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Emerson College’s only independent, student-run newspaper since 1947

The Berkeley Beacon

Emerson College’s only independent, student-run newspaper since 1947

The Berkeley Beacon

Emerson College’s only independent, student-run newspaper since 1947

The Berkeley Beacon

Arts

Four Cat Stew play with musical guest, Caroline Ranucci. (Max Ardrey / Beacon Staff)

Emerson and Berklee band brings Tiny Desk from NPR to PR (Piano Row)

By Max Ardrey, Dept. Living Arts Editor / April 16, 2025

If you live on the lower floors of Piano Row, you might have heard a mellow beat and groove seeping out of a fourth-floor suite last Sunday. These sounds...

A visitor views a self-portrait by Amy Giess, from her project "My Head is Too Heavy." (Isabella Gemma / Beacon Correspondent)

How many Emerson students does it take to curate an exhibition?

By Ryan Yau, Living Arts Editor / April 16, 2025

Movement/s, a student-curated exhibition, will be displayed at the Media Arts Gallery until May 3. The exhibition features photographs and visual art by...

Illustration Ben Putney

Review: ‘A Minecraft Movie’ is not just for miners

By Meg Richards, Managing Editor / April 16, 2025

I got a ticket to see "A Minecraft Movie” last Thursday at the AMC. Despite making me one of millions to have achieved this feat, it is in and of itself...

(Courtesy of Marc J. Franklin)

Review: Dynamic, raw, and real—‘Don’t Eat The Mangos’ tells a flawed story of sisterhood

By Hannah Hughes, Staff Writer / April 13, 2025

Despite the large fruit tree standing tall over their home for nearly all their lives, sisters Ismelda, Yinolle, and Wicha grew up with a longstanding...

Erin Stotts (squatting right) on set. (Courtesy Terry Hou)

Meet Emerson’s intimacy coordinators

By Max Ardrey, Dept. Living Arts Editor / April 9, 2025

Film sets are stressful, but when the crew is made up of exhausted students, they run the risk of being panic-inducing. Visual media arts students learn...

From left to right: Maria San Filippo, Sarah Secunda, and Cristina Kotz Cornejo. (Ryan Yau / Beacon Staff)

Eight months after Bright Lights, the screening room remains important for discourse

By Ryan Yau, Living Arts Editor / April 9, 2025

On Tuesday, VMA Presents programmed a special advanced screening of three short films by faculty members, which featured women-centric films about issues...

(Courtesy of Michelle Carpenter)

NFTs explained for liberal arts students: Pellas Art Gallery welcomes women in blockchain

By Bryan Liu, Managing Editor / April 9, 2025

NFTs are misunderstood. For most, they’re just money. For others, they’re overrated. But for one night at the Pellas Art Gallery on 73 Newbury Street...

Illustration by Rachel Choi

Review: Mumford and Sons shows their restless heart with ‘Rushmere’

By Danielle Bartholet, Kasteel Well Staff Writer / April 9, 2025

“For years we’ve been secretly dreaming,” the caption read on Mumford and Sons’ January Instagram post, announcing a new and long awaited album...

(Courtesy of Neil Krug)

Review: Djo ascends to the height of his career on ‘The Crux’

By Sam Shipman, Kasteel Well Staff Writer / April 4, 2025

Following his lead role as Steve Harrington in Netflix’s hit show “Stranger Things,” and the TikTok megahit “End of The Beginning,” created under...

(Courtesy of the Huntington Theatre Company)

‘Don’t Eat The Mangos’ arrives at the Huntington

By Hannah Hughes, Staff Writer / April 2, 2025

“Don’t Eat The Mangos,” takes the stage at the Huntington on April 3. It’s a story of dark secrets, wicked humor, and honest truths, all with a...

Annalisa Hansford holding "Romanticization of Ghosts and Grief" at the Grolier Poetry Book Shop. (Courtesy of Annalisa Hansford)

‘Romanticization of Ghosts and Grief’: Finding community through poetry

By Ryan Yau, Living Arts Editor / April 2, 2025

Most people cringe at the musings of their 14-year-old selves. Annalisa Hansford, a senior writing, literature, and publishing student, gains constant...

Lily Monday performing at the 2024 ComEx! (Courtesy of Christopher Griswold-Jenkins)

ComEx! is the funniest thing happening this weekend

By Ryan Yau, Living Arts Editor / April 2, 2025

This Friday and Saturday, the sixth annual Comedy Extravaganza, or ComEx!, will be held in the Greene Theater of the Tufte Performance and Production Center....

(Illustration by Kellyn Taylor)

Looking for a sweet treat? Madeleine’s Candy Shop opens in the South End

By Allison Po, Beacon Correspondent / March 26, 2025

Soft lighting and fish decor peek through the storefront. The ambiance is warm and whimsy.  This is Madeleine's Candy Shop, the perfect place for anyone...

From left to right: Ioana Jucan, Tushar Mathew, and Leonie Bradbury. (Courtesy of Zubin Stillings)

All about Emerson Contemporary’s latest AI exhibition

By Ryan Yau, Living Arts Editor / March 26, 2025

While writers, illustrators, and artists have cowered in fear for the past two years, theatermakers have felt safe from the threat of generative AI. In...

Tommy Richman performs at the Paradise Rock Club (Courtesy Grahame White)

Review: Tommy Richman runs it back with electric Boston show

By Charlie Desjardins, Beacon Contributor / March 26, 2025

Just as quickly as he was embraced, he was forgotten.  Virginia singer-rapper Tommy Richman, who mere months ago had the musical world in a headlock...

This year’s cast of the Queer Voices Festival (Courtesy Maggie Hall)

Boston Queer Voices Festival amplifies LGBTQ+ voices with a triumphant second year

By Fiona McMahon, Magazine Editor / March 26, 2025

“I think I’m gonna try heroin,” says Ernie, a middle-aged dad eating leftover food beside his son’s gravestone. To his right, a young man mourns...

Teddy Abrams conducts the BSO in Symphonic Dances from "West Side Story" (Courtesy Hilary Scott)

Boston Symphony Orchestra serves up Tchaikovsky, Bernstein, and Tilson Thomas

By Max Ardrey, Dept. Living Arts Editor / March 19, 2025

Let’s see if you’ve heard this one: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Michael Tilson Thomas, and Leonard Bernstein all walk into a bar… The result, which...

Courtesy of Jack Karnatz

Neal Francis explores connection, adulthood, and the groove on ‘Return to Zero’

By Sam Shipman, Kasteel Well Staff Writer / March 19, 2025

The moment Neal Francis began his interview with The Beacon, he said hello before taking a moment to light incense. Dressed in a slick jumpsuit that could...

Talia Suskauer and Max Chernin in the National Tour of PARADE, photo by Joan Marcus

Review: ‘Parade’ marches into the Colonial, telling a story that is still timely today

By Hannah Hughes, Staff Writer / March 19, 2025

The Tony Award-winning revival of Jason Robert Brown’s musical “Parade” marched into Emerson’s Colonial Theater on March 11.  “Parade”...

Shana Figueroa (left) on the set of "Forever War." (Courtesy of Shana Figueroa)

After 20 years in the Air Force, Shana Figueroa serves her creative dreams

By Ryan Yau, Living Arts Editor / March 19, 2025

What do you do when you’re stuck losing over and over again? The film “Forever War” opens with John, a veteran soldier who receives a mysterious...