Episodes
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November 22, 2024 - Week in Review: Wicked, Gladiator II, and Cher
Today Culture Show co-hosts Jared Bowen, Callie Crossley and Edgar B. Herwick III go over the latest headlines on our arts and culture week-in-review.First up, Boston University suspends admissions its PhD programs in the humanities and social sciences.From there something to sing about, Charlestown Rehearsal Studios, home to hundreds of musicians, will stay open and operational And, something to not sing about, literally. AMC Theaters is warning moviegoers that singing along during the musical film Wicked is not allowed..Then, is BU actually onto something? Do we really need degrees in the humanities if AI generated poetry is preferable to works penned by people?Plus, if anyone out there still reads material written by real humans…assuming that Cher is real and not some diva deity, part one of her memoir dropped this week. -
November 21, 2024 - Commonwealth Shakespeare Company's Christmas Carol, John Waters, and the Martha Graham Dance Company
Steven Maler, Founding Artistic Director of Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, joins The Culture Show to talk about their upcoming production of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” and how they hope this will become a new holiday tradition. The production is onstage December 8th through December 22nd at the Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre. It stars Will Lymon as Ebenezeer Scrooge, it’s directed by Steven Maler, and the adaptation is by Steve Wargo.From there filmmaker, author and visual artist John Waters joins The Culture Show, to talk about his career and receiving the 2024 Coolidge Award, which recognizes a film artist whose work advances the spirit of original and challenging cinema. Tonight John Waters will be at the Coolidge Corner Theatre at 8:00 in conversation with The Culture Show’s host and GBH Executive Arts Editor Jared Bowen. To learn more about tonight’s “Evening With John Waters,” go here.Finally, Janet Eilber, Artistic Director of Martha Graham Dance Company joins The Culture Show. She discusses the enduring legacy of Martha Graham as the mother of modern dance, the Martha Graham Dance Company at 100 and their return to Boston for two performances “American Legacies,” onstage at the Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre November 22nd and November 23rd, presented by Celebrity Series. -
November 20, 2024 - Gregory Maguire, David Waters and Joanne Chang
Something Wicked this way comes in many iterations. First, as the 1995 widely acclaimed book by Gregory Maguire, “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West,” then as an entire “Wicked” series, which Maguire has been authoring since 2003, with a forthcoming book to be published next year titled “Elphie: A Wicked Childhood.” Along the way “Wicked” has been adapted to a Tony-award winning musical, and this Friday, “Wicked,” the movie, will be in movie theaters nationwide. The best-selling author Gregory Maguire joins The Culture Show to talk all things “Wicked.” From there we get into the spirit of Thanksgiving, with an emphasis on giving, by way of Community Servings. For decades the organization has been providing free home-based nutritional support to persons living with life threatening illnesses. Every November Community Servings hosts their annual Pie in the Sky bakesale to help fund their mission. David Waters, CEO of Community Servings and award-winning chef Joanne Chang, Myers + Chang restaurant and Flour Bakery + Cafe join The Culture Show. -
November 19, 2024 - Renée Fleming and Patrick Radden Keefe
The Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Andris Nelsons will lead a program featuring world renowned soprano Renée Fleming and baritone Rod Gilfry in “The Brightness of Light” on November 21, 22 and 23. This BSO co-commission is a song cycle based on the letters between painter Georgia O’Keefe and photographer Alfred Stieglitz. It’s composed by Kevin Puts. The program also includes two pieces by Mozart, the overture to Die Entführung aus dem Serail and his Symphony No. 36, Linz. Renée Fleming joins The Culture Show to talk about “The Brightness of Light.” She also discusses her new book "Music and Mind: Harnessing the Arts for Health and Wellness." It’s a collection of essays edited by Fleming, which feature reflections on the impact of music and the arts on our health from leading scientists, artists, therapists, educators, and physicians. On November 23rd you can join Renée Fleming after the evening concert for a special signing of her new book.From there, we’re joined by writer Patrick Radden Keefe. The new FX series “Say Nothing,” which is streaming now on Hulu, is based on his 2018 book “Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland.” The book is an epic account of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, the bloody sectarian conflict between Catholics and Protestants that extended from the late 1960s to the Good Friday peace accord of 1998. Patrick Radden Keefe is an award-winning staff writer at “The New Yorker” magazine and author of the New York Times bestsellers “Rogues,” “Empire of Pain” and “Say Nothing.” -
November 18, 2024 - Orville Peck and the Actors Shakespeare Project's "Emma"
Last month Orville Peck played to a sold out show in MGM’s Music Hall. Culture Show host and Executive Arts Editor Jared Bowen caught up with him ahead of his performance to talk about his path to country music, what it’s like to be regarded as country music’s most mysterious outlaw and his latest album “Stampede,” which includes a duet with Willie Nelson about gay cowboy love.From there Christopher V. Edwars, Artistic Director at Actors’ Shakespeare Project and Director Regine Vital join The Culture Show to talk about their current production, the play “Emma,” An adaptation of Jane Austen’s classic novel. “Emma” is onstage through December 15th at The Multicultural Arts Center in Cambridge, MA. -
November 15, 2024 - The Grammys, Roy Haynes, and The Onion buying InfoWars
