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Magician Kali Moulton moves her hand across a deck of cards searching for the card just chosen by a member of the audience in Salem. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

Alakazam! Why a Salem magicians society needs to conjure new recruits

The local chapter of a historic, national magicians organization — once led by Houdini himself — is facing a shortage of members. Now its ranks are rallying with events to...

Arts & Culture

06:54Sep 26, 2023

Eddie Shields and Helen Hy-Yuen Swanson in "Angels in America" at Central Square Theater. (Courtesy Nile Scott Studios)

Tony Kushner's 'Angels in America' gracefully alights at Central Square Theater

Both parts of the 1993 Pulitzer and Tony-winning play receive a superb production led by Eric Tucker, artistic director of Bedlam, according to theater critic Terry Byrne.

Arts & Culture

Sep 26, 2023

Rijah (Courtesy Jay Banerjee)

From the Mass. Tiny Desk: Rijah creates a world where things are looking 'Up'

The singer-guitarist lays out the feelings of confusion, doubt and despair that everyone can relate to — having the “self-created burdens” of “that fear that feels like a crime,” as...

Arts & Culture

Sep 26, 2023

Reed Birney and Karen Allen in Shakespeare & Company's production of "Lunar Eclipse." (Courtesy Maggie Hall)

15 theater productions to see this fall

Despite the financial pressures that continue to pinch theater companies post-pandemic, this fall’s theatrical lineup is an ambitious and intriguing mix of titles and topics, from an adaptation of "Hamlet"...

Arts & Culture

Sep 25, 2023

John Singer Sargent, "Nonchaloir (Repose)," 1911. (Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Curt H. Reisinger; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)

10 art exhibits to explore this fall

There’s plenty of art to look forward to this season, including an exhibit about Isabella Stewart Gardner, three exhibits with vastly different approaches to portraiture and several exhibits exploring American...

Arts & Culture

Sep 22, 2023

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Taylor Mac's 24-Decade History of Popular Music (Courtesy of Little Fang)

5 things to do this weekend, including Raising Voices Festival and a screening of 'Stop Making Sense'

Plus, Jamaica Plain Open Studios and a screening of “The Mark of Zorro."

Arts & Culture

Sep 21, 2023

Paul Dano stars in "Dumb Money." (Courtesy Sony Pictures)

'Dumb Money' sidesteps the reality of the GameStop short squeeze

The 2021 game retailer saga was so compelling that Boston author Ben Mezrich sold the film rights to his book “The Antisocial Network” before it was completed. However, critic Sean...

Arts & Culture

Sep 21, 2023

Some of the entrants to this year's NPR's Tiny Desk Contest. (Screenshot/YouTube)

Here are the top 21 Tiny Desk Contest entries from Massachusetts

Nearly 230 Bay State artists entered NPR Music's Tiny Desk Contest. Our panel of judges are selecting their favorite local entry, and narrowed it down to 21.

Arts & Culture

Sep 21, 2023

Nathan Hill is the author of "Wellness." (Courtesy of the publisher; Author photo by Erik Kellar)

Nathan Hill explores the competing realities of modern life in new novel

“Wellness” is the followup to Hill's award-winning novel “The Nix.” The story follows a couple who hides parts of themselves from one another, for better or for worse. Critic Carol...

Arts & Culture

Sep 20, 2023

Book critic Katherine Ouellette recommends eight books to read this fall. (Courtesy the publishers)

Sidestep into the uncanny this fall with 12 new books

From historical novels that sound like the modern news cycle to contemporary works that take a twist toward the speculative, book critic Katherine Ouellette rounds up a selection of other-worldly...

Arts & Culture

Sep 19, 2023

Tiya Miles is the author of "Wild Girls: How The Outdoors Shaped The Women Who Challenged A Nation." (Courtesy of the publisher; Author photo by Stephanie Mitchell.)

Tiya Miles' new book 'Wild Girls' explores how the outdoors shaped the legacies of great women

In a series of essays detailing the profound influence the wilderness had on Harriet Tubman, Louisa May Alcott, Laura Smith Haviland and others, the author explores how the outdoors presents...

