Not enough depth
Theater, by virtue of its intimacy, is meant to teach us something about ourselves and others. While The Whale carefully reveals the life of an overweight man, it does so by obscuring two traditionally ignored groups, young women and Mormons.
MIT Festival Jazz Ensemble: Homegrown Portraits
The MIT Festival Jazz Ensemble played a charming ten piece set last Saturday night, highlighted by the world premiere of an original composition, “Solace,” by Adrian M. Grossman ’14 and the first performance of Charles Mingus’ “Portrait” (1963) as arranged by Peter T. Godart ’15. Mark Harvey took over as a guest conductor for two of his compositions: “De-Evolution Blues” (2005) and “Saxophrenia” (2002).
Bethlehem explores the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Bethlehem follows 17-year old Palestinian Sanfur (Shadi Mar’i), the brother of a leader of the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, and Razi (Tsahi Halevi), the Israeli Shin Bet (secret service) officer who has recruited Sanfur as an informant. Set in Israel and the West Bank around 2004 near the end of the Second Intifada, the film explores the region’s broader conflict by examining the social connections surrounding the central characters.
Shakespeare, updated
I loathe Shakespeare. Shakespeare’s plays are generally over-performed, and I’ve seen far too many productions where actors speak Shakespeare’s archaic words in strange phrasings, making the plays inaccessible. Additionally, the plays generally lack interesting female characters and are often misogynistic. To say the least, I expected to be bored by A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Henry Jenkins returns
Around the world Henry Jenkins is known as a prolific force in media studies and as a champion of fandom and fan culture. He has written thirteen books — canonical texts for media scholars — including Textual Poachers and Convergence Culture. At the Institute, Jenkins is known for establishing and directing the Comparative Media Studies program and for his time as a Senior House housemaster. Jenkins left MIT in 2009 to become the Provost’s Professor of Communication, Journalism, and Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California.
Some ’tings nice, some not so much
Caribbean food, with its warmth and traditional spices, seems like the perfect way to escape this never-ending Boston winter, at least for an hour or two. Some ‘Ting Nice, located in a run-down building right on McGrath Highway in Somerville, attempts to provide some respite, but fails to fully deliver on that promise. While their menu has a wide variety of Caribbean options, the dishes themselves were uneven and left me wishing this restaurant could live up to its potential.
A voice best represented by her native language
Second languages are hard. Even having a strong grasp of a second language is sometimes insufficient to artfully express oneself. Unfortunately, this is true for Wanting, a Vancouver-based, China-born singer/songwriter. Her songs in Mandarin Chinese are outstanding, but the same cannot be said of her songs written in English.
The 2014 Academy Awards
Well, it’s been a long awards season, full of glitz and glamour, politeness (the interviews), and politicking (the studio campaigns). Heavy rainstorms in the Los Angeles area early Sunday suggested even the sky was getting tired of red carpets and acceptance speeches, and it was time to bring this season to an end with the biggest televised celebrity spectacle of the year — the 86th Annual Academy Awards.
Baryshnikov returns to the stage
Man in a Case is an adaptation of two of Chekov’s lesser-known tales, “Man in a Case” and “About Love,” currently hosted by the always-improving ArtsEmerson.
Asian-influenced dishes
If you are a frequent customer at Flour, you may know that the bakery is owned by Joanne Chang, a chef who has made a name for herself in the Boston area. Besides running the four branches of the popular bakery, Joanne also heads an Asian fusion restaurant in the South End — Myers + Chang. Even though it is no easy trek to get there, I decided to give the restaurant a try and decide if the hype was deserved.
Story of Christ
Perhaps the best thing that can be said about the recently debuted film Son of God is that it’s earnest. The actor portraying Jesus, Diogo Morgado, came off as a bit too heavy-handed, but still undoubtedly genuine. This depiction of the life of Jesus Christ feeds the viewers a highlight reel of miracles, from Christ walking on water to the resurrection of Lazarus without much storyline in between.
St. Vincent’s accessible theatricality
“You guys,” St. Vincent announced in front of the crowded House of Blues, “there was a ghost in the machine.”
Boston Fashion
While it still seems like winter outside, spring is just around the corner. Luckily, Lori Kyler Christensen began showing pieces from her label Venni Caprice’s Spring/Summer 2014 collection last week (http://www.vennicaprice.com). Christensen’s line is filled with fun dresses and bohemian prints. While the adventurous designs are not for everyone, Christensen also had some interesting insights into the clothing design process. The Tech had the opportunity to view Christensen’s collection for Venni Caprice and ask her about her designing process.
Circus Oz
When was the last time you saw a live performing circus? Chances are you’ve simply forgotten about circus as a type of performing arts. Indeed, with so many blockbuster movies filled with otherworldly acrobatics, there seems to be a loss of interest in seeing an actual human being putting their life at risk for your entertainment. Nevertheless, the entertaining teams of performers — from Cirque du Soleil to The Big Apple Circus — still deliver some of the most gut-wrenching and captivating shows to people across the world. Last week, Boston hosted the world’s renowned Australian ensemble of acrobats, musicians, and dancers known as Circus Oz.
Complex, challenging, and on pointe
“Wow” — the clearly audible voice of an awed child elicited muffled chuckles from the audience members around us. She hit the nail on the head — we all felt the same.
Rhye at Royale
It’s been almost a year since the Canadian-Danish duo Rhye released their critically acclaimed debut album Woman. Despite the lack of any new official material, lead singer Milosh paid a visit to Boston with his touring band last week and performed most of the album’s songs.
A fathomable genius
Tim’s Vermeer follows American inventor Tim Jenison as he tests a novel theory about how 17th century Dutch master Johannes Vermeer used scientific methods and equipment to paint. Produced and directed by the Penn and Teller illusionist duo, it occasionally takes a cut-and-dried documentarian tone about Jenison’s experiment, but eventually switches to a more intimate examination of Jenison himself. Its big themes, thoughtful editing, and memorable characters put it in a class of films somewhere between History Channel specials and Hollywood dramas.
Animation with a lesson
The Wind Rises (Japanese: Kaze Tachinu) is yet another stunning film, proclaimed to be the last of master animator Miyazaki.
I never knew neck could taste so good
Craigie on Main has held the position of the upscale restaurant near MIT since before I arrived. Recently, the restaurant’s chef Tony Maws opened a more casual eatery out on Washington Street in Somerville. His new brainchild, The Kirkland Tap and Trotter or KTT, is an excellent choice if you are looking to celebrate a little bit without breaking the bank.
Museums, miniatures, and the Met
Last weekend the MIT Art Scholars, a group of about 30 students with interests in various artistic disciplines, traveled to New York City. The weekend included an exploration of Indian art, a performance of Rusalka at the Metropolitan Opera, and a tour of a special exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It was the Art Scholars’ fourth annual trip to NYC, supported by Council for the Arts at MIT.