Arts

Arts

Senior Profile: Freshman 15 founder Ben Lanzi’s inspirational musical journey

By Matthew Winkler | May 20

Graduating senior Ben Lanzi, who is majoring in music and minoring in Chinese, is ubiquitously associated with the Tufts music department and jazz scene. Lanzi, a pianist, singer and conductor, has performed with the Tufts Jazz Orchestra, Small Jazz Ensembles, Chamber Singers and Concert Choir. But perhaps what Lanzi is most known for in the Tufts community is founding and leading the Freshman 15, a student-run jazz big band. Lanzi recently reflected on his journey from musical rookie to leader.

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Arts

Burlesque seniors aim to foster sexy, fun, positive vibe

By Odessa Gaines | May 19

Comprising around 300 undergraduate students, Tufts Burlesque Troupe is one of the largest student dance groups you’ll find on campus. Committed to creating a body-neutral environment fit for exploring oneself and celebrating diversity, this no-audition group has been a second home to many students over the years. Welcoming to students of all years and levels of dance, the Troupe embraces sexiness and comfort in one’s own body.

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Arts

Seniors of TUTV reflect on their community, futures in film

By Megan Reimer | May 19

Tufts University Television was founded in 1977, making it one of the oldest clubs at Tufts. It is a student-run production studio that “strives to foster a supportive and collaborative community where anyone can learn about filmmaking and develop their own artistic voice.” Their content includes documentaries, scripted content, music videos and more.

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Arts

Thanks For the Laughs: TFL seniors reflect on their time in Tufts comedy

By Sam Mcquaid | May 19

Editor’s note: Sam McQuaid is a senior member of TFL, Tufts’ gender minority sketch comedy group.

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Arts

Institute seniors cry witchcraft in their musical production of ‘The Crucical’

By Saba S. | May 18

Editor’s note: Blake Anderson is an arts editor at the Daily. This article is a special feature for the Daily's Commencement edition that does not represent the Daily's standard journalistic practices.

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Television

‘Succession’ leaves nothing unsaid in its final season

By Nate Hall | April 27

Editor’s note: This article contains major spoilers for season 4 of “Succession.”

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Arts

How Cindy Sherman plays pretend

By Erin Zhu | April 27

Despite spending just under 50 years taking photographs of herself, Cindy Sherman can be found in none of them. Utilizing the format of photography portraiture, Sherman creates a theater with her own image, disguising herself with layers of costume and makeup to explore the constructed nature of identity and reality. She plays pretend, and in the process, implicates us for doing the same.

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Columns

Queeries: That's a (queer) wrap

By Saba S. and Jack Clohisy | April 27

We were raised believing that the “gay agenda” was an attack on the white picket fence American dream. While the traumas that accompany queerness range from constant victimization to harassment to rejection, there is something purely evil that comes with internalized homophobia.

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Arts

Charlie Curtis-Beard talks artistry, TikTok music, Spring Fling performance

By Alexis Enderle | April 25

On April 29, Tufts students will flock to the Academic Quad for Spring Fling, the annual musical festival that rounds out each spring semester. Headlined by Flo Rida, the recent lineup announcement certainly caused a buzz. One of two openers for Rida is none other than rapper and TikTok hit Charlie Curtis-Beard. The Daily spoke to Curtis-Beard about all things music, college and Spring Fling. Here’s what he had to say. 

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Arts

May is the month of Karl Lagerfeld, but is it deserved?

By Ryan Fairfield | April 25

Karl Lagerfeld believed that fashion did not belong in a museum and yet this year’s Met Gala theme is “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty,” and the dress code is “in honor of Karl.” Not only is Lagerfeld being honored at the Met Gala, but also by Vogue — the issue is titled “Karl Lagerfeld: A Celebration.” Many of his muses grace the cover and the issue features an elaborate tribute in which ten designers created original looks inspired by Lagerfeld and his work. With all this attention on Lagerfeld, his problematic history has risen to the forefront of the debate about whether or not he should be receiving these honors and high praises. 

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Columns

Medford’s Carrie Bradshaw: How to get out of your ‘hater era’

By Megan Reimer | April 25

I'll say it — right here, right now — I may be in my “hater era.” I’m talking about the insatiable appetite to observe, judge and critique. The impending dismay that follows an interaction, as simple as an exchange between you and your Postmates courier or perhaps an email that reached your inbox from a professor titled “Some Feedback.”

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Arts

WEEKENDER: Talking with Fease ahead of Spring Fling

By Matthew Winkler | April 20

After winning Tufts University Social Collective’s Battle of the Bands, the Tufts student band Fease will be opening Spring Fling on April 29. Other live Fease performances can be heard Thursday at the Burren at 7 p.m. and at the Cantab Lounge on May 2 as the opener for Mega Mango. The band consists of vocalist and guitarist Jack Goldberg; lead guitarist Ben Schmelkin; bassist Jack Wish; vocalist and keyboard player Jojo Martin; drummer Jake Rubenstein; vocalist Sophie Rubin; vocalist Mari Shoop; trumpet player Zack Burpee; alto saxophonist Jonah Fox; and tenor saxophonist Andrew Kerpel.

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Arts

Wicked Queer film festival makes Boston a little more gay

By Henry Chandonnet | April 20

From March 31 to April 9, queer cinema invaded theaters across the Boston area. From bigger venues like the Museum of Fine Arts and the Institute of Contemporary Art to smaller film locales like the Brattle Theatre, Wicked Queer film festival put LGBTQ+ stories on the silver screen. With feature films and shorts alike, the festival provided a rare opportunity for queer filmmaking to take the spotlight. 

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Columns

Queeries: Sasha Colby takes the crown

By Jack Clohisy | April 20

The season finale of the 15th season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” (2009–) came to a glamorous conclusion on April 14 when Sasha Colby took home the crown as America’s next drag superstar. Colby’s win couldn’t have come at a better time, as she stands to highlight what trans and drag representation and excellence look like despite the slew of anti-trans and anti-drag bills attempting to harm such communities across the country right now. Joining an elite club of two, Colby joins Vanessa Van Cartier as the only two queens to hold the title of Miss Continental, an international drag pageant competition, and to claim a “Drag Race” franchise crown.

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Theater

Keep your eyes on Company One’s ‘Morning, Noon, and Night’

By Odessa Gaines | April 19

For the second year now, Tufts’ Department of Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies and Company One Theatre have collaborated to put on a reading workshop of a play with Tufts students. This year’s workshop was “Morning, Noon, and Night.”

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Music

Ellie Goulding's ‘Higher Than Heaven’ may be her ‘least personal,’ but it still holds up

By Jack Clohisy | April 19

Ellie Goulding’s fifth studio album “Higher Than Heaven” (2023) was released on April 7, and she described it as her “least personal” album to date — a bold claim for the artist. Her first album in nearly three years, Goulding came back swinging with this upbeat electronic body of work. Featuring 11 standard tracks and five more on the bonus edition, “Higher Than Heaven” is swift, roughly 52 minutes of ecstasy, longing and ethereality.

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Arts

Declan McKenna’s long-awaited ‘Big Return’

By Ava Dettling | April 18

English singer-songwriter Declan McKenna shocked producers and listeners alike with his overnight YouTube sensation “Brazil” — a hit single released ages ago now in 2014. The self-released song gained wide recognition for its criticism of FIFA and the 2014 World Cup held in Brazil. Ever since then, it marked McKenna as a voice of his generation. 

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Arts

‘Coriolanus’: Queer Shakespeare in Boston

By Elizabeth Foster | April 18

Returning to live audiences, the Actors’ Shakespeare Project takes on “Coriolanus,” one of The Bard’s latest and least famous plays, with an all female/nonbinary cast. Running through April 23, “Coriolanus” unfolds an intricate political landscape and leaves no character unscathed in the eyes of the audience.

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Columns

Medford's Carrie Bradshaw: A weekend in NYC

By Megan Reimer | April 18

Anyonewhohaswatched“SexandtheCity” (1998–2004) or“GossipGirl” (2007–2012) has morelikelythan notdreamedoflivingouttheirdreamsintheBigApple.

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Arts

Dizzy’s Katie Munshaw talks vulnerability of sharing new music

By Rachel Liu and Sophie Dorf-Kamienny | April 14

“Nothing new to report; just it’s all doom and gloom over here still,” lead singer Katie Munshaw of the indie-pop band Dizzy joked about her forthcoming music in a conversation with the Daily last month.

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