Arts - The Boston Globe

Damian Lewis as Henry VIII in "Wolf Hall."

PBS returning to ‘Wolf Hall’ with ‘The Mirror and the Light’

“Masterpiece” is about to film the final novel in Hilary Mantel’s trilogy. Returning cast members include Mark Rylance as Thomas Cromwell, Damian Lewis as Henry VIII, and Jonathan Pryce as Cardinal Wolsey.

In her solo show, Kenice Mobley brings light to her darkest hours
Mobley, who began her stand-up career in Boston, deals with weighty subjects in "Don’t Kill Yourself Yet,” which she'll perform at the Rockwell in Somerville.

APPRECIATION
Norman Lear reinvented what a sitcom could be, while letting us see ourselves
There is no overestimating the power of what Lear accomplished with his hit comedies, which included “The Jeffersons,” “Maude,” “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman,” “Good Times,” “One Day at a Time,” and the jewel in his crown, “All in the Family.”

Odie Henderson | ★★★½
‘The Boy and the Heron’: a magical Miyazaki mystery tour
The legendary animator triumphs again with this fable about a young boy who loses his mother and befriends a heron who guides him through the Land of the Dead.

Eddie Murphy in Amazon's "Candy Cane Lane."

HOLIDAY ARTS PREVIEW

10 TV specials for some merry holiday viewing

Eddie Murphy, Barry Manilow, Hannah Waddingham, and enough '80s divas to fill a sleigh are channeling the season.

From Mike Birbiglia, a generous helping of ‘Christmas Parmesan’For organists, Boston is a city of (pipe) dreamsTree lightings, holiday markets, and more family-friendly events for 202310 pop concerts that are beginning to look a lot like ChristmasJazz pianist Christian Sands loves a good Christmas story

Norman Lear posed for a portrait during the Winter Television Critics Association Press Tour on Jan. 13, 2020, in Pasadena, Calif. The TV icon died Tuesday at the age of 101.

7 classic Norman Lear shows available on streaming

From "All in the Family" to "Good Times," celebrate Lear’s legacy with these iconic sitcoms.

Hasan Minhaj (pictured in November 2022 at the Stand up for Heroes benefit in New York) will perform Dec. 8 at the Boch Center Wang Theatre.

THE TICKET

Things to do around Boston this weekend and beyond

Looking for something to do this weekend? Here are a few recommendations from Globe writers and critics, covering music, theater, comedy, museums, family events, and more.

The Three Wise Men approach Mary and Joseph (Kalesha “Kiki" Chance and Joe Gonzalez) in "Black Nativity" at the Emerson Paramount Center.

STAGE REVIEW

After more than half a century, ‘Black Nativity’ remains inspired and inspiring

Under the expert direction of Voncille Ross, “Black Nativity” proves to be as joyous and stirring as ever in the current production by the Roxbury-based National Center of Afro-American Artists at the Emerson Paramount Center.

In this video grab issued Sunday, Feb. 28, 2021, by NBC, Norman Lear accepted the Carol Burnett television achievement award at the Golden Globe Awards.

Norman Lear, producer of TV’s ‘All in the Family’ and influential liberal advocate, has died

Lear, the writer, director, and producer who revolutionized prime-time television with such topical hits as “All in the Family” and “Maude” and propelled political and social turmoil into the once-insulated world of sitcoms, has died.

Mason Daring and Jeanie Stahl will perform at a sold-out show Friday at the Me&Thee Coffeehouse in Marblehead.

Mason Daring and Jeanie Stahl celebrate a 50-year musical partnership

The duo will mark the occasion of their 1973 meeting at a Central Square coffeehouse with a sold-out concert in Marblehead on Friday.

Spectators watch during the unveiling ceremony for a statue at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond, Va., Dec. 10, 2019. Virginia’s state-run fine arts museum is returning 44 ancient pieces of art to their countries of origin after law enforcement officials presented the institution with what it called “irrefutable evidence” that the works had been stolen or looted. The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts announced in a news release Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023 that it had “safely delivered” the pieces to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.

Virginia state art museum returns 44 pieces authorities determined were stolen or looted

Virginia’s state-run fine arts museum has begun the process of returning 44 pieces of ancient art to their countries of origin after law enforcement officials presented the institution with what it called “irrefutable evidence” that the works had been stolen or looted.

Documentaries

Photographer Evgeniy Maloletka picks his way through the aftermath of a Russian attack in Mariupol, Ukraine, Feb. 24, 2022. Still from "Frontline" PBS and AP’s feature film "20 Days in Mariupol."

‘20 Days in Mariupol’ captures the devastating early days of the war in Ukraine

AP journalist and filmmaker Mstyslav Chernov’s early 2022 footage is the basis of a new documentary on PBS.

Pastor Seungeun Kim, left, and Soyeon Lee are featured in the documentary "Beyond Utopia," which traces the journeys of North Korean defectors.

