August 28, 2026 - Week in Review: Remembering Dolly Parton, Tim Curry, and Yayoi Kusama

Joyce Kulhawik joins Lisa Simmons, Artistic and Executive Director of the Roxbury International Film Festival, and Culture Show producer Kate Dellis for a look at some of the week’s biggest arts and culture stories, which included: Dolly Parton died this week at 80, leaving behind thousands of songs, 11 Grammys, more than 100 million records sold—and a philanthropic legacy that put hundreds of millions of books into the hands of children around the world. Tim Curry, the actor who turned Dr. Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show into one of cinema’s great cult characters, died this week at 80. His career also included indelible turns in Clue and It. Yayoi Kusama, whose polka dots, pumpkins and Infinity Mirror Rooms became some of contemporary art’s most recognizable images, died this month at 97 after a career spanning more than seven decades. After Boston Symphony Orchestra musicians unanimously authorized a strike, the players and management reached a new three-year contract that gives musicians greater influence over artistic planning and the choice of the orchestra’s next music director. Meta agreed to a $17.1 billion settlement over allegations that its platforms harmed young people. The deal could bring new restrictions for teenage users and as much as $516 million to Massachusetts for youth programs and mental-health services.