Arts

Arts

‘Oh, Mary!’ is a political farce for the ages

By Nate Hall | November 5

Theater has always been political. Some of the biggest Broadway hits of the last few decades have explored political issues, like “Rent,” “Come From Away” and “Hadestown.” Others have taken on the American political system itself, including “Hamilton,” which focuses on the Founding Fathers, and “Suffs,” a new musical about the women’s suffrage movement. But Broadway’s latest political story comes from one of the most unexpected sources — a play so campy and absurd that for just 90 minutes, you’ll forget about the political chaos we’re living in and find some joy in the chaos onstage.

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Arts

The MFA's ‘Power of the People’ exhibition explores history of democracy through art

By Shannon Murphy | November 5

Amid the chaos of the 2024 presidential election, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston presents“Power of the People: Art and Democracy.” The exhibition showcases diverse perspectives on democracy as explored through works of art and highlights the promise, the practice and the presentation of democracy from ancient Greece to the present day. The Daily had the opportunity to speak with Phoebe Segal, Mary Bryce Comstock senior curator of Greek and Roman art, about the curation of this exhibit and the role of visual art in politics.

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Arts

Maggie Rogers dazzles with power, grace in Boston

By Basil Hand | October 30

At the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at NYU Tisch in 2016, Pharrell Williams held a masterclass with students on their music. One student by the name of Maggie Rogers had both her song and the overwhelmingly positive feedback from Williams uploaded to YouTube. The video went viral, now sitting at 8 million views, giving Rogers and her music new levels of recognition and fame. Her first studio album, “Heard It in a Past Life,” was an indie pop album met with high praise and earned Rogers a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist. Her latest album, “Don’t Forget Me,” was released just this spring and has given Rogers the perfect opportunity to go on tour. Her Boston stop was at TD Garden, the massive downtown Boston arena that houses both the Bruins and the Celtics, on Oct. 17.

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Arts

3Ps presents ‘The Ghazzali Dossier’ on the Tufts stage

By Liv Jordan | October 28

“The Ghazzali Dossier,” written and directed by Tufts junior Mishaal Hussain, grapples with grief and complicity in a toxic system through the lens of a court case concerning the death of Khatijah Ghazzali. Khatijah, a 17-year-old magic student at the fictional Kalamad University, had been involved in Galatine, a mysterious organization at the university for select magic students. Galatine sends its members out on dangerous secret assignments, which led to the deaths of several students, including Khatijah.

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Arts

American Football releases 25th-anniversary edition of their debut album

By Erin Zhu | October 25

Released in 1999, indie rock band American Football’s self-titled debut album “American Football” was a landmark moment for the emerging genre of Midwest emo. Characterized by its distinct ‘emo’ voice styling and arpeggiated melodies, the genre often explores themes of suburban isolation, nostalgia and change.

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Arts

Adventures of an A-Lister: Bring back Nicole Kidman

By Odessa Gaines | October 25

If I am being completely honest, the main reason I pitched this column was for this article right here — the one about Nicole Kidman and her legendary speech that has been cut short for a reason I cannot fully comprehend. In case you’ve been living under a rock — or just don’t go to the theaters — I am, of course, referring to the AMC Theaters commercial starring Kidman that runs before the start of every AMC movie. 

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Music

Billy Bragg still inspires hope through his music

By Basil Hand | October 22

British singer and songwriter, Billy Bragg, decided to celebrate his 40 years of music with a year-long tour, only recently hitting the United States. Calling it the Roaring 40s tour, Bragg made his Boston (or Medford) stop at the Chevalier Theatre. My guest for the evening was my father, from St. Louis, Mo., who has attended previous Bragg concerts.

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Arts

Tufts dance program spotlights novel practices in inaugural artist residency

By Maxwell Shoustal and Julieta Grané | October 21

From Oct. 15–17, the Tufts Dance Program hosted an artist residency in collaboration with several other departments, including the Program in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and the Department of Studies in Race, Colonialism, and Diaspora. Maria Bauman, a multi-disciplinary artist and director of the New York-based dance company, MBDance, held three different events over the course of the three-day residency.

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Arts

Inside the rose-tinted world of ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’

By Spring LaRose | October 18

On the night of Oct. 12, I lost my virginity. The host challenged me and five other lucky virgins to do an impression of a Halloween character having an “earth-shattering orgasm.” The crowd jeered us on. A few minutes later, I found myself bent over a chair as, from behind, the host popped a symbolic red balloon against me. My latex cherry lay in ruins, and I was no longer a “Rocky Horror” virgin. 

