Arts
Buster Keaton, the great genius of silent comedy, gets celebrated in a 14-disc box set that contains all of his classic silent comedies as well as a raft of shorts and extras.
In 'According To What?' Ai Weiwei Makes Mourning Subversive
A Washington showcase of work by the Chinese dissident artist reveals his preoccupation with the tragic 2008 Sichuan earthquake: To create one of the pieces, Ai ran afoul of Chinese authorities, asking for help collecting the names of children who died when their schools collapsed.
Stained Glass Playhouse presents Fences
August Wilson's play Fences weaves together the obstacles of a black man's past and the opportunities of his present. With his artful use of language and believable characters that leap off the page, Wilson aroused feelings of love, anger, grief, and forgiveness in a way that only he could.
Shall I Encode Thee In DNA? Sonnets Stored On Double Helix
The world is full of data — and that's a problem. We have to find a place to store all those digital photos, tax records and unfinished novels. British scientists have demonstrated a possible solution: They've stored all of Shakespeare's sonnets on several small stretches of DNA.
'Friends' Will Be There For You At Beijing's Central Perk
A Chinese man in Beijing has set up a cafe identical to the New York hangout on the hit TV show. For owner Du Xin, Friends is "like a religion" — and he's not the only one. He's opened a second Central Perk in Shanghai, capitalizing on the Chinese fondness for the six friends and their laid-back, freewheeling lives.
Twin City Stage presents Lend Me a Tenor
When world-famous tenor Tito Morelli arrives for a fundraiser at the Cleveland Grand Opera Company, a chain-reaction of mistaken identity, plot twists and double entendres creates one of the funniest farces of the American stage.
Doug Davis and The Solid Citizens
The band Doug Davis and the Solid Citizens has a new CD out. It's titled A Pageant of Gold. A Pageant of Gold was produced, engineered, and mixed by Doug Davis for Flytrap Productions.
Sundance Subsidy Stirs Conservative Pushback
Robert Redford's annual Sundance Film Festival draws thousands of filmgoers and millions of dollars to snowy Park City, Utah. But a state subsidy contributing to the event is drawing controversy from some conservatives, who say films screened at the festival don't reflect the values of the state.
'Mama': A Good Old-Fashioned Horror Movie
In an age of werewolves, hormonal vampires and endless sequels, horror movies have lost some edge. But Mama, starring Jessica Chastain, is an entertaining step in the right — which is to say backward — direction.
Tina Brown's Must-Reads: Hidden Lives
The Newsweek editor returns with a list of new reads about people with surprising lives — a CIA investigator, a successful businesswoman who started life as a child soldier, and a private-equity pioneer whose domineering personality drove his loved ones away.