Mark Favermann looks at the issue of prefabricated buildings and affordable housing: revisiting the Eameses’ modular dream at a moment when policy, economics, and architecture are under pressure to deliver. artsfuse.org/329652/desig...

John Killacky on Tillie Walden’s graphic novel "Charity & Sylvia" transforms archival fragments into a resonant portrait of lesbian devotion in early 19th-century Vermont. Published by Drawn and Quarterly artsfuse.org/329613/book-...

The newsletter is out. My editorial trumpets our Spring Appeal. Please consider making as generous a gift as you can. Your support helps us keep incisive arts criticism and cultural commentary available without a paywall or paid subscriptions. artsfuse.substack.com/p/the-arts-f...

Michael Marano on the film reboot of "Masters of the Universe": director #TravisKnight’s self-aware reboot turns Reagan-era toy marketing into a surprisingly sharp, character-driven comedy about power, nostalgia, and growing up. artsfuse.org/329689/film-...

David Greenham writes that Gabriel Graetz and #paulmelendy power Charles Ludlam’s camp classic, "The Mystery of Irma Vep" at the Central Square Theater, even as a stripped-down design leaves some comic potential untapped. artsfuse.org/329668/theat...

On its album "Songs of the Seafarer" (Navona Records), John Tamilio III writes that Arpeggione Ensemble turns music by Schubert, Mendelssohn, and Mahler into a resonant chamber seascape. artsfuse.org/329554/class...

The Arts Fuse continues to grow – and our million + readers across the world are the reason why. Your support helps us pay our writers, expand our coverage, and keep independent arts criticism and cultural commentary available without a paywall. artsfuse.org/329015/sprin...

Jon Garelick on the Kurt Rosenwinkel Quintet at The Regattabar:This was not genre-pushing experimentation. Guitarist Rosenwinkel’s tunes stayed well within recognizable patterns of chords and rhythms, but the inventive craft alerted the ear at every turn. artsfuse.org/329625/jazz-...?

Another fabulous month of Short Fuses covering music and books from, among others, Bill Marx, Jonathan Blumhofer, Allen Michie, John Killacky, Ed Meek, and @pkeough1.bsky.social. artsfuse.org/329322/june-...

Paul Robicheau writes that, at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, prolific avant-garde composer, saxophonist, arranger, producer, and improviser #johnzorn led a sharply attuned band through knotty, electrified takes on his Masada songbook. artsfuse.org/329568/conce...

Matt Hanson on how #stephencolbert’s late-night run became a casualty of corporate power, political retaliation, and the thin skin of America’s oligarch class. artsfuse.org/329538/arts-...?

Steve Provizer writes that the Skylark vocal ensemble paired Poulenc’s "Figure humaine" with Civil War–era music in a concert program of striking contrasts at RockportMusic. artsfuse.org/329528/conce...?

Roberta Silman on "America, U.S.A.: How Race Shadows The Nation’s Anniversaries" (CrownPublishing) In a sweeping account of the nation’s anniversary milestones, Eddie Glaude shows how whitewashing and racial exclusion have shaped America’s self-image from 1826 to 2026. artsfuse.org/329474/book-...

Clea Simon writes that #rebeccanovack’s debut novel, "Murder Bimbo," blends murder mystery and social satire in a sly, shape-shifting narrative driven by a sex worker who may be telling us exactly what we want to hear. artsfuse.org/329494/book-...

Sarah Mina Osman-Mikesell on "Miss You, Love You": #AllisonJanney and #andrewrannells star in a bittersweet new film drama about grief, love, and second chances. artsfuse.org/329439/film-...?

Tributes to #sonnyrollins, who shaped not only by innovation but by synthesis — a tenor voice that absorbed Coleman Hawkins and Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, and Ornette Coleman, as well as funk and rock fusion, and transformed it all into something unmistakably his own. artsfuse.org/329420/arts-...