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Arts

Gracie Abrams proves she’s not a whispery, sad girl

By Ryan Fairfield | October 18

After suffering a vocal injury that prompted the cancellation of her New York shows and rescheduling of her Philadelphia shows, rising star Gracie Abrams triumphantly returned to the stage at Boston’s MGM Music Hall at Fenway for a sold-out show on Oct. 9. Her Boston shows arrive towards the end of her The Secret of Us Tour and an overall whirlwind year where Abrams earned her first Grammy nomination and spent time on the road with her friend Taylor Swift as an opening act on the Eras Tour.

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Columns

Adventures of an A-Lister: Reviewing the popcorn buckets

By Odessa Gaines | October 18

With many highly anticipated franchise releases, AMC Theatres often will release a limited edition popcorn bucket to eager fans. Although pricey, these buckets are a fun piece of memorabilia for collectors and movie-goers. Today, I will highlight some of the more recent AMC popcorn bucket releases.

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Arts

Art intersects with activism in Tomashi Jackson’s ‘Across the Universe’ exhibition

By Fiona Hinrichsen | October 17

How can art drive change in the future? How will the world we live in shape the art of the future? These are questions that are asked in “Across the Universe.”

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Arts

WMFO 'Keeping It Freeform' for 50 years

By Maya Godard | October 17

Tucked in the top floor of Curtis Hall are the studios of WMFO, Tufts’ student-run freeform radio station. The station, running 24-hour broadcasting since 1974, features nearly 300 DJs from the university and surrounding communities, broadcasting anything from pop music playlists to live rock performances to talk-show style conversation segments.

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Arts

‘Nassim’ is a daring theatrical experiment at the Huntington

By Nate Hall and Odessa Gaines | October 17

Anyone who’s done theater has probably had some version of the actor’s nightmare: You find yourself alone onstage, you don’t know what the show is and you don’t know any of your lines. While this may seem like just a fantasy scenario, it’s actually the premise for the “Nassim,” a remarkable play from the Huntington Theater Company, now playing at the Calderwood Pavilion through Oct. 27.

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Columns

Read, Write and Be Merry: ‘Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop’

By Merry Jiao | October 17

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for “Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop” by Hwang Bo-Reum.You! Yes you, the person reading this article. You look like you need a hug. I’m imagining that movie clip from Migration, and I promise you will feel better after reading this. Apparently it’s midterm month over on the other side of the pond, so best of luck to all you poor unfortunate souls :)

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Arts

Blood, guts and butts galore: ‘The Substance’ attempts feminist horror

By Ava Dettling | October 16

Much to the disappointment of women and movie-lovers around the globe, recent feminist films have seldom been able to deliver in their nouveau-age, fight-the-man doctrines.“Barbie” (2023), “Poor Things” (2023) and “Blink Twice” (2024) come to mind; while highly stylized and daring, they also lacked in their message of female empowerment. Coralie Fargeat’s “The Substance” teeters precariously on the precipice, dangerously close to joining the leagues of its fallen sistren.

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Arts

A Plea Trapped in Time: Mahler's Eighth Symphony and the BSO

By Matthew Winkler | October 15

Death loomed. Darwin bludgeoned nature, Einstein assaulted physics and Nietzsche killed God. Trapped by time, a gaunt man sat in the south of the Habsburg Empire, unaware of the coming continental baptism of hell. In eight years, the Great War would bathe Europe in the greatest bloodletting known to mankind. The dense trees and pearlescent waters of Maiernigg blockaded nascent modernity for Gustav Mahler.

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Arts

The Rare Occasions return home

By Shannon Murphy | October 10

On Oct. 4, indie rock band The Rare Occasions performed at the Crystal Ballroom in Davis Square. Their extensive discography consists of songs with catchy melodies, skilled production and introspective lyrics, but they are best known for their hit single “Notion” (2016), which rose to fame on TikTok and other social media platforms in the fall of 2021.

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Arts

Zedd’s Telos Tour is a burst of energy

By Ryan Fairfield | October 10

Grammy-winning music producer and DJ Zedd never seems to stop. After a summer of seemingly nonstop playing at multiple clubs in Las Vegas and headlining Lollapalooza in Chicago, Zedd released his third studio album “Telos” and embarked on the Telos Tour. On Sept. 19, the Telos Tour arrived at MGM Music Hall at Fenway for its first of two shows at the venue.

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Arts

Ballerina Michaela DePrince dies at 29

By Katie Galligan | October 10

Michaela Mabinty DePrince, a Sierra Leonean war orphan turned ballerina, passed away suddenly on Sept. 10 at the age of 29. Her cause of death has not been revealed, but there has been an outpouring of reflections on the inspirational legacy she left behind.  DePrince’s story gained attention ...

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