Kevin’s Culture Picks: What’s our cultural expert been watching?

Every week, I’ve been doing a deep dive into cultural issues, usually theater-related, that are bothering me or that deserve a second look. But who needs another thinkpiece, right?

I host two weekly programs on my theater company’s Faceboook page (Facebook.com/EpicTheatreCo) where I ask guests what has been keeping them creatively engaged or excited, and I thought I could put together some of the movies, television shows, books and music we discuss.

I’ll do this at the beginning of every month (until we’re out of … this), and hopefully it’ll keep you busy during as we start to see a light at the end of the tunnel.

So, here’s what I enjoyed in the month of February:

Movies

I Care A Lot (Streaming on Netflix)

Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar (Streaming on Amazon)
Nomadland (On Hulu)
Minari (On Demand *and* at The Avon)

Television

“Search Party” (HBO Max)
“The Muppet Show” (Not exactly new, but now available on Disney+ which also gave us Brandy in “Cinderella” this past month and–)
“WandaVision”
“It’s a Sin” (HBO Max)
“Dickinson” (Apple TV)

Books

Actress, by Anne Enright

Let’s Get Back to the Party, by Zak Salih
My Year Abroad, by Rae Lee

Music

Collapsed in Sunbeams, Arlo Parks

OK Human, Weezer

Sex, Addiction, & Everyone Else, Nicotine Dolls

Not Your Muse, Celeste

Herald, Odette

Three Little Words, Dominique Fils-Amie

Pink Planet, Pink Sweat$

Revolutionary Love, Ani DiFranco
Ignorance, The Weather Station

Open Door Policy, The Hold Steady

Moonlit Fools, Sam Dew

American Silence, Chris Pierce

Best Streaming Theater of the Month

Hi, Are You Single? — Ryan J. Haddad’s one-man show directed by Laura Savia and Jess McLeod, and present by Woolly Mammoth, about navigating the waters of modern gay dating as a man with cerebral palsy was a blast of irreverent fresh air at a time when many of us have grown used to expecting, well, not very much from any streaming theater we may be letting into our homes. Discovering a play like this, and a talent like Haddad’s, is exactly why we shouldn’t plan on chucking digital once in-person becomes available again.