Alex Cullina, Theatre & Books Editor
All content by Alex Cullina
A Starving Artist’s Guide to Arts Events This Weekend: May 10 to 12
Stay entertained this weekend for $20 or less.
Alex Cullina, Theater & Books Editor
• May 8, 2019
Vampire Weekend Plays Surprise WSP Set
The Grammy-winning indie rock group played an acoustic set in Washington Square Park earlier today, the same day they released their first album in six years.
Alex Cullina, Theater & Books Editor
• May 3, 2019
A Starving Artist’s Guide to Arts Events This Weekend: May 3 to 5
Stay entertained this weekend for $20 or less.
Alex Cullina, Theater & Books Editor
• May 1, 2019
A Starving Artist’s Guide to Arts Events This Weekend: April 26 to 28
Stay entertained this weekend for $20 or less.
Alex Cullina, Theater & Books Editor
• April 24, 2019
Unpopular Opinions: When the Villain Was Right
Our staff gives you some of their best hot takes on some of pop culture’s most notorious bad guys.
Nicole Rosenthal, Dante Sacco, Alex Cullina and Sakshi Venkatraman
• April 23, 2019
A Starving Artist’s Guide to Arts Events This Weekend: April 19 to 21
Stay entertained this weekend for $20 or less.
Alex Cullina, Books & Theater Editor
• April 18, 2019
Tisch Alum’s Film Shines New Light on Emily Dickinson
Writer and director Madeleine Olnek’s new dramedy “Wild Nights with Emily” uses relatively recent insights into the poet’s private life.
Alex Cullina, Theater & Books Editor
• April 16, 2019
Unpopular Opinion: A24 Films
Before you watch “Under the Silver Lake,” let’s revisit past A24 films and break down if they’re really as good as Tisch kids say they are.
Nicole Rosenthal, Guru Ramanathan, Alex Cullina and Dante Sacco
• April 16, 2019
A Starving Artist’s Guide to Arts Events This Weekend: April 12 to 14
Stay entertained this weekend for $20 or less.
Alex Cullina, Theater & Books Editor
• April 10, 2019
Unpopular Opinions: Young Adult Novels
The Arts Desk gives some fresh takes on novels for younger audiences.
Guru Ramanathan, Dante Sacco and Alex Cullina
• April 9, 2019
Gallatin Arts Fest Embodies School’s Unique Spirit
The annual showcase of visual and performing arts work by Gallatin students celebrates the school’s interdisciplinary academics and community spirit.
Alex Cullina, Theater & Books Editor
• April 8, 2019
A Starving Artist’s Guide to Arts Events This Weekend: April 4 to 7
Stay entertained this weekend for $20 or less.
Alex Cullina, Theater & Books Editor
• April 4, 2019
Devanshi Khetarpal | An Indian Poet Finds the Sublime in the Everyday
Alex Cullina, Theatre & Books Editor
• April 3, 2019
A Starving Artist’s Guide to Arts Events This Weekend: March 28 to 31
Stay entertained this weekend for $20 or less.
Alex Cullina, Books & Theater Editor
• March 27, 2019
Unpopular Opinions: Animal Characters
No animals were harmed in the making of this list.
Guru Ramanathan, Dante Sacco and Alex Cullina
• March 26, 2019
A Starving Artist’s Guide to Arts Events This Weekend: March 15 to 17
Stay entertained this weekend for $20 or less.
Alex Cullina, Books and Theater Editor
• March 14, 2019
Unpopular Opinions: Children’s Book Series
In honor of the new Nancy Drew movie coming out, the Arts Desk is giving its hot takes on children’s book series.
Nicole Rosenthal, Guru Ramanthan, Dante Sacco and Alex Cullina
• March 12, 2019
A Starving Artist’s Guide to Arts Events This Weekend: March 7 to 10
Stay entertained this weekend for $20 or less.
Alex Cullina, Theater & Books Editor
• March 7, 2019
Unpopular Opinions: Remakes and Reboots
With A24’s “Gloria Bell,” the remake of the Chilean film “Gloria,” receiving a lot of early praise, the Arts Desk is looking at other remakes and reboots that are also up to par with, or better than, their predecessors.
Guru Ramanthan, Alex Cullina, Nicole Rosenthal and Dante Sacco
• March 6, 2019
Dramatic Writing Professor Brings Blockchain to Theater
Sofia Alvarez, a Tisch professor and the screenwriter of Netflix’s “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before,” is the co-founder of the Blockchain Theater Project, which draws on blockchain’s peer-to-peer model to dismantle the institutional barriers of the theater world.
