The Arts Fuse Newsletter, June 4
Spring Appeal, June Short Fuses, and reviews of "Two Strangers" at the A.R.T., "The Life of Chuck," "Matisse in Morocco," and albums from pianists Alexander Crosett and Mehmet Ali Sanlikol.
From The Editor's Desk:
Twice a year, I ask readers to contribute to the magazine. With these funds, I can continue to provide high-quality, critical coverage of the arts—local and beyond. The Spring Appeal has started, and two generous donors have set up a $2,500 match. Please go here to consider supporting this nonprofit publication, or click on one of the Arts Fuse buttons further down in the newsletter. Any amount is appreciated. My deepest gratitude to those who have donated before and to those who will help sustain us now. You are maintaining the best: we are Boston’s premier online arts magazine.
The Arts Fuse has turned 18 (!) and we are not budging in our bedrock belief that uncompromising journalism is crucial in the fight for truth, justice, and equality in the arts. That battle has never been as important as it is now. When gifted journalists bring expertise and passion to their writing, it fortifies everyone in the arts world. Jazz pianist Laszlo Gardony put it beautifully: “The Arts Fuse helps us, artists and audiences alike, to better appreciate ourselves as a community as it enriches us culturally. The magazine’s support for artists’ careers is invaluable.” The Arts Fuse’s wealth of cultural coverage—there are over 10,000 articles in our archive—is free and accessible to all. Please help us keep it that way.
We are not resting on our laurels: with sufficient funds, we will move forward with plans to expand the publication’s arts coverage. We have already launched a column recommending works in translation, and additional sections for commentary and reporting are on the way. At a time when most media outlets are doing less cultural coverage, we are committed to doing more.
Arts journalism like this is possible only because arts lovers join together to fund it. Formidable political and technological pressures are gathering steam, dangling inducements for compromise that will strengthen self-censorship and embolden anti-intellectualism. Our dedication to thoughtful, independent criticism is more necessary than ever.
—Bill Marx, Editor-in-Chief
Archive: From the Editor's Desk 2025
June Short Fuses — Materia Critica
Compiled by Arts Fuse Editor
Each month, our arts critics — music, book, theater, dance, television, film, and visual arts — fire off a few brief reviews.
Theater Review: “Two Strangers” — A Confectionary Romance
By David Greenham
Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) succeeds as a fun rom-com. The musical sometimes ladles on the sugary frosting, but it’s a pretty tasty dessert.
Film Review: “The Life of Chuck” — More Schmaltz Than Substance
by Ezra Haber Glenn
The problem with The Life of Chuck isn’t that it’s bad, per se, but it’s nowhere near great, and that’s a waste of a lot of talent and potential. Imagine Terrence Malick’s Tree of Life turned into a made-for-TV after-school special.
Book Review: “Matisse in Morocco” — A Masterful Study of One of Most Radical Painters of the 20th Century
By Peter Walsh
Matisse in Morocco is a 35-year labor of love, as meticulously researched as a Ph.D. thesis but without the turgid language, as charmingly composed as the travelogues of Goethe, and with characters worthy of Balzac.
Classical Music Album Review: “American Excursions” — A Worthy Huzzah to Our 250th Anniversary
By Jonathan Blumhofer
American Excursions manages — and in a brisk 59 minutes — to provide an impressive degree of racial, gender, and stylistic diversity.
Jazz Album Review: Mehmet Ali Sanlikol’s Distinctive “7 Shades of Melancholia”
By Michael Ullman
I don’t know anything quite like Mehmet Ali Sanlikol’s Turko-jazz playing. (I invented the term.) I am glad it’s here for us to enjoy.
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Questions, comments, concerns?
Editor-in-Chief
Bill Marx
wmarx103@gmail.com
