May 8, 2024 - Spiritus/Virgil's Dance, lilacs, and Isabella Stewart Gardner

Is it the human condition to take life for granted? Do we need to be confronted with death as a way to acknowledge life, appreciate life  and to find meaning in life? These are both metaphysical and matter-of-fact questions that are central to Dael Orlandersmith’s solo play “Spiritus/Virgil’s Dance.”It is described as being in conversation with Dante’s Divine Comedy, where Virgil guides Dante’s journey through hell and  purgatory. In Orlandersmith’s hands, Virgil is an adrift 20 something –a Bronx native who instead of navigating hell, is navigating Manhattan. When Virgil’s mother and father die just a year apart, it’s a loss that  reorients Virigl’s life and renews a sense of purpose.“Spiritus/Virgil’s Dance” is written and performed by Dael Orlandersmith and directed by Neel Keller.  Orlandersmith joins The Culture Show to talk about her latest work. From there it’s purple reign. This Sunday more than 400 lilacs will be in bloom at the Arnold Arboretum. Arboretum horticulturist Conor Guidarelli joins us for a preview. .Finally, most of us know the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. But what do we know about the woman behind it? Writer Natalie Dykstra’s latest biography, “Chasing Beauty” conveys the spirit of Gardner's complicated personality and  how she found her niche, and created a legacy, as a patron and friend of the arts.