“Broadway’s new Sweeney Todd has recouped its initial $3.5 million investment in 19 weeks (as of the week ending March 12). It is rare for a Sondheim show to recoup its investment on Broadway. Among his few financially successful outings is the original mounting of A Little Night Music.”
Month: March 2006
Rethinking The ‘Burbs
Is it time to rethink our perceptions of urban sprawl? “Does sprawl include exurbia, the outmost band of development, … the very low-density urban penumbra that lies beyond the regularly built-up suburbs and their urban services? Or is it the newly emerging suburban band of conventional subdivisions, golf courses, schools, and strip malls located closer in toward the city? If the latter is sprawl, is it logical to exclude older suburbs? Certainly at one time these older communities, even many of the most densely packed inner neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Manhattan, were themselves relatively low in density and suburban in character compared to what was the core of the city. Why wouldn’t they be considered historic sprawl?”
Movie Concessions Revenue Dips
“Much has been made of how declining movie admissions and box-office grosses have clipped the earnings of movie studios and film exhibitors. But audience apathy also is taking a bite out of the oft-overlooked concession business. Particularly hard hit are those companies that rely on movie theaters for the bulk of their sales.”
Arts Council Wales Top Job Unfilled
Artists in Wales are concerned that the government does not seem to be looking for a new director of Arts Council Wales. “As yet, no successor has been appointed to Mr Davies – and the post has not been advertised, even though Mr Davies steps down at the end of March.”
America’s Largest Free Jazz Fest May Have To Charge
San Jose’s summer jazz festival calls itself the “largest free jazz festival in the United States.” But that designation may be about to change. The festival may have to start charging: $5 a person for an all-day pass. “The reason for the charge: rising operational fees coupled with a loss of corporate sponsors Ford, Chevron and Applied Materials. The festival costs almost $1 million and, much to their disappointment, organizers said, only $60,000 comes from a city that has just designated $4 million for a car race.”
Dylan Show Closes In San Diego After Another Draft
“Director-choreographer Twyla Tharp’s surreal spectacle set to Bob Dylan songs is now somewhere between Draft 2 and the final Draft 3 that will open on Broadway this fall. Those terms come from Tharp herself, who calls a private workshop performance of the fledgling show last year in New York “Draft 1” and the Globe show of two months ago “Draft 2.” In residence here since early December, the workaholic Tharp has attended most of the 65 performances since previews began.”
“Movin’ Out” Dancer Sues Show For $100 Million
She “says in the lawsuit that she was repeatedly humiliated and intimidated in front of other cast members by the show’s stage manager about an increase in the size of her breasts, which necessitated alterations to her costumes.”
Security Camera Images Of Tunick’s Nudes Show Up For Sale
Pictures of naked people participating in one of Spencer Tunick’s photos of mass nudes have shown up for sale. The pictures are from security surveillance cameras. “We’ve spoken to a number of officers and police staff and as a result two members of police staff are in the process of being suspended.”
Internet – Not Just Mostly Men Anymore
“Once a medium dominated by men, the internet now draws approximately equal proportions of male and female users in the United States. Top search engines and portal sites draw about the same numbers of men and women. A recent Pew Research Center study found that men and women are about equally likely to go online to buy things, make travel arrangements or do their banking. Even so, it’s the differences between the sexes’ behavior online that intrigues marketers.”
A Florida Community Goes For Something Different In A Cultural Plan
The city of Delray Beach Florida commissioned a new cultural plan, and the authors of it tout it as something new: “What’s interesting about it is that it is focused on taking the city’s inherent cultural assets and using them as building blocks in a way that addresses the always-on, experience-oriented, don’t-make-me-sit-in-a-seat-and-watch-you-perform nature of culture today. There are no cookie-cutter solutions in this report. No build a new performing arts center just like the one down the street to compete.”