Arts

The End of the Long Summer

Why we must remake our civilization to survive on a volatile Earth
In this nonfiction treatise about global warming and other ecological dangers, the author details why our environment is in much worse shape than we thought. In this excerpt, Dianne Dumanoski notes that, far from taming Mother Nature, our factories and habits have only enraged her, which could lead to Earth's inability to sustain life. In other words, we're all gonna die — enjoy your summer!

By DIANNE DUMANOSKI | July 22, 2009

Larry's Kidney

Being the true story of how I found myself in China with my black-sheep cousin and his mail-order bride, skirting the law to get him a transplant — and save his life
In this nonfiction account pretty accurately described by the book's subtitle, Daniel Asa Rose accompanies his nebbishy but mobbed-up relative on a mission for a Chinese two-fer: to get the organ he desperately needs and — why not, as long as we're here? — a wife, to boot. In this excerpt, the author first hears about his cousin's dubious — and, according to Chinese law, illegal — plan.

By DANIEL ASA ROSE | July 22, 2009

It Feels So Good When I Stop

In this excerpt, the protagonist recalls his post-college years, in which he worked a crappy job at a restaurant owned by a racist.
In the winter of 1994, I graduated from UMass after four and a half years with a BA in English. I did pretty average; a lot worse than I might have done if I had given the tiniest of fucks about school. I decided to dick around until the summer and not think about my limited prospects, my withering University Health Insurance, and the looming crush of student-loan repayment.

By JOE PERNICE | July 22, 2009

The Accidental Billionaires

The founding of Facebook: A tale of sex, money, genius, and betrayal
In this nonfiction account of the Harvard origins of the social-networking phenomenon, the author boils down the essence of why Facebook — orginially called thefacebook — was created and the root of its power: nerds obsessing over sex. In this excerpt, undergrads Eduardo Saverin and Mark Zuckerberg begin to realize that Facebook is indeed their golden ticket.

By BEN MEZRICH | July 22, 2009

Time to Dance? Dance. Dance!

Island Moving Co. Takes It Inside
Although Island Moving Co. has moved their summer dance concerts inside, after 20 years of battling the elements at outdoor venues around Newport, they have chosen an unusual and historic site — the 1699 Great Friends Meeting House, the oldest surviving house of worship (Quaker) in the city — for Dance? Dance. Dance! (through July 26).

By JOHNETTE RODRIGUEZ | July 21, 2009

Always Always Land

Theatre by The Sea’s Peter Pan soars
The much loved tale of Peter Pan gets a revival on Broadway at least every generation for good reason. Not just because it appeals to kids, which goes without saying, but because it gives grownups a respectable excuse to see it themselves with their own kids.

By BILL RODRIGUEZ | July 21, 2009

Laugh to keep from crying

Timeless optimism in You Can't Take It With You
Rarely did a play arrive with better timing than You Can't Take It With You , the joyfully optimistic paean to the American spirit that earned its Pulitzer in 1936, when the country was licking the wounds of collective Depression.

By BILL RODRIGUEZ | July 15, 2009

Wired

C.W. Roelle explores three dimensions at AS220's Project Space
Every artist aims to develop a trademark look. Most carve out an individual style within the usual tried and true playing field — a certain way with paint, a certain slant to their photos — but C.W. Roelle has accomplished the rare feat of staking out his territory off these beaten paths.

By GREG COOK | July 15, 2009

Still feeling pretty

Timeless romance in West Side Story
It's hard to not be charmed by a production of West Side Story that doesn't get in the way of its heartfelt, bittersweet romance. The current production by Center Stage, in West Kingston through July 26, not only lets the youthful idealism pour through, it delivers enjoyable song and dance.

By BILL RODRIGUEZ | July 15, 2009

More than words

The Farnsworth's Robert Indiana retrospective
What are we to make of Robert Indiana? His is generally considered part of the Pop art group of artists who came into prominence in the late '60s, along with Andy Warhol, James Rosenquist, and Roy Lichtenstein, and though he is not perhaps as highly regarded in the art world, he has a wider popular following than any of them.

By KEN GREENLEAF | July 08, 2009

Summer buffet

'Nature/Artifice' at the RISD Museum
"Nature/Artifice" at the RISD Museum (224 Benefit Street, Providence, through February 2010) feels summery, but it's not like lite beach reading. I think it has to do with the one-room show's crisp, fresh feel and the platform full of flip-flops.

By GREG COOK | July 07, 2009

The glory of Blaze

Sabrina shines at Theatre by the Sea's cabaret
Anyone who likes musicals has to love cabarets, which are Whitman's samplers of humming-in-the-shower favorites. So if you end up taking in one of the shows this summer at Theater by the Sea in Matunuck, you also might be interested in catching the post-show Bistro by the Sea Cabaret.

By BILL RODRIGUEZ | July 07, 2009

The Market Messiah

How Sam Walton changed America
Many Americans feel as if they'd been living helplessly amid the handiwork of extraterrestrials, as if a spaceship had suddenly blown in and zapped the landscape with suburban sprawl while sucking up middle-class wages in exchange for low-paid service work.

By CATHERINE TUMBER | July 07, 2009

Beyond the big top

Cirque du Soliel's acrobatic theater
Calling Cirque du Soleil a circus is like calling Cinderella's splendiferous carriage a pumpkin. They're starting their 25th anniversary tour at the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence (July 2 through 5) and, compared to Cirque, an ordinary circus appears vegetative, indeed.

By BILL RODRIGUEZ | July 01, 2009

Funny business

Louis C.K. has work to do
"I'm pasty, pale, overweight and I have red hair. I see that Coldstone Creamery and I want to crawl inside and hide," Louis C.K. responded when I asked if he recalled just how disgustingly hot and muggy Rhode Island could be during his 4th of July headlining set at the Newport Yachting Center.

By CHRIS CONTI | July 01, 2009

K is for clown

The lighter side of global annihilation
The lighter side of global annihilation

By CLIF GARBODEN | June 30, 2009

Gershwin done right

Crazy For You's delightful musical mayhem
Crazy for You , the 1992 homage to the Gershwin brothers' 1930 musical Girl Crazy , is rockin' the rafters at Theatre By the Sea (through July 11). Building inspectors are going to have to check out the Matunuck summer barn theater for damage after every show, if the opening night musical mayhem is going to continue.

By BILL RODRIGUEZ | June 24, 2009

Use your delusion

RWU'S Fool for Love hits emotional high notes
Fool for Love is pure Sam Shepard, as the playwright packs in an explosive blend of myth and Eros, ambiguity and knee-in-the-gut certitude, boiling it all down into less than an hour of existential essence. The current rendition at Roger Williams University Barn Summer Playhouse will impress even demanding theatergoers with its emotional confidence and finesse.

By BILL RODRIGUEZ | June 23, 2009

Mixing it up

"Two Sculptors and a Painter" at RIC's Bannister Gallery
It seems like a simple exercise you might give students: Get a bunch of plastic bottles, lots of thread, and make some art from it. It's the kind of assignment teachers give to get students thinking about sculptural form and structure. And usually the results feel like a dumb exercise.

By GREG COOK | June 24, 2009