Episodes
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June 12, 2024 - Jo Clifford and Django in June
Playwright Jo Clifford performed the first production of her one-woman show, “The Gospel According to Jesus, Queen of Heaven,” in 2009. The play reimagines the parables of the New Testament as told by a modern day Jesus who has come back to earth as a transgender woman.Fifteen years on, “The Gospel According to Jesus, Queen of Heaven,” has been translated into seven languages and performed in nine countries. This tour has landed in the United states for the first time, with performances in Northampton, Provincetown and Boston.Jo Clifford is an English-born, Scotland-based award-winning playwright, translator, poet and performer. She joins The Culture Show us ahead of her performances at Provincetown’s St Mary’s of the Harbor and Boston’s Cathedral Church of St. Paul.From there, it’s “Django in June.” Jazz Django Reinhardt was a Gypsy jazz genius. Born in Belgium in 1910, into a French family of Romani descent. After surviving a horrible fire, doctors said he would never play guitar again because his fingers were so severely burned. He didn’t listen. Instead, he created a whole new technique for playing the guitar that made up for the limited use he had of his 4th and 5th fingers.He became a star, and then a legend. And for years he’s been celebrated by way of “Django in June ” in Northampton.Guitarist and composer Jack Soref has been a mainstay of Django in June, where he has been teaching since 2009 . He joins The Culture Show for an overview. -
June 11, 2024 - Ken Field and the Roxbury Int'l Film Festival
Ken Field is a composer, flautist, saxophonist and the leader of the Revolutionary Snake Ensemble–a New Orleans inspired brass band, which is marking its 35th anniversary this Friday at Regattabar. The celebration doubles as a live recording session of new material. Ken Field joins The Culture Show for a preview, to talk about leading a band for 35 years and the origin of his group’s name.From there Lisa Simmons, artistic and executive director of The Roxbury International Film fest gives us a preview of the largest New England film festival that highlights films by, for and about people of color. It takes place June 20th through June 28th and online June 27th through July 2nd. -
June 10, 2024 - Movies in Massachusetts
What do you call three lost souls left on a prep school campus during the holidays? The holdovers. That’s also the title of Alexander Payne’s film. Set in the 1970’s, Paul Giamatti plays a scrooge-like New England teacher–stingy with good grades and generosity. But over the winter holiday break, his heart thaws –slightly –and he forges an unlikely fellowship with a student and the school cook. The Oscar-winning filmmaker joins The Culture Show to talk about making a quintessential New England film.From there it’s local artist Robert Freeman. He went to see the movie “American Fiction” and to his surprise his paintings played a supporting role, hanging on the walls in several scenes. We talk to him about this 20-feet from stardom moment and what it means to have one of his paintings selected to hang in Governor Healey’s office.Then Edgar B. Herwick III and producer Kate Dellis take us into the room where the movie magic happens: the projectionist’s booth at Somerville Theatre. -
June 7, 2024 - Week in Review: University of the Arts closing, Hollywood, and concert cancellations
Today on The Culture Show it’s our arts and culture week-in-review.GBH’s Jared Bowen, Callie Crossley, and Culture Show contributor Lisa Simmons, who is artistic and executive director of the Roxbury International Film Fest and program manager at Mass Cultural Council , go over the latest arts and culture headlines.First up, exterior design. The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston is on a mission to make its Huntington Avenue entrance more representative of what’s happening on the inside. It’s commissioning artists to make public work. And the inaugural one will respond to a controversial bronze sculpture in front of the MFA depicting a Native American man astride a horse with his arms outstretched… suggesting surrender.Then, actress Lupita Nyong’o calls out the junk in press junkets, saying they’re torture!Plus, it’s a breakthrough moment for breakdancing. In a first, as we’ll see in Paris, it’s now an official Olympic sport. Finally, Cyndi Lauper is going to “She Bop” her away around North America one last “Time After Time” with her Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Farewell tour. -
June 6, 2024 - AI in music, Bonsai trees, and the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra
Berklee College of Music and the Audio Engineering Society are hosting an inaugural international symposium at Berklee on AI in music, exploring the benefits, the ethics and the caveats. Two people instrumental to this symposium join The Culture Show for a preview: The event organizer, Berklee music production and engineering professor Jonathan Wyner and keynote speaker Tod Machover. Tod Machover is a pioneering composer and the Muriel R. Cooper Professor of Music and Media and director of the MIT Media Lab's Opera of the Future group. Chris Copeland, Manager of Plant Production at the Arnold Arboretum is also the curator of their Bonsai and Penjing collection. He joins us to talk about these miniature masterpieces, the tradition of Bonsai, what it takes to care for these plants and how people can see them all —for free.Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra music director Federico Cortese joins The Culture Show to preview their 66th season finale concert and to talk about their first permanent home in the orchestra's history, which opened last month. -
