The Arts Fuse Newsletter, May 7
May Short Fuses, reviews of pianist Evgeny Kissin and a remake of "Bonjour Tristesse" along with a chat with "Fucktoy" filmmaker Annapurna Sriram and a commentary on AI's threat to Hollywood
From The Editor's Desk:
In his 1987 volume Who Needs Theatre, Robert Brustein asserts that “theatergoing is one of a dwindling group of activities that bring Americans into communication with each other; it is, therefore, an enterprise that preserves some vestige of belief in the possibilities of society, if not of communion. It may be also one of the last remaining shreds of evidence that we are a people, and not just an isolated mass of frightened fantasists, barricaded in our homes, seeking safety from a sinister and threatening external world.” These are salient points, but they don’t go far enough. The stage serves society best when it dares to grapple, mano a mano, with pervasive “sinister and threatening” ideas and forces, especially when they are on the march. Theater is social history: it is a record of resistance and cowardice for the future.
At present, the record of Boston’s major theaters is disheartening. The Huntington Theatre Company recently announced its upcoming season. Artistic director Loretta Greco says the titles were chosen because “we were fascinated by the themes of legacy and family: where we come from, what we leave behind, and what truly matters most.” These may be superior productions, but aren’t threats in the external world part of “what truly matters” — the rise of authoritarianism, economic chaos, the upending of the postwar global order, Americans being ‘disappeared’ into a gulag in El Salvador, the ravaging of science research, the minimization of the climate crisis. Won’t these issues — and so many others — endanger families and their legacies moving forward? Of course, our well-heeled theater companies may know something those of us deeply concerned about what is happening don’t — worry not, this fascist-adjacent regime is but a passing fad. Perhaps future theatergoers can look forward to being entertained by a stimulating HTC staging of “What the Constitution, Sliced and Diced, Means to Me.”
On a more positive note, some New England theaters are doing more than catering to the appetites of “frightened fantasists.” I have not seen the show, but Yale Repertory Theatre is staging (through May 17) Notes on Killing Seven Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Board Members. A section from the New Haven Independent review sounds promising: “In a time where an unelected Board cuts social services in the name of efficiency, and the right to self-determination and transition is steadily being whittled away, plays like Notes on Killing feel less like a scream into the void and more like a slap on the butt. This is our world. This is our fight. So what are we going to do? How are we going to hold those in power accountable?” These are the kinds of vital questions our self-proclaimed community-minded theaters should be grappling with. Over in the Berkshires, the Great Barrington Public Theater will be staging Maggie Kearnan’s satire (from June 5 to 22) How to NOT Save the World with Mr. Bezos. In this play, the second-richest individual in the world (according to Forbes) receives his just desserts. Sounds like another welcome “slap on the butt” to me.
—Bill Marx, Editor-in-Chief
Archive: From the Editor's Desk 2025
Concert Review: Pianist Evgeny Kissin — Note-Perfect and Nonpareil
By Susan Miron
Heard live, pianist Evgeny Kissin offers the kind of rare, heart-altering listening experiences that give one hope for our woefully fractured world.
May 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.
Film Review: “Bonjour Tristesse” — A Capsized Remake
By Gerald Peary
The first thing to note about the 2025 remake of Bonjour Tristesse is that it matches the Otto Preminger rendition with its handsome look, its sumptuous color, and the skilled cinematography of Maximilian Pittner.
Film Interview: Talking Trash with Annapurna Sriram
By Nicole Veneto
Annapurna Sriram’s Fucktoys is poised for cult greatness among queer cinephiles, filthy femmes, and those of us who find today’s movie landscape frighteningly sex averse.
Book Review: “Josephine Baker’s Secret War” — Zouzou in Casablanca
By Debra Cash
What we don’t learn in Josephine Baker’s Secret War is what she did to steel herself against the risks she was taking. Was it all acting? A belief that her charmed life would never end?
Film Commentary: AI — Is Hollywood in its Virtual Sights?
By Cameron Davis
Massive layoffs, cheapened content, and misinformation on steroids: AI text-to-video is coming for Hollywood, and it certainly feels like a curtain call.
Help Keep The Arts Fuse Lit!
Precious few independent online arts publications make it to double digits. Please give us the resources the magazine needs to persevere at an essential cultural task.
Keep the Fuse lit and support our 70+ writers by making a donation.
The Arts Fuse also needs underwriting for the magazine to continue to grow.
And…tell your friends about the in-depth arts coverage you can’t get anywhere else.
Questions, comments, concerns?
Editor-in-Chief
Bill Marx
wmarx103@gmail.com