Arts & Culture

Sep 19, 2023

Laura Latreille, Monique Ward Lonergan, Lisa Yuen, Catia and Crystin Gilmore in SpeakEasy Stage Company's production of "POTUS." (Courtesy Nile Scott Studios)

SpeakEasy's hilarious women try to save a POTUS from becoming a DOOFUS

Selina Fillinger's terrific farce is handled with aplomb by director Paula Plum and her gifted ensemble, says theater critic Terry Byrne.

Arts & Culture

Sep 19, 2023

(Clockwise from top left: Drop Nineteens (Courtesy Steve Eichner); Bad Rabbits (Courtesy Garden Of Eden); Singer Mali (Courtesy Alex Springer); Houndsteeth (Courtesy Bret Kaser); Lost Film (Courtesy Lost Film); Izzy Heltai (Courtesy Jacqueline Justice); Shallow Pools (Courtesy Sarah Mentus)

7 albums to listen to this fall

From Western Massachusetts indie rock to energetic pop-leaning projects in Boston, our Massachusetts-focused music guide showcases the state’s deep well of music diversity.

Arts & Culture

Sep 18, 2023

A still from "A Gaza Weekend." (Courtesy Cohen Media Group)

8 Greater Boston film festivals to check out this fall

Despite the dual SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes, the festival circuit keeps chugging along with a steady stream of indie and international films screening locally. Film critic Erin Trahan highlights the...

Arts & Culture

Sep 15, 2023

The cover art for Alisa Amador's new single "Woke Up Today." (Courtesy Sasha Pedro)

Alisa Amador confronts her depression in new song 'Woke Up Today'

The Boston-based musician is out with her first original single since winning NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest in 2022. Amador said, “It feels like the most vulnerable song that I have...

Arts & Culture

Sep 15, 2023

esse Kodama, Jared Troilo, Phyllis Kay, Peter Van Wagner and Tony Estrella in "Prayer for the French Republic." (Courtesy T Charles Erickson)

The Huntington's 'Prayer for the French Republic' is a theatrical blessing

Joshua Harmon has crafted a superb multigenerational play centering on immigration, the Holocaust and the lives of one particular family, says theater critic Terry Byrne.

Arts & Culture

Sep 15, 2023

Sarah Fard of Savoir Faire. (Courtesy Sasha Pedro)

Listen: Savoir Faire transforms an Iranian protest chant into song

Musician Sarah Fard watched the Iranian women's movement unfold and wondered what it would be like if her family had never left Iran.

Arts & Culture

Sep 14, 2023

Continuum Dance Project rehearses "Becoming Water" in Auntie Kay & Uncle Frank Chin Park along The Greenway on August 3, 2023. (Courtesy Olivia Moon Photography)

13 dance events to attend this fall

This season, new programs and emerging talent highlight the local dance events, with both Boston-based companies and troupes from overseas scheduled to perform. Dance critic Iris Fanger details the ones...

Arts & Culture

Sep 14, 2023

Kenneth Branagh as Hercule Poirot in "A Haunting in Venice." (Courtesy 20th Century Studios)

Hercule Poirot carries more burdens than ever before in 'A Haunting in Venice'

The film is Kenneth Branagh’s third take on the detective, and according to critic Sean Burns, quite gloomy. “The fleet pleasures of [Agatha] Christie’s mysteries get lost in all the...

Arts & Culture

Sep 14, 2023

Mister Fitzgerald (center), Jennifer Mogbock, Kelley Curran, Jason Bowen and Michael Laurence in "The Half-God of Rainfall" at American Repertory Theater. (Courtesy Lauren Miller)

'Half-God of Rainfall' at A.R.T. gets halfway to paradise — but not all the way

Greek and Yoruba gods meet NBA superstars in Inua Ellams' poetic play, but theater critic Terry Byrne finds the dramatic structure is a little too earthbound.

Arts & Culture

Sep 14, 2023