Arts
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.
‘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:
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.
Soaring Arias Propel 'The Mikado'
This operetta by the Harvard Gilbert and Sullivan Players is largely successful due not only to its talented singers but also the stunning scenery, which work together to bring out the work’s softly romantic charm.
'Counterpoint' Leaps to Success
The performance uses innovative multimedia effects and costuming to compliment the choreography and push the boundaries of both dance styles.
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.
Working for the Weekend
For Halloween, my thesis dressed up as a trip to the Museum of Fine Arts (and the Prudential Center for a spot of shopping). It was a great costume. It utterly fooled me into spending the afternoon after the museum visit working on my thesis. And I actually had fun. I actually wanted to be in the library. As a devout “idle-ist” I rarely set foot in Lamont because it fairly reeks of productivity. The harsh lighting, still air, and somewhat tense silence stifle all hope of doing no work.
'Medea' Falters Due to Inconsistent Acting
The play’s grand speeches and demand for intense performances proved too much of a burden for the largely weak cast, resulting in a play that drowned in its historicism, unable to gain much emotional purchase in the present day.
