convalescence with Nurse Joy. Even the music rarely changes—that maddening eight-bit music which once heard can never be forgotten. What is it, then, that made us so crazed—that made us whine, in the cacophonous voice of an entire generation: “Mommy, I’m in a battle and you are making me die!”
What Sandy Hath Wrought
Hurricane Sandy wasn’t too hard on us here in Cambridge: minimal flooding, no power loss, and, of course, no classes. But in some of the areas that were more severely affected, people had to seriously consider what was essential to their lives and what was frivolous. People in areas where power was lost went into a strange, quasi-hibernation mode.
Beyond Therapy
Torture, stillbirth, and crises of faith are all landmarks of playwright Christopher Durang’s dark terrain. But a shift has occurred at the heart of his work.
Incredible Dancing Elevates 'Cabaret'
"Cabaret" succeeds largely due to its incredible dancing and live band. However, the actual narrative sections are often found lacking in comparison to the choreography.
‘Sweeney’ Slays at Farkas Hall
“Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” is a wickedly funny feast for carnivorous theater-goers.
Top Five Places to Find Jazz in Boston
Last week, Harvard welcomed Boston jazz heroes Eric Jackson, Steve Schwartz, and Fred Taylor for a panel and a concert. The three have been promoting jazz on the air and around town for decades and still remain vital to Boston's jazz scene. The Arts board asked them to come up with the best places in town to find jazz, either in clubs, on the radio, or in record stores. Here's what they gave us:
Irrepressible ‘Irma Vap’ Wows the Adams Pool
“Irma Vap” succeeded in humorously poking fun at Telenovelas and typical Hispanic stock characters through solid acting and well executed, purposefully cheesy sound effects.
Before They Were Famous: Ke$ha, Katy Perry, and Lady Gaga
It's fun to show people this song and then dare them to guess who sings it. The look that typically ...
Exploring the Sculptures of Harvard
Chances are you don’t always stop and examine the many outdoor works of art we have around Harvard. But the ...
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Razors, British accents, and delictable pies that anyone can enjoy. There couldn't be a more perfect combination. Sweeney Todd: The ...
For Sale: Great Book, Never Read
Antiquarian book dealers are a strange, eclectic group of people. Some are dour and serious and have the air of a Victorian schoolmaster or governess; others combine business and pleasure, spending book-fair weekends in hazes of inebriation and fine dining—either in celebration of a lucrative sale or purchase or as distraction and consolation for slow business.
'80s Baby Epic
It would not be outlandish to claim that Compton rapper Kendrick Lamar is the greatest eighties baby ever to pick up a microphone. His flow effortlessly glides through different vocal registers, the rhythmic patterns of his verses skittering frantically around each other. His language is vivid and abstract, his narrative perspective subtly shifting. He even often layers two or three differently pitched takes on top of one other, allowing himself to find a tonal Netherworld seldom reached by other rappers.
How to Make the Man
"I really do embrace the character and think about the character from the inside out—I’m never just designing a pretty garment.”
Walk Like an Egyptian
My Old West was settled by Oregon Trail’s eight-color Conestogas and their dysentery-ridden crews. My Rome—the Rome of Sierra’s Caesar III—was built in a day. And if the distant past often feels eerily present to me, it is perhaps because I have done substantial time temping as Pharaoh of Egypt, Doge of Venice, and Japanese Shogun.