June 5, 2024 - The Dybbuk, baseball, and the housing crisis
What does it mean to be a restless soul in-between two worlds? That is the definition of a dybbuk. With an ongoing immigration crisis and refugees displaced by war– a new adaptation of the play “The Dybbuk,” has deep resonance. And who better to wrestle with these themes than the Arlekin Players Theatre, which has a reputation for examining such existential plights. Their artistic director–and director of this production, Igor Golyak and one of the lead actors, Andrey Burkovskiy join The Culture Show.From there Edgar B. Herwick III explains some Bay State and Baseball curiosities.Finally we look at Boston’s housing crisis. It’s one thing to have a home office. It’s another thing to turn an office into a home. Is the push to retrofit commercial real estate into residential real estate feasible and fiscally sound? Boston Architectural College president Mahesh Daas joins The Culture Show for that conversation. -
June 4, 2024 - Juneteenth in Boston, Hew Locke, and summer on the Boston waterfront
Embrace Boston is gearing up for its third annual gathering to celebrate Juneteenth with the Boston community, and it promises to be more than an event but a conversation about reimaging Boston ahead of its 400th Birthday. Plus, no festival would be complete without a block party, DJ’s and dancing. Imari Paris Jeffries, CEO and President of Embrace Boston, joins The Culture Show for a preview. From there carnival and colonialism converge in “The Procession,” a large-scale installation making its North American debut at the ICA Watershed. In fact, it’s the only place in the U.S. you can see the show. By large scale we’re talking about some 140 life-sized figures–all of them staged in a march through time. The mastermind behind this monumental work, artist Hew Locke, joins us.And finally, the Boston Waterfront is in full swing. We get an update on the free and accessible events that await us this summer from Luz Arregoces. Director of New England Aquarium’s community engagement and member of the Coalition for a Resilient and Inclusive Waterfront. -
June 3, 2024 - Robert Pinsky, Already Dead, and a diva discussion
The three-time U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky joins us to talk about his new book of poetry, “Proverbs of Limbo.” His book launch is June 11th at the Cambridge Public Library at an event presented by Harvard Book Store.Robert Pinsky is the author of “At The Foundling Hospital”, “The Figured Wheel” and “The Want Bone.” He is also a professor in the graduate creative writing program at Boston University,From there we talk to Dan Cummings, the lead singer of local punk band “Already Dead,” about their latest track “The Spirit of Massachusetts Avenue.” It’s the lead single on their forthcoming album, “Something Like War.”Finally, we talk about the role of the diva and prima donna and explore how often we misuse those words. Grammy-winning dramatic soprano Jane Eaglen joins us to break down opera parlance. She’s on the faculty at New England Conservatory and she’s the President of the Boston Wagner Society. She joins The Culture Show regularly. -
May 31, 2024 - Week in Review: Josh Gibson, Richard Dreyfuss, and endangered art
First up, Richard Dreyfuss didn’t just make waves, he sent shockwaves through Beverly’s Cabot Theater ahead of a special screening of “Jaws.” Offending audiences by spewing transphobic, misanthropic rhetoric. And it turns out this wasn’t the first time.From there it’s time to meet Josh Gibson, Major League Baseball’s new GREATEST OF ALL TIME PLAYER. With the MLB integrating statistics from the Negro Leagues, they’re also obliged to rewrite baseball’s history.Plus we remember Bill Walton, the Celtics star who created a legacy on and off the court.Then, how conflict and climate change continue to threaten cultural sites and institutions around the world.And, “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin,” the Wu-Tang Clan album you won’t be able to hear for 88 years - unless you go to Australia today. -
May 30, 2024 - Denis and Ann Leary, Thorgy Thor, and the Lot Lab 2024
New York Times best-selling writer Ann Leary’s latest book is a collection of Essays titled “I’ve Tried Being Nice.” In total they are a reflection on her life…on the liberties that come with being older, on moments of mayhem and on scenes from a marriage that has had its ups and downs–on the tennis court, on the red carpet and behind closed doors. The essays are funny and frank. They are personal while also being very universal.Ann Leary and her husband Denis Leary – Worcester born actor and standup comedian – join The Culture Show ahead of their June 5th event at The Cambridge Public LibraryThen it’s Thorgy Thor. She came to international attention on “RuPaul's “Drag Race” and on Ru Paul’s “Drag Race Variety All Stars Show.”.She will be bringing her all star performance to the Boston POPS, kicking off Pride month this Saturday, June 1st at 7:30 at Symphony Hall. It’s a perfect venue for someone who is committed to combining classical music and drag. She joins The Culture Show to preview Boston POPS Pride Night.Finally, we head to Charlestown Navy Yard for a preview of “Lot Lab 2024.” Launched by the Boston Public Art Triennial, their assistant curator Jasper Sanchez joins the culture show to preview this public art exhibition, which opens June 10th.
