“On Wednesday night, a semi-staged ‘Merrily’ was presented at New York’s City Center, placing the problematic show closer to Broadway both in spirit and location — only four blocks from its original theater — than it’s been in 30-plus years. How did ‘Merrily’ get here after all its drama — it was the ‘Spider-Man’ of its season, with postponements, creative replacements and plenty of ill will — and after all these years?”
Month: February 2012
Making More Makers – And Moving On From Marshmallow Cannons
Joey Hudy, the boy who impressed President Obama with his marshmallow cannon, is a self-identified “maker.” What’s that? “Makers start with that simple idea to do something, which is why we call it DIY – for ‘do it yourself.’ Soon, however, they find out that there are lots of people like [them] out there.”
Call That Delicate Conducting? Only If You Know The Conductor’s A Woman
New studies confirm that classical listeners often respond differently to female conductors – but that’s not always a bad thing. (Also, those thinking about a random string of numbers during a performance won’t be distracted by gender. Really.)
Putting The H For History Back In Romance At The Oregon Ballet Theatre
“The upper-class ballet lovers watching the curtain go up on opening night of Giselle in 1841 were sitting on a time bomb, and they knew it.”
Do We No Longer Care About Conflicts Of Interest For Journalists?
“Conflicts of interest, which used to be the third rail of journalism, now seem to have become like herpes instead: something you disclose if you want to build a real relationship, but maybe not if a brief assignation is all you’ve got in mind. And in an age when people are blithely receiving information straight from politicians and companies – Starbucks has a direct channel to 28-million latte lovers through its Facebook page, who can decide for themselves whether they agree with the message – perhaps it’s only crusty journalism profs who care about such things.”
A Call To Employ More Older Women Actors
“The older actress barely walks our British stages and it would seem, unlike the British public, our theatre community does not think this state of affairs warrants any changes.”
Dancers At English National Opera Protest Their Pay
Dancers working for English National Opera are calling for an overhaul of pay conditions, claiming their rate of less than £10 an hour is “disrespectful and absurd”.
Award For The Most Scathing Review
“Adam Mars-Jones, the novelist and critic, was last night named the winner at a booze-up held in Soho’s Coach and Horses pub, for his wielding of the literary hatchet over By Nightfall by Michael Cunningham. Cunningham, a Pulitzer winner for The Hours, made the error of filling his latest novel, the tale of an art dealer’s midlife crisis, with repeated references to earlier, and possibly greater works in the literary canon.”
California Dealer Settles With Artist Over Royalty Payments
“Artists and art dealers around the country who have argued over the legal rights of artists to collect royalties in California have been chewing over a settlement this week between the collector Dean Valentine and the painter Mark Grotjahn.”
The Great Tuba Theft Epidemic
“In the last few months, dozens of brass sousaphones — smaller tubas used in marching bands — were taken from schools in Southern California. Though the police have not made any arrests, music teachers say the thefts are motivated by the growing popularity of banda, a traditional Mexican music form in which tubas play a dominant role.”