Today on The Culture Show, co-hosts Jared Bowen, Edgar B. Herwick III and Callie Crossley go over the latest headlines on our arts and culture week-in-review. First up: The Grammy nominations are out. They’ll go over the snoozers, snubs and surprises.From there they’ll remember Boston’s own jazz giant Roy Haynes. The pioneering drummer who earned the nickname "Snap Crackle" died this week at age 99. He was one of the last remaining musicians of jazz’s swing and bebop eras.Then, Simon and Garfunkel break their sound of silence, making amends over lunch in an exchange that brought Art Garfunkel to tears.And, lions and tigers and pornography, oh my! Mattel merchandise for the “WICKED” movie mistakenly sent people to a website with adult only content.Plus, it’s not a satirical headline, it’s for real: The Onion buys Alex Jones’s InfoWars in a bankruptcy auction. -
November 14, 2024 - Cillian Murphy, the Old North Church's angels, and Scooter LaForge
Fresh off his Best Actor Oscar win for Oppenheimer, Cillian Murphy produces and stars in the quiet, contemplative, and powerful film “Small Things Like These.” Based on the book by Claire Keegan, “Small Things Like These” is set in 1985, in a small Irish village just before Christmas. The protagonist, Bill Furlong, played by Murphy, is a devoted husband and father to five daughters. A coal merchant, he spends his days hauling truckloads of coal around town. He’s well-liked, very kind and very interior. Especially as he’s flooded with painful childhood memories during one of his routine deliveries to a Magdalene laundry. An institution run by Catholic nuns where so-called “fallen” girls were imprisoned and abused. Cillian Murphy joins the CUlture Show to talk about “Small Things LIke These,” which is in theaters now.From there, famous for its role in the historic ride, Boston’s Old North Church has embarked on its own journey to restore the artwork that graced its walls during the American Revolution. Culture Show Producer Kate Dellis brings us the story with a behind-the-scenes look at this restoration.Finally, artist and sculptor Scooter LaForge uses pop-culture references to address themes such as addiction, gender, and sexuality. While his work is infused with a punk rock attitude, in it you can often find humor and hope. Scooter LaForge is a fixture in New York’s art scene, whose aesthetic has also made it onto the runway, collaborating with fashion designers and crafting bespoke clothing. Now,a mid-career retrospective showcases a selection of LaForge's work, titled “Enchanted Anarchies and Other Realities,” it’s on view through December 1st at Lesley University College of Art and Design. Tonight you can catch him in conversation with artist Jennifer Krasinsiki, 6:00 PM at the Roberts Gallery, Lunder Arts Center as Lesley. -
November 13, 2024 - Imari Paris Jeffries and Carmen Fields on her father's musical legacy
Imari Paris Jeffries, President and CEO of Embrace Boston, joins The Culture Show to talk about his reflections on the 2024 election results. He also recaps Embrace Boston’s 2024 Arts and Culture Summit and he and Jared Bowen share their experiences of both being featured performers in the Huntington Theatre’s production of “Nassim.” From there, longtime journalist Carmen Fields joins us to talk about her new book, “Going Back to T-Town:The Ernie Fields Territory Big Band,” where she pieces together the musical journey of her father, Ernie Fields, a talented and pioneering musician and bandleader who toured the country during the Jim Crow era with his Black orchestra. He was also key to giving so many jazz greats their first big breaks. Carmen Fields is an Emmy Award-winning journalist who has worked at The Boston Globe, local channels 4 and 7 and served as host and producer for the public affairs program “Higher Ground” on WHDH-TV, Boston. She co-anchored WGBH's Ten O'Clock News and wrote the script for the American Experience documentary "Goin' Back to T-Town" which is about the Tulsa Massacre. -
November 12, 2024 - National Museum of Women in the Arts, JustBook-ish, and Jim Donahue
When it comes to art by women that museums acquire or exhibit, it’s still a fraction of the focus on male artists. The National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington D.C. has long been trying to change that. Founded in 1987, it’s always been dedicated to the creativity and work of women. Now it’s celebrating a milestone renovation and expanded collection. Museum Director Susan Fisher Sterling joins me.From there things in Dorchester are getting more bookish. Boston’s Poet Laureate is one of the founders of the neighborhood’s only independent bookstore.We get a preview ahead of their grand opening.And, we enter a winter wonderland. Jim Donahue of Newport Mansions, AKA the guru of glamor, shares his holiday decorating pro tips. Be warned, if you’ve visited the mansions, you know his is a more is more approach. -
November 11, 2024 - Charles Coe and Ken Field, Vinny Deponto's "Mindplay", and BoriCorridor
Charles Coe’s Cricket Symphony is a new collection of poetry and music based on the poetry of award-winning African American writer and musician Charles Coe, with music including original compositions by Ken Field. They’ll perform tomorrow night at Arts at the Armory in Somerville. Charles Coe and Ken Field join The Culture Show with a preview and in studio performance. To keep abreast of upcoming Revolutionary Snake Ensemble performances, which includes one on November 23rd at Peabody Hall, Parish of All Saints, go here. And to read the latest from Charles Coe, check out his new book “Charles Coe: New And Selected Works”From there mentalist Vinny DePonto discusses his show “Mindplay.” Presented by The Huntington Theatre, “Mindplay” invites audiences to participate in an experience infused with intrigue and mystery. Vinny DePonto guides participants on a jaw-dropping, interactive journey as he reads minds while revealing his own. Mindplay is onstage November 13th through December 1st. Finally, Elsa Mosquera Sterenberg joins The Culture Show to discuss the arts organization she co-founded, Agora Cultural Architects, which has created BoriCorridor, a cultural corridor that connects Puerto Rican artists from the island with the mainland. Borricorrdor 2024 is wrapping up its tour with the production of the play “Quintuples,” onstage at the Emerson Paramount on November 14th,