Alex Cullina, Theater and Books Editor
• March 4, 2019
Tisch’s ‘Fiction’ Asks, ‘What Does It Mean to Be a Spectator?’
The new performance piece, written and directed by theatermakers 600 Highwaymen, explores the nature of art and spectatorship through the work of photographer Diane Arbus.
Alex Cullina, Theater & Books Editor
• February 28, 2019
A Starving Artist’s Guide to Arts Events This Weekend: Mar. 1 to 3
Stay entertained this weekend for $20 or less.
Alex Cullina, Books & Theater Editor
• February 28, 2019
Gallatin Galleries Show Meditates on Sexuality, Masculinity, Race
In “Steve Locke: in the name of love,” the multimedia artist ponders what it means to be black and gay in America today.
Alex Cullina, Books & Theater Editor
• February 25, 2019
Unpopular Opinions: Oscar Hosts
The Arts Desk is tired of giving hot takes on snubs and surprises and have decided to critique a different aspect of awards shows: the hosts!
Guru Ramanathan, Claire Fishman, Alex Cullina, Nicole Rosenthal and Dante Sacco
• February 20, 2019
A Starving Artist’s Guide to Arts Events This Weekend: Feb. 14 to 17
Stay entertained this weekend for $20 or less.
Alex Cullina, Books & Theatre Editor
• February 14, 2019
Unpopular Opinions: Romantic Comedy Protagonists
Valentine's Day is coming up and the Arts Desk cannot wait! Thus, they’ve decided to critically analyze rom-coms in anticipation of the big day.
Guru Ramanathan, Claire Fishman, Alex Cullina and Nicole Rosenthal
• February 13, 2019
Steinhardt’s ‘Rags’: A Tale of Trump’s America, 100 Years Ago
Steinhardt presents the newest version of an emotionally stirring musical tale of Jewish immigrants in turn-of-the-century New York City.
Alex Cullina, Books & Theater Editor
• February 11, 2019
A Starving Artist’s Guide to Arts Events this Weekend: Feb. 8 to 10
Stay entertained this weekend for $20 or less.
Alex Cullina, Theater & Books Editor
• February 7, 2019
Unpopular Opinions: Super Bowl Commercials
In which the Arts Desk gives hot takes on what is the most important of the big game, anyway.
Guru Ramanathan, Nicole Rosenthal, Claire Fishman and Alex Cullina
• February 6, 2019
Terrance Hayes Talks Trump, Teaching at NYU
At the Lillian Vernon Creative Writing House, the award-winning poet and NYU professor read published and unpublished work from a series he started after the 2016 election.
Alex Cullina, Books & Theater Editor
• February 4, 2019
Unpopular Opinions: ‘Black Mirror’
The first spring 2019 edition of one of the Arts Desk’s acclaimed weekly series deals out hot takes on Netflix’s Emmy-winning sci-fi series.
Alex Cullina, Guru Ramanathan and Nicole Rosenthal
• January 30, 2019
‘Gatz’ at Skirball: ‘Gatsby’ Reimagined for the Stage
Elevator Repair Service’s staged reading of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel is a great work in its own right.
Alex Cullina, Books & Theater Editor
• January 28, 2019
Staff Recs: Best Holiday Films
Ali Zimmerman, Daniella Nichinson, Nicole Rosenthal, Guru Ramanathan and Alex Cullina
• November 30, 2018
A Starving Artist’s Guide to Arts Events this Weekend: Nov. 30 to Dec. 2
Stay entertained this weekend for $20 or less.
Ali Zimmerman and Alex Cullina
• November 29, 2018
Unpopular Opinions: Actors
Daniella Nichinson, Guru Ramanathan, Nicole Rosenthal and Alex Cullina
• November 28, 2018
In ‘Chasing the New White Whale,’ Heroin Ravages a Working-Class Community
Alex Cullina, Books & Theater Editor
• November 27, 2018
Staff Recs: Best Film Ensembles
Every so often, a movie ensemble absolutely blows audiences away and makes us ask ourselves, “How can one movie could contain so much talent and power?”
Ryan Mikel, Daniella Nichinson, Guru Ramanathan and Alex Cullina
• November 16, 2018
A Starving Artist’s Guide to Arts Events this Weekend: Nov. 16 to Nov. 18
How to experience arts if you're pinching pennies.
Ali Zimmerman and Alex Cullina
• November 15, 2018
Staff Recs: Best Albums for Fall
Ryan Mikel, Daniella Nichinson, Nicole Rosenthal, Guru Ramanathan, Alex Cullina and Ali Zimmerman
• November 9, 2018
Staff Recs: Best Villains
Get your watch queue ready for the baddest villains of them all.
