“Seussical” has taken a slam from the critics, but the show just got a major boost. Talk show host Rosie O’Donnell is stepping in to the role of the Cat in the Hat. Ticket sales soared after the announcement. – New York Times
Author: Douglas McLennan
TAKING THE ‘NON’ OUT OF NON-PROFIT
Glasgow’s King’s Theatre hasn’t been making it as a non-profit. And Glaswegians are tired of all the big musicals bypassing their city for Edinburgh. So there’s a plan to turn the theatre over to commercial hands to see if the theatre can be turned around. – The Scotsman
THINKING BIG
So Cirque du Soleil is planning a massive entertainment complex for London. What will it look like? “Great projects are achieved with great complicity, but also in the recognition that it cannot just be a creative pole or just a business pole. It will arrive and it will be achieved with a great balance between the recognition of each of those poles and each respecting the reality of the other one. And… ” – The Independent (UK)
NO MORE BLACKFACE
An English town council passes an ordinance prohibiting actors from dressing up in blackface. “It is fundamentally racist to have white actors ‘blacking up’ for black parts. That belongs to the 19th century.” – BBC
ONLINE PROMOTION
Websites have become a step beyond the chat show – writers’ websites try to make friends with readers, all in an effort to sell more books. If the efforts are somewhat clumsy… – New York Times
DIRECTING OUR RESOURCES
“The issue is not whether classical ballet is a great art form; let’s postulate that it is. The question is about the role of art in the community. Should public money be used to help perfect an elitist exercise so that all may benefit by watching it, or should it be used to promote sundry inclusive art forms (Make-A-Circus, as one example) so that all may benefit by participating in them?” – San Francisco Chronicle 12/14/00
HOLLYWOOD AND THE GOP
“For the TV industry, a Republican administration is generally welcomed, since the GOP largely believes in letting the marketplace, not regulation, rule the day. Overall, entertainment toppers are concerned that the reputed ills of Hollywood may be the one issue a nearly evenly divided Congress can agree on.” – Variety 12/14/00
PROTECTION UNDER THE LAW
Australian painters, sculptors, composers, authors, film makers and other artistic creators have finally won the right to “stop their work being mistreated or wrongly attributed under laws passed last week. It has taken seven years, two governments and a handful of ministers to get rights most of the rest of the Western world has long taken for granted.” – The Age (Melbourne) 12/14/00
SYMPHONY SPACE EXPANDS
New York’s innovative Symphony Space, home to a variety of arts programming, is expanding to take over and renovate the Thalia Theatre next door. – New York Times 12/14/00
EARNING IN THE ARTS
What are graduates of Australia’s universities earning? First-year dentists get $50,000. “At the other end of the scale, visual arts graduates and linguists remain in the doldrums. Between 30 and 40 per cent of those graduates looking for work are still unable to find full-time work four months after leaving university. Assuming they got work, graduates working in art and design could expect to earn $28