This week’s poem: Lisa J. Sullivan’s “Nocturne” artsfuse.org/329460/weekl...

The weekly newsletter: Coming Attractions and a review of Bruce Springsteen's pointed political show in Boston. My editorial: an incomplete list of the significant films that #TheBostonGlobe didn’t bother to review over the past year. artsfuse.substack.com/p/the-arts-f...

Tim Jackson on two recent New York theater productions: Kip Williams' adaptation of Jean Genet's"The Maids" (St. Ann's Warehouse) uses video and fantasy with purpose, while "Kenrex" (Lucille Lortel Theater) turns a grim murder story into empty showmanship. artsfuse.org/329385/theat...

For @pkeough1.bsky.social , Radu Jude's latest film, "Kontinental ’25," begins in Ken Loach–like realism before veering into a savage, cine-literate black comedy about complicity and conscience. artsfuse.org/329354/film-...

In his near-three-hour show at Boston's TD Garden, writes Paul Robicheau, #brucespringsteen fused crowd-pleasing anthems with a forceful anti-Trump jeremiad—raising questions even as he roused the faithful. artsfuse.org/329364/conce...

Bill Littlefield on a powerful examination of American history: "White Power: Policing American Slavery." Historian Gautham Rao exposes how the fear of Black liberation shaped the American legal order—and how the legacy of the slave patrol endures today. artsfuse.org/329297/book-...?

Scott McLennan on the return of The Black Queen: A decade after its debut album "Fever Daydream," the band has reunited for a live show that transforms moody electronics into a surging, physical spectacle. artsfuse.org/329281/conce...?

Our expert critics -- Jon Garelick, Peter Walsh, Tim Jackson, Matt Hanson, Blake Maddux, Peg Aloi, and Noah Schaffer and Bill Marx -- supply a guide to film, visual art, theater, author readings, television, and music. More offerings will be added as they come in. artsfuse.org/329165/comin...

@callinamagician.bsky.social on the film #iloveboosters: In this colorful whirligig, #BootsRiley fuses anti-capitalist critique with surrealist comedy, imagining revolt as both necessity and joy. artsfuse.org/329270/film-...

Jonathan Blumhofer writes that violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter’s latest album, "East Meets West," sidesteps easy binaries, pairing Widmann’s mercurial Beethoven study with works by Chin, Darvishi, and Adès in performances of striking authority. #AlphaClassics artsfuse.org/329259/class...

Thomas Filbin writes that in his compelling book "1453," Anthony Kaldellis recasts the fall of Constantinople as a long process of attrition, shaped by strategy, fear, and the limits of Western indifference. artsfuse.org/328328/book-...

@aaronkeebaugh.bsky.social on a compelling program from the #renaissancestringquartet of works by Donald Hass, Florence Price, and Brahms that was filled with ensemble precision and deeply felt musical dialogue. artsfuse.org/329152/conce...

Jonathan Blumhofer writes that this substantial collection of the writings of classical music critic Michael Steinberg evokes a time when critics educated, provoked, and helped build cultural life. #OxfordUniversityPress artsfuse.org/329224/book-...

Bill Littlefield on Jean Trounstine’s debut novel "Sounds Like Trouble to Me." The story blends hard-won insight with high drama in a prison story of guilt, resistance, and survival. #RunningWildPress

Michael Ullman on archival releases that document the contrasting styles and shared brilliance of pianists #billevanss, #ahmadjamal, #theloniousmonk, and #ceciltaylor on the bandstand. artsfuse.org/329113/jazz-...

For @sarahminaosman.bsky.social, the fantastic #tatianamaslany anchors Apple TV's "Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed" -- a cluttered but compulsively watchable thriller about cam culture, murder, and a very stressed-out mom. artsfuse.org/329070/telev...

@pkeough1.bsky.social argues that the visually beguiling film "Silent Friend" probes the mysteries of consciousness, but it has little on its mind. Screening at @thecoolidge.bsky.social starting May 22. artsfuse.org/329090/film-...