Ryan Mikel, Daniella Nichinson, Nicole Rosenthal, Ali Zimmerman, Guru Ramanathan and Alex Cullina
• November 1, 2018
A Starving Artist’s Guide to Arts Events This Weekend: Nov. 2 to Nov. 4
Stay entertained this weekend for $20 or less.
Ali Zimmerman and Alex Cullina
• October 31, 2018
Unpopular Opinions: Supernatural Villains
This week we’re getting spooky niche with our unpopular opinions and taking a look at supernatural villains!
Daniella Nichinson, Ryan Mikel, Nicole Rosenthal, Alex Cullina and Guru Ramanathan
• October 30, 2018
Staff Recs: Best Movie Soundtracks and Scores
Ryan Mikel, Nicole Rosenthal, Guru Ramanathan, Daniella Nichinson and Alex Cullina
• October 25, 2018
Staff Recs: Scariest Horror Movies
Ryan Mikel, Nicole Rosenthal, Guru Ramanathan, Ali Zimmerman, Daniella Nichinson, Alex Cullina and Melanie Pineda
• October 18, 2018
Unpopular Opinions: 20th Century Authors
Daniella Nichinson, Nicole Rosenthal, Guru Ramanathan, Ali Zimmerman, Alex Cullina and Ryan Mikel
• October 16, 2018
A Karl Marx Festival in the Age of Late Capitalism
Alex Cullina, Books & Theater Editor
• October 15, 2018
Melissa Lozada-Oliva
Doesn't Want to Be Relatable
Alex Cullina, Books & Theatre Editor
• October 11, 2018
Staff Recs: Hollywood Movie Musicals
Ryan Mikel, Daniella Nichinson, Alex Cullina, Guru Ramanathan and Ali Zimmerman
• October 4, 2018
Unpopular Opinions: Film & TV Protagonists
Main characters we love to hate.
Ali Zimmerman, Guru Ramanathan, Daniella Nichinson and Alex Cullina
• October 2, 2018
Unpopular Opinions: Cinematic Classics
Daniella Nichinson, Ali Zimmerman, Guru Ramanathan, Nicole Rosenthal, Alex Cullina and Ryan Mikel
• September 25, 2018
Staff Recs: Best Songs To Fall In Love To
Fall is the season when everyone wants to find in love — here are the best songs to indulge your inner romantic.
Daniella Nichinson, Guru Ramanathan, Ali Zimmerman, Alex Cullina, Ryan Mikel and Nicole Rosenthal
• September 20, 2018
Staff Recs: Best Netflix Originals
Netflix is the future of cinema and here's why.
Daniella Nichinson, Nicole Rosenthal, Melanie Pineda, Ryan Mikel, Alex Cullina and Guru Ramanathan
• September 13, 2018
Sidelined on Screen, Glenn Close Shines as ‘The Wife’
Alex Cullina, Film Editor
• September 4, 2018
‘We the Animals’: A Portrait of Childhood
Alex Cullina, Film Editor
• August 26, 2018
Tribeca 2018: A Complex Examination of Grief in ‘To Dust’
Alex Cullina, Staff Writer
• April 30, 2018
Tribeca 2018: ‘The Night Eats the World’ Is A Great Zombie Movie
Alex Cullina, Staff Writer
• April 26, 2018
Staff Recs: Intelligent Horror Films
Ryan Mikel, Guru Ramanathan, Anubhuti Kumar, Tyler Crews, Alex Cullina and Alejandro Villa Vásquez
• April 26, 2018
Min Jin Lee Talks Representation at ‘West 10th’ Launch
Alex Cullina, Staff Writer
• April 23, 2018
The Rise of Queer Cinema
Alex Cullina, Staff Writer
• April 4, 2018
A Forgotten Queer History in ‘Speed Queen’
Alex Cullina, Staff Writer
• March 26, 2018
The Politics of Joy in ‘RIOT’
Alex Cullina, Contributing Writer
• February 20, 2018
Zadie Smith Talks New Book ‘Feel Free’
Alex Cullina, Contributing Writer
• February 12, 2018
The Two Worlds of a ‘Cage Fighter’
Alex Cullina, Contributing Writer
• February 5, 2018
‘A New Brain’ Is a No Brainer
Alex Cullina, Contributing Writer
• February 5, 2018
NYU at the Oscars, Again
Alex Cullina, Contributing Writer
• January 26, 2018
Dharma Niles, News Editor • December 3, 2024
Steven Wang, Staff Writer • December 3, 2024
Leo Field, Staff Writer • December 3, 2024
Katie Liao, Staff Writer • December 3, 2024
Christobelle Rudes, Contributing Writer • December 3, 2024