Leisure

Reviews and think pieces on music, movies, art, and theater.



Leisure

Don’t be afraid to have an early life crisis. You’ll be like Nettspend!

Throughout his career, Nettspend has been the laughable little brother of the underground rap genre. Despite his young age, he has already achieved unimaginable success; in just two years, he... Read more

Leisure

Bop with it, lean with it, open a pit with it!

Our crowds are terrible. If we want a music scene that actually matches the talent on stage, we must be a crowd worth playing for.

Leisure

In Half His Age, Jennette McCurdy is twice as candid

Rather than building toward a clear moral thesis, the book accumulates fragments of shame, thrill, self-justification, and humiliation.

Leisure

Safety Not Guaranteed: Signature Theatre’s newest musical guarantees a good time

Safety Not Guaranteed introduces audiences to a magically realistic depiction of friendship and time travel in the Pacific Northwest.

Leisure

Curtains rise on No Pressure Creatives’ Out of Sync

No Pressure Creatives is currently performing Out of Sync, a completely student-written musical, in Gaston Hall.

Leisure

On Cloud 9, Megan Moroney sings an all-too-familiar tune

While her Moroney continues to please her fanbase, her failure to evolve artistically risks an ever-shortening fuse. 

Leisure

Hilary Duff hit the jackpot. Must be luck…or something

Luck… or something (2026) is a comeback and a rebirth, proof that time can both soften a pop star’s image and sharpen her pen.

Leisure

The Chimes go big on Desperate Chimes, Desperate Measures

Desperate Chimes, Desperate Measures (2026) features a daring tracklist, but the Chimes always make the risk worth the reward.

Leisure

Meet Malikat al Dabke, the all-women troupe keeping dabke alive in D.C.

What began as a dance workshop open to dancers of all skill levels has become Washington, D.C.’s first all-women dabke troupe—a cultural anchor for the five Arab American women who... Read more

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Three days, two exhibitions, and one community at the DC Arts Center

The exhibits attracted a ragtag team of menders, artists, and appreciators who, without trying, filled the missing role in the collection.

Leisure

Cherry Tree Massacre is a night of a cappella tradition

The Georgetown Chimes rang in 2026 with the 53rd annual Cherry Tree Massacre, the group’s long-running a cappella showcase that brings groups from campuses across the D.C. area together on one stage.

Leisure

“Wuthering Heights” descends to wuthering lows

Fennell has unequivocally built a sumptuous film of texture and eroticism—but an adaptation must answer its source’s questions.

Leisure

Don’t Be Dumb: Listen to A$AP Rocky’s staticky new album

From start to finish, each song is a fundamental representation of who Rocky is, what he has accomplished, and where he’s going next.

Leisure

Talking whales and sexy aliens: Avatar: Fire and Ash

In director James Cameron’s latest film, Avatar: Fire and Ash (2025), an esteemed 10-foot-tall blue humanoid shouts “He’s a loose cannon!” about a whale who speaks in papyrus font—a moment... Read more

Leisure

Wicked: For Good (& not so good)

Thank Goodness! Whether you’ve eagerly waited a full year for the continuation of the Wicked story or you’re ready to stop seeing pink and green everywhere you look, the wait... Read more

Leisure

Is romance dead? In Eternity, the answer is yes and no.

“’Til death do us part” is a familiar vow of loyalty between married couples, but what happens after death? In Eternity (2025), Elizabeth Olsen plays Joan, a widowed woman who... Read more

Leisure

On West End Girl, Lily Allen bares her teeth and her soul. And it’s bloody brilliant!

In a 2023 interview on The Jonathan Ross Show, Lily Allen commented on her hesitation to perform with pop it girl Olivia Rodrigo as her Glastonbury guest in 2022. “I... Read more

Leisure

Georgetown, open the door! Heathers is meant to be yours!

On a freezing November night, I had the pleasure of warming up during Nomadic Theatre’s latest spectacle: Heathers: The Musical. Directed by Daniel Tomas (SFS ’26) and produced by Alec... Read more

Leisure

Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere and the fight for novelty in a world of biopics

Our society has an obsession with retelling the stories of icons, desperately trying to dramatize their lives and explore the depths of what makes them unique. We’ve entered an era... Read more

Leisure

Eli is the next Stage Girl

I’ve spent most of this year trying to act normal, but the truth is… I’ve been stalking Eli. Not in a scary way (yet), but in the only way that... Read more