Thomas Filbin on Judith Grohmann’s "The Real Alma Mahler: Composer, Socialite, Rebel and Influencer" (@penandswordbooks.bsky.social): the biography pays homage to a complex cultural force that has too often reduced to muse and myth in the past. artsfuse.org/329049/book-...

This week's poem: Jim Behrle's "There’s Cake in the Break Room" artsfuse.org/329085/weekl...

The magazine's weekly newsletter. The editorial is on Editor Bill Marx's hope for theater in the future: As A.I. displaces jobs, especially among the young, it may also intensify a hunger for the tactile and communal experiences that only live performance can offer.

Robert Israel writes that, after a year of safe revivals and recycled material, Boston’s theater companies seem poised for a change this fall — even if caution, celebrity casting, and déjà vu still dominate the lineup.

"Reality and Imagination: Rembrandt and the Jews in the Dutch Republic": @mfaboston.bsky.social traces how Amsterdam’s Jewish community shaped the artist’s imagination, revealing a rich interplay of daily life, biblical narrative, and cultural exchange. artsfuse.org/329021/visua...

@sarahminaosman.bsky.social really enjoyed HBO's visually stunning adaptation "Song of the Samurai” -- it blends historical grit with balletic fight choreography, elevating the live-action anime genre. artsfuse.org/328961/telev...

Debra Cash writes that Lam Dance Works' "Forward," pairs visiting virtuosity with emerging dancers, revealing both the promise and growing pains of a young Boston troupe. Presented by @artsemerson.bsky.social artsfuse.org/329010/dance...

Jonathan Blumhofer on the second of a series of albums that make a persuasive case for American composer Edward MacDowell’s orchestral voice, led by pianist Xiayin Wang, conductor John Wilson, and the BBC Philharmonic. artsfuse.org/328975/class...

Debra Cash on Gregory Orr's "We Interrupt This Broadcast" (@wwnorton.com): In this volume, the poet revisits a lifetime of poetic concerns with grace, though not always with urgency. artsfuse.org/328984/book-...

As he prepares for #strangecreek, Ryan Montbleau reflects on introspective songwriting, longtime ties to the Western MA music festival, and music as a form of truth-telling. artsfuse.org/328993/music...

Michel Krielaars’ portrait of Soviet musicians in "The Sound of Utopia," writes Jonathan Blumhofer, reveals art shaped—and warped—by fear, ideology, and longing. Pushkin Press artsfuse.org/328933/book-...

Blake Maddux talks to the author "Stevie Nicks in 50 Songs" Nicks’s enduring mystique, her influence on younger artists, and the challenge of choosing just 50 tracks. Running Press artsfuse.org/328947/autho...

@pkeough1.bsky.social on "The Wizard of the Kremlin": A stylish but troubling portrait that soft-pedals power, propaganda, and Vladimir Putin. artsfuse.org/328923/film-...?

James Kates writes that Devin Johnston’s poems in "Bright Thorn" (@fsgbooks.bsky.social) rarely rise above the level of reportage. artsfuse.org/328886/poetr...

Bill Marx reviews @thehuntington.bsky.social production of "Oedipus El Rey": Set amid the rituals and turmoils of barrio life, this contemporary take on "Oedipus Rex" trades Sophoclean complexity for theatrical vitality. artsfuse.org/328847/theat...

For Ralph Locke, Dominick Argento’s adventurous 1975 operatic transit through the psyche of Edgar Allan Poe proves to be both delightful and disturbing, particularly when the work is so well performed by Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP) and Odyssey Opera. artsfuse.org/328787/opera...

Christopher Caggiano on #thelostboys and #therockyhorrorshow: Two beloved cult properties arrive on #broadway with formidable casts and decades of devotion behind them – but conjuring darkness turns out to be harder than it looks. artsfuse.org/328800/theat...