A new musical explores romantic encounters in middle age, an artist contributes to the public space in downtown Boston, an endangered young woman brings a retired vigilante out of retirement, and a young woman follows her inner compass to traverse the desert.
Closer Than Ever Plays at New Repertory Theatre through September 28th.
Each song is a story in Richard Maltby, Jr. and David Shire’s new musical. Largely based on true stories, 24 songs intertwine insightful tales about love, security, happiness, and self-definition in the “middle years.” Universal experiences and truths are uncovered through charming melodies and smartly-crafted lyrics.
Shinique Smith,
her show
For the past decade, Smith has been internationally admired for exuberant paintings, sculpture, and large-scale installations that capture the power of human expression and resilience. Whether in graffiti, calligraphy, and vibrant sweeping strokes on canvas, her works reflect intersecting forces—of personal history, influence, and energy. The exhibition marks a significant return to Boston for Smith, who completed her Masters in Teaching at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts and Tufts (2000) while working full-time with high school students.
In addition to the exhibit at at the MFA, Smith's new 70-by-70-foot mural, Seven Moon Junction , was unveiled this week in Dewey Square on the Rose Kennedy Greenway. She told me it was the space that influenced her choice of what to represent. “The piece was inspired by detail from a painting I had created called Seven Moons," she said, "and seeing the architecture and that intersection where the streets and people and buildings—and the wall is right in the center—it felt like a junction, a place where a design such as mine that is kind of like a harmonic convergence of shapes and forms could fit well within that situation.”
The Equalizer, In theaters Friday.
Denzel Washington plays a man who believes he has put his mysterious past behind him and dedicated himself to beginning a new, quiet life. But when he meets Teri, a young girl under the control of ultra-violent Russian gangsters, he can’t stand idly by – he has to help her. Shot in Boston, this is a riveting reunion of Washington and director Fuqua (Training Day).
Tracks, In theaters Friday.
Learn the remarkable, true story of Robyn Davidson, a young woman who leaves her town life in the 1970s to make a solo trek through almost 2,000 miles of sprawling Australian desert. Accompanied by only her dog and four unpredictable camels, she sets off on a life-changing, often grueling journey of self-discovery. National Geographic funds her voyage, on the agreement that she'll have occassional meetings with photographer Rick Smolan, who documents—and advocates for her—along her journey.
This week on Open Studio (airing Sunday only this week at 11 am): The greatest artists past and present as we tour the Alexander Calder show at the Peabody Essex Museum, find Edward Hopper at home in New York and sit down with artist Shinique Smith about her mural and MFA show.
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