‘Beyond Utopia’: a documentary that takes viewers on an escape from North Korea

The film, which has collected a variety of festival awards this year, screens Saturday at the Brattle as part of the GlobeDocs Film Festival.

Fifteen documentary features and 13 shorts make up this year’s GlobeDocs Film Festival, now in its ninth year.

‘Journalistic eye’ guides GlobeDocs Film Festival, now in its ninth year

This year’s slate includes true stories of Black space pioneers, victims of deepfake porn, and the first female Episcopal priests. Plus: Errol Morris’s portrait of a certain British spy novelist.

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MORE RECENT ARTS HEADLINES

Comedian Bill Burr prior to a baseball game, Tuesday, April 19, 2022, at Fenway Park in Boston. The Canton native stopped by "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" Tuesday night.

Bill Burr talks historic Fenway show, Trump, and his problems with Elf on the Shelf on ‘Kimmel’

“I didn’t even get a chance to go to a Dunkin’ Donuts and get a high five after that show,” the comic and Canton native joked on the late night show. 10:04 a.m.

RI NEWS

In October 2017, Judge Frank Caprio speaks to a defendant during his morning session inside Municipal Court at the Providence Police Station

Judge Caprio announces he has pancreatic cancer

The judge, widely known for the “Caught in Providence” TV show, recently turned 87, and in an emotional video he asks people to pray for him. 9:46 a.m.

Taylor Swift performed at Gillette Stadium in May.

20TAYLORSWIFT

‘We picked a choice that represents joy’: Taylor Swift is Time’s person of the year

“Swift’s accomplishments as an artist — culturally, critically, and commercially — are so legion that to recount them seems almost beside the point,” the magazine wrote. 8:27 a.m.

B0OK REVIEW

Dehumanized and desperate, but make it Irish in Paul Lynch’s gripping ‘Prophet Song’

The 2023 Booker Prize winner imagines the plight of refugees from a civil war in Ireland. 8:00 a.m.

THE YEAR IN ARTS

Ryan Gosling and Margot Robbie in "Barbie."

Odie Henderson’s 10 best movies of 2023

From Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” to Ben Affleck’s “Air,” it was a big year for bold visions. 8:00 a.m.

SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher told The Associated Press shortly after the resolution was reached that making sure AI reproductions of actors could only be used with their informed consent and compensation was a “deal breaker” in the talks.

Actors vote to approve deal that ended strike, bringing relief to union leaders and Hollywood

Control over the use of artificial intelligence was the most hard-fought issue in the long, methodical negotiations, and became the main driver of dissent during the voting. 1:52 a.m.

TV CRITIC'S CORNER

Selena Gomez, Steve Martin, and Martin Short in "Only Murders in the Building." Next month, ABC is going to air the first season of the series, which streams on its corporate cousin Hulu.

Streamers sending more content to networks

Next month, ABC is going to air the first season of “Only Murders in the Building,” which streams on its corporate cousin Hulu. 4:58 p.m.

Cammie Staros, "Figlinum aquaticum," 2021. Ceramic, acrylic, wood, laminate, de-chlorinated water, aquatic filtration system, programmed grow light, aquarium soil, lace rock, quartz-veined basalt, aquatic plants (Dwarf Lily, Eusteralis Stellata, Ludwigia Repens).

‘Unearthing the Sky’ unearths big questions at Providence College Galleries

Cammie Staros’s show gallops through time and examines traditional museum display methods through a critical, contemporary lens. 2:30 p.m.

Odie Henderson’s 10 best movies of 2023

Show creator Norman Lear speaks with "All in the Family" stars Jean Stapleton and Carroll O'Connor on the set of the CBS sitcom in December 1970.

Norman Lear reinvented what a sitcom could be, while letting us see ourselves

The 10 best TV shows of 2023

Judge Caprio announces he has pancreatic cancer

BOOKS

A child picks out a book at a Scholastic book fair.

There are more options when it comes to school book fairs, but is there still a place for them?

In Massachusetts, concern about the school fund-raisers goes beyond the recent Scholastic book fair controversy. 11:21 a.m.

Margot Robbie in a scene from "Barbie." The character is up for Time's 2023 Person of the Year.

Barbie, Taylor Swift, and Hollywood strikers make Time’s Person of the Year 2023 shortlist

King Charles III, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and other notable names are also up for this year’s title. 10:38 a.m.

Alicia Keys attends the "Hell's Kitchen" Off-Broadway opening night at The Public Theater on Nov. 19, in New York.

Alicia Keys’ semi-autobiographical stage musical ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ moves to Broadway in spring

Broadway audiences will soon be hearing the hit songs of Alicia Keys — not far from where the multiple-Grammy-winner grew up. 10:35 p.m.

BIBLIOPHILES

Craig Santos Perez, author of “From Unincorporated Territory [åmot], ” which won the 2023 National Book Award for Poetry.

