Arts

Arts

What’s new in television today?

By Odessa Gaines | February 5

Season 1 of “School Spirits” ended how every great first season does: with a massive plot twist. Almost two years ago,we discovered that protagonist Maddie Nears (Peyton List) wasn’t truly dead as established in the pilot episode. Instead, she’s been ‘body jacked,’ with her spirit forced to reside in Split River High School while the spirit of 1950s student Janet (Jess Gabor) takes over her body.

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Arts

Center Stage: Local Bard’s Players

By Nate Hall | February 5

The Local Bard’s Players are not your average theater group. With a shared love of performance and arts education, its members adapt and perform abbreviated versions of Shakespeare’s most famous plays for students in the Boston area. Since the group’s founding in 2014, LBP has expanded, with a larger membership and a greater repertoire of plays, but its mission has remained the same: to make Shakespeare’s beloved plays fun and accessible for young audiences.

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Columns

Adventures of an A-Lister: ‘Love Me’ hits the big screen

By Odessa Gaines | February 4

On Mar. 27, 2027 the human race ended. Or at least it did according to Andrew and Sam Zuchero, the writing-directing pair behind the Sundance awardee “Love Me” (2024).

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Columns

Confessions of a College Shopaholic: An introduction

By Ryan Fairfield | February 3

Despite priding myself on having seen every popular early 2000s rom-com, I only got around to watching “Confessions of a Shopaholic” (2009) for the first time last October. For those who have not seen the film, the movie follows the “shopaholic” Rebecca Bloomwood who finds herself writing ...

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Arts

Grammys 2025: Who will — and should — win gold on Sunday

By Liam Chalfonte | January 30

The 67th annual Grammy Awards are airing on Sunday, which means it’s time for a rundown of our predictions and our wishes for music’s biggest night. We’ll start by saying that — sorry, boys — 2024 was undoubtedly another year of girl pop, which means that Grammy hopefuls like Benson Boone and André 3000 likely will not be going home with gold in any of the top categories. Also, be on the lookout for mentions of disaster relief efforts as the broadcast airs from wildfire-stricken Los Angeles.

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Arts

Catharsis in troubled times: “Tosca” at the Metropolitan Opera

By Matthew Winkler | January 30

 A violent and crass triple stab of brass killed the gaiety. A man in black marched through the pews. As light licked his jowls, the police chief Scarpia, played by Bryn Terfel, revealed himself to the choristers and audience.

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Columns

Read, Write and Be Merry: ‘The Crazed’ by Ha Jin

By Merry Jiao | January 30

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for “The Crazed” by Ha Jin. Sometimes, I read books that I just don’t get. Something about the prose or the author’s voice, maybe, makes me feel disconnected from the plot and the characters. This book was one of those instances. When I initially picked ...

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Arts

A Tuesday evening in Comedy Hell

By Spring LaRose | January 28

“This is kind of where it starts,” Jack Hall says, “This is the first rung of the ladder.” He is seated on an inflatable couch, in a bright little room that contrasts starkly with the loud, dim comedy club on the other side of the door. Time is occupying that liminal, anticipatory space it so often does before a show begins.

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Columns

Adventures of an A-Lister: What I did during winter break

By Odessa Gaines | January 28

Over the winter break, I spent far more hours than I care to admit on my couch, starting up a borrowed home projector to watch film after film. Some of what I watched were recent winners at the Golden Globes, some were childhood favorites, some were classics I had still not seen. 

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Arts

TikTok’s future remains uncertain as legal battle continues

By Annika Pillai | January 24

If you tried to open TikTok late on Saturday night, chances are you were blocked from your typical never-ending doom scroll. At around 10:30 p.m. — just hours before the impending ban — the app went completely dark for users, only displaying a brief message: “Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now. A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now. We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office. Stay tuned!”

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Arts

Bloodshed, beauty: A review of 'Nosferatu'

By Erin Zhu | January 24

Many recent vampire films have followed the trend of adapting other vampire films rather monotonously, but Robert Eggers’ “Nosferatu” (2024) has evaded this trap, celebrating its predecessors while standing its ground as one of the director’s greatest artistic accomplishments.

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Arts

‘Ain’t No Mo’’ takes flight at the Calderwood Pavilion

By Nate Hall and Odessa Gaines | January 24

“Ain’t No Mo’,” a biting political satire that premiered at Boston’s Calderwood Pavilion on Jan. 10, begins with a startling premise. What if, to solve the problem of racism, the U.S. government gave every Black citizen a one-way ticket to Africa? From this absurd premise, playwright Jordan Cooper has conjured up a no less absurd play, made up of a series of vignettes in which African Americans are forced to reckon with their histories and decide whether to stay or go.

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Columns

Trunks Full of Treasures: Discover the vintage wonderland at Select Markets

By Fiona Hinrichsen | January 24

If you’re searching for fur hats, leather jackets or cashmere knit sweaters, Select has it all, with vintage clothing pop-up events across Boston. Founded in 2023 by Northeastern students Joshua Maizes and Joaquin Crosby-Lizarde, Select has become the heart of thrifting in Boston. Maizes and Crosby-Lizarde plan to continue running the organization full-time after they graduate in May.

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Arts

Tufts University Art Galleries’ new exhibit explores the transformative power of sound

By Raffaella Vogt | January 22

I believe a world without sound is just as bad as a world without art. Why not mix the two to make our world a better place amid the chaos of it all? Music allows humans to explore the depths of perception, existence and identity. In theAidekman Arts Center’s Tufts University Art Galleries, there exists a haven for the arts where artists can host their work for members of the Tufts community.

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Arts

Stand-up comedian Mekki Leeper takes the stage at Tufts

By Fiona Hinrichsen | January 22

On Friday, the Tufts University Social Collective hosted a winter comedy show in Cohen Auditorium featuring comediansMekki Leeper and Zoe Zakson. This is TUSC’s first comedy show since 2021, and they definitely did not disappoint with witty jokes about STEM majors, liberal arts schools and the struggles of growing up with strict parents.

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Columns

Center Stage: The Ladies of Essence

By Nate Hall | January 22

Established in 1994, the Ladies of Essence describe themselves asTufts’ only all-female a cappella group specializing in music of the African diaspora. Offstage, theLadies are a tight-knit community of music lovers, and onstage, they will wow you with their renditions of R&B, soul, gospel and hip-hop songs.At the inauguralRiff-Off hosted by TUSC in November 2023, the Ladiestriumphed over eight other campus a cappella groups. This past fall, for good measure, they won the competition again.

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Arts

TikTok’s looming ban promises devastating consequences

By Annika Pillai | January 17

TikTok has been facing a looming ban for perhaps the last four years, seemingly managing to escape unscathed every time. However, its final fate may be decided very soon. In April 2024, President Joe Biden signed a law setting a one-year deadline for TikTok’s Chinese-based owner, ByteDance, to sell the U.S.-based portion of the app to a non-Chinese entity. Today, the Supreme Court will consider the constitutionality of this law, hearing oral arguments from TikTok’s lawyers and the Department of Justice.

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Columns

Read, Write and Be Merry: ‘Someone Else’s Shoes’ by Jojo Moyes

By Merry Jiao | January 17

Every time I walk into a bookstore, there are basically four authors I always zero in on: Kate Quinn, Kristin Hannah, Jodi Picoult and Jojo Moyes. They each occupy a different niche in my brain, and for our first week of the new semester, we’ll tackle one of my most recent favorite books: “Someone Else’s Shoes” by Jojo Moyes.

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Arts

Best albums you missed in 2024

By Nate Hall | January 15

2024 was a great year for music. Breakout stars Chappell Roan, Charli XCX and Sabrina Carpenter dominated the pop scene, while Beyoncé, Post Malone and Shaboozey rocked the country charts, and Kendrick Lamar emerged victorious in his long-running feud with Drake. However, in an industry that often prioritizes celebrity over sheer musical talent, some of the year’s finest albums emerged outside of the cultural mainstream. Let’s take a look at some of the best albums you might have missed in 2024 from artists that didn’t top the charts or win awards but deserve your attention nonetheless.

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Arts

The year ahead in arts

By Ryan Fairfield | January 15

2024 was certainly an exciting year in the world of arts and entertainment. Whether you gave in to the energy of “Brat”and had yourself a brat summer, started playing tennis after watching “Challengers” or purchased a pair of Adidas Sambas after seeing them everywhere, there is no denying the cultural and artistic impact of 2024. However, as we celebrate the dawn of a new year, there are plenty of new releases and art moments to look forward to in 2025.

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