Episodes
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July 5, 2024 - Fat Ham and The Shark Is Broken
Today on The Culture Show, The play “Fat Ham.” It’s a modern-day adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, where the court of Denmark is transported to a backyard barbecue in the South, but the most radical change is the sublimation of Shakespeare’s epic tragedy into an uproarious comedy. Playwright James Ijames won a Pulitzer for Fat Ham in 2022. We caught up with him when Fat Ham was onstage in Boston. From there, a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Jaws and the turbulence on the set, from the actors feuding with one another to a mechanical shark that was more blundering than plundering. The actor Robert Shaw, who played Quint , a world-weary shark hunter, used to bring his son Ian to the set of Jaws. In an epic and oedipal twist, Ian Shaw played his dad in the “Shark is Broken,” a play that he also co-wrote. Ian Shaw joins The Culture Show to talk about the making of Jaws and the play that it inspired. -
July 4, 2024 - The Boston Tea Party, AJ Jacobs, and LexSeeHer
Coming up on The Culture Show….We are steeped in American history, starting with the Boston Tea Party. Fed up with the tyranny of taxation without representation, American colonists took matters into their own hands–literally: tossing three shiploads of tea into Boston Harbor. The theatrics alone made it one of THE most celebrated rebellions. But to understand the true ideals and motivations behind it, we turn to the Massachusetts Historical Society.And in his latest book, writer AJ Jacobs documents living as closely to the original meaning of the Constitution as possible, which includes carrying a musket, and personally delivering a list of grievances to Congress. Although his constitutional immersion is humorous, Jacobs is not in this just for the laughs. He finds a nation losing its hold on the values implicit in the constitution: responsibility, community and civic engagement. Finally, sisters are doing it for themselves. As America prepares to celebrate the 250th Anniversary of the American Revolution, Lexington, Massachusetts is telling a story about the women who were a part of this history but were forgotten or erased and never celebrated. Hence, the monument “Something is Being Done.” Jared Bowen talks to Meredith Bergmann, the acclaimed Massachusetts sculptor who created this monument and Jessie Steigerwald, president of LexSeeHer, Inc. -
July 3, 2024 - Jazz at the Omni, the Boomin' Beaver, and the Cricket World Cup
Will Dailey is an independent recording artist, performer and artist advocate. He’s won numerous Boston Music awards, including best album and best artist. He’s shared the stage and studio with some of the greats, such as Eddie Vedder, Willie Nelson and Brandi Carlile. Now he has a new gig: elevating other artists and musicians As artist-in-residence at the Omni Boston Hotel at the Seaport, he curates a soundscape for the hotel, orchestrating a lineup of local artists who perform throughout the space. This includes a collaboration with the Boston Jazz Foundation as a way to highlight local jazz musicians.WIll Dailey, and Boston Jazz Foundation’s Vice Chair Moriah Phillips join The Culture Show to talk about their collaboration and concert series.Then, it’s the tiny tugboat that’s making waves. Known as the Boomin’ Beaver, at only 19 feet, it plays a vital part in keeping the Navy’s most powerful vessels safe. Culture show co-host Edgar B. Herwick III explains the starring role it will play this 4th of July.Finally, fresh off the cricket world cup, we keep cricket fever alive. Mahesh Daas, President of Boston Architectural College is also a player and enthusiast. He joins us to talk about its history, its resurgence and the sport’s connection to Boston -
July 2, 2024 - Poetry in America, Denée Benton, and Jaws at the Brattle
Poetry often has a stigma that’s hard to shake. That it’s inscrutable, elite and out of reach. Even with the rhyming. And brevity. But give poetry a chance, explore its roots, its history of experimentation and the beauty of its language and it comes alive.This is what Elisa New has done with “Poetry in America,” the PBS series. She joins The Culture Show to talk about its latest season. Elisa New is the director and host of “Poetry in America” and Distinguished Professor of Practice at Arizona State University.From there actress Denee Benton. She made her Broadway debut in “Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812” and later went on to take over the female lead of Eliza Schuyler in the Broadway run of “Hamilton.” Now she is in “The GIlded Age,” playing Peggy Scott, an aspiring writer and journalist from a prominent Black family. Aheady, she joins The Culture Show to talk about making Peggy SCott a more well-rounded, authentic character. Finally Ned Hinkle, Creative Director of Brattle Theatre, talks about their special screening of Jaws and why it’s the perfect film for the Fourth of July, -
July 1, 2024 - Frederick Douglass, rare books at the BPL, and Boston's Harborfest
“What to the American slave is your Fourth of July?” That is the question Frederick Douglass posed to an audience of abolitionists at an event commemorating the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It was July 5, 1852 in Rochester, New York.In that speech, Douglass confronted the hypocrisy of a day celebrating freedom in a country that still endorsed the forced labor and bondage of more than 3 million people. It’s a speech with deep resonance today. This is why Mass Humanities sponsors public readings of this speech, which happen across the region. Brian Boyles, executive director of Mass Humanities, and Paula Elliott, a vocalist and one of the organizers of the first Frederick Douglass reading on the Boston Common in 2009 join The Culture Show.Then it’s another take on Independence Day. On July 5th the Boston Public Library’s Special Collections is hosting an open house, to showcase the multiple original printings of the Declaration of Independence held within the Rare Books and Manuscripts Department. Jay Moschella, Manager & Curator of Rare Books, joins The Culture Show for an overview.Finally, it’s Boston Harborfest 2024, a four-day spectacular with events that mark Boston's heritage. Michael Nichols, President of the Downtown Boston Business Improvement District and George Comeau who is their senior manager of destination events and the Navy Band Northeast’s Crosswinds Woodwind Quintet pack into The Culture Show studio for an overview. -
June 28, 2024 - Week in Review: Boston theatre, international art, and Will Smith
Mfoniso Udofia. Frustrated as an actor when she didn’t see roles reflecting her or her reality, she picked up the pen, and never let go.In total she wrote a nine-play cycle chronicling three generations of a Nigerian-American family. Now a coalition of local theaters and arts organizations are putting on a two-year festival celebrating and producing these works.Then, it’s a casting conundrum. In 2008 Sean Penn played the openly gay politician Harvey Milk, and won an oscar. Today he says that a “timid and artless” climate makes it impossible for him to play a gay role today.Finally, it’s follow-up Friday, where we update you on the stories we’ve been tracking, which includes the sisterhood of the traveling museum exhibit that’s skirting a gender discrimination suit. -
June 27, 2024 - Danza Organica, Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll, and Shaker design
Danza Orgánica, a Boston-based dance company, has been collaborating with members of the Aquinnah Wampanoag in a performance that explores the indigenous people of two islands, Martha’s Vineyard and Puerto Rico, and what the two cultures have in common. Titled, “We Still Dance,” it is a multimedia theatrical performance, making its Boston Premiere this Saturday in a free performance at MassART. Mar Parilla, choreographer and founder of Danza Orgánica, joins The Culture Show for a preview.Then, has the time come to prop up the local theater scene? A proposed theater tax credit could turn Massachusetts into a breeding ground for Broadway if the Massachusetts Legislature passes Governor’s Healey’s economic development bill. Lt. Governor Kim Driscoll has experienced this first-hand. As the former Mayor of Salem, she knows the power of arts and culture tourism. She joins The Culture Show to talk about why this tax credit is included in the economic development bill.Finally, we head to Hancock Shaker Village. Their Executive Director and CEO, Caroline Holland joins The Culture Show to talk about marking the 250th anniversary of Shaker design, which includes the US Postal Service issuing a Shaker Design forever stamp collection. -
June 26, 2024 - Sheila E, sports and art, and Queer AF
Percussionist and vocalist .Sheila E. is known for her solo work and her collaborations with Prince, and a setlist that spans R&B, Funk, Jazz, and Latin Pop. Now she's bringing her beats to Boston by way of two shows at City Winery. She joins The Culture Show with the preview.From there, how does Boston, the city of champions, honor the stars who made this town a sports town? With public art. Julia Swanson takes us on a tour of the bronzes and bursts of color celebrating athletic greats. Julia Swanson is a multidisciplinary artist and award winning photographer who is the creator of The Art Walk Project, a series of self-guided micro tours.Finally, we get a jump on what is known as the “Met Gala of Massachusetts.” Queer Art +Fashion – a fashion show put on by the nonprofit Love Your Labels. They have their Queer AF kick off tonight, looking for models of all sizes and identities to walk the runway. Joshua Croke, president and founder of Love Your Labels, a non-profit that supports queer and transgender youth in Central Massachusetts. -
June 25, 2024 - Boston theatre, Black history in the Gilded Age, and Sebastian Junger
Today on The Culture Show, contributor Joyce Kulhawik goes over the latest plays and movies to take in. She’s an Emmy-award winning arts and entertainment reporter and president of the Boston Theatre Critics Association. From there we enter the Gilded Age. When families such as the Carnegies, Rockefellers, and Vanderbilts expanded their wealth, they needed to spend it. In the summers, they decided to do that in Newport, Rhode Island, creating one of America’s first resort towns by building mansions on the rugged coastline. This is the Gilded Age most people know. But it’s far from the full story. This was also a time of Black prosperity and Newport was a place where African heritage families were an active part of the community.An exhibition at Rosecliff Mansions places Black history in the context of The Gilded Age. It’s on view through the end of the month. Culture show co-host James Bennett II gives us an overview. Finally, Sebastian Junger. He is an author and award-winning journalist whose reporting takes him–and his audiences- into treacherous places. He plunged us into the horrors of commercial fishing by way of his bestselling book, “The Perfect Storm.” Through his reporting and filmmaking he showed us what war looked like, embedding with a US platoon in Afghanistan’s Korengal Valley. But it is from his home on Cape Cod where he brings us into his most palpable encounter with death–that would be his own death.It’s the subject of his latest book “In My TIme of Dying: How I Came Face to Face with the Idea of an Afterlife.” -
June 24, 2024 - The Museum of Bad Art, Dirty Old Boston, and BAMSFest
On The Culture Show we talk a lot about museums and their efforts to be more accessible, but that has been the mission of the Museum of Bad Art. Since its inception it’s been free to the public, with wall text that easy to understand –and entertaining, and now that their home is Dorchester Brewing you can even drink a beer while taking in their collection. With MOBA marking its 30th anniversary, Louise Riley Sacco, Permanent Acting Interim Executive Director of the Museum of Bad Art and MOBA’s Curator- in- Chief, Michael Frank join The Culture Show to talk about the making of MOBA, From there it’s “Dirty Old Boston,” the facebook page with a cult following. Jim Bottielli started it in 2012, uploading photos that captured a city slipping away amid development, construction and gentrification. Two years later it became a book. Now this archival photo project is on view at City Winery through June . He joins us to talk about a city in transition.Finally, we get a preview of this year’s BAMSFest–a massive music festival featuring Black and brown artists playing R&B, funk, soul, hip-hop, house and more. Catherine T. Morris, the founder and artistic director of BAMSFest, joins The Culture Show to talk about it.