Craig Santos Perez doesn’t read poetry when he’s writing it

What does this year's National Book Award winner for poetry read instead? 3:51 p.m.

"Live from the Underground" author Kate Jewell at Village Vinyl and Hi-Fi in Brookline.

A Fitchburg State professor’s new book traces the left-of-the-dial history of college radio

Kate Jewell's "Live from the Underground" has plenty to say about college radio's impact on popular culture and about the student-run stations that have thrived in Boston. 3:43 p.m.

RI THEATER REVIEW

Aimee Doherty, left, and Anna Slate, right, in the Wilbury Theatre Group’s production of Paula Vogel's “Indecent,” in Providence.

Remarkable, dexterous ensemble returns for Wilbury’s superb ‘Indecent’

Paula Vogel’s one-act play is more than a recounting of a landmark lesbian kiss. At the Wilbury Theatre Group in Providence, it’s a cogent testimony to the power of art. 3:40 p.m.

MUSIC REVIEW

Doja Cat performs at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Nov. 29.

A confident Doja Cat commands a busy stage at TD Garden

Amid the spectacle of a stage filled with dancers and props, including a mechanical spider, the rapper and singer never lost control of her tight and expansive 95-minute set. 1:03 p.m.

BOOK REVIEW

Judith Tick, author of “Becoming Ella Fitzgerald: The Jazz Singer Who Transformed American Song.”

‘Becoming Ella Fitzgerald’ presents the First Lady of Song as a consummate artist who wrote for both the connoisseur and the public

Judith Tick’s biography also gives readers a look at a media ecosystem that has all but disappeared 12:45 p.m.

PBS returning to ‘Wolf Hall’ with ‘The Mirror and the Light’

In her solo show, Kenice Mobley brings light to her darkest hours Mobley, who began her stand-up career in Boston, deals with weighty subjects in "Don’t Kill Yourself Yet,” which she'll perform at the Rockwell in Somerville.

Odie Henderson | ★★★½‘The Boy and the Heron’: a magical Miyazaki mystery tour The legendary animator triumphs again with this fable about a young boy who loses his mother and befriends a heron who guides him through the Land of the Dead.

10 TV specials for some merry holiday viewing

7 classic Norman Lear shows available on streaming

Things to do around Boston this weekend and beyond

After more than half a century, ‘Black Nativity’ remains inspired and inspiring

Norman Lear, producer of TV’s ‘All in the Family’ and influential liberal advocate, has died

Mason Daring and Jeanie Stahl celebrate a 50-year musical partnership

Virginia state art museum returns 44 pieces authorities determined were stolen or looted

‘20 Days in Mariupol’ captures the devastating early days of the war in Ukraine

‘Beyond Utopia’: a documentary that takes viewers on an escape from North Korea

‘Journalistic eye’ guides GlobeDocs Film Festival, now in its ninth year

FROM OUR PARTNERS

MORE RECENT ARTS HEADLINES

Bill Burr talks historic Fenway show, Trump, and his problems with Elf on the Shelf on ‘Kimmel’

Judge Caprio announces he has pancreatic cancer

‘We picked a choice that represents joy’: Taylor Swift is Time’s person of the year

Dehumanized and desperate, but make it Irish in Paul Lynch’s gripping ‘Prophet Song’

Odie Henderson’s 10 best movies of 2023

Actors vote to approve deal that ended strike, bringing relief to union leaders and Hollywood

Streamers sending more content to networks

‘Unearthing the Sky’ unearths big questions at Providence College Galleries

most read

Odie Henderson’s 10 best movies of 2023

Norman Lear reinvented what a sitcom could be, while letting us see ourselves

The 10 best TV shows of 2023

Judge Caprio announces he has pancreatic cancer

There are more options when it comes to school book fairs, but is there still a place for them?

Barbie, Taylor Swift, and Hollywood strikers make Time’s Person of the Year 2023 shortlist

Alicia Keys’ semi-autobiographical stage musical ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ moves to Broadway in spring

Craig Santos Perez doesn’t read poetry when he’s writing it

A Fitchburg State professor’s new book traces the left-of-the-dial history of college radio

Remarkable, dexterous ensemble returns for Wilbury’s superb ‘Indecent’

A confident Doja Cat commands a busy stage at TD Garden

‘Becoming Ella Fitzgerald’ presents the First Lady of Song as a consummate artist who wrote for both the connoisseur and the public

In her solo show, Kenice Mobley brings light to her darkest hours
Mobley, who began her stand-up career in Boston, deals with weighty subjects in "Don’t Kill Yourself Yet,” which she'll perform at the Rockwell in Somerville.

Odie Henderson | ★★★½
‘The Boy and the Heron’: a magical Miyazaki mystery tour
The legendary animator triumphs again with this fable about a young boy who loses his mother and befriends a heron who guides him through the Land of the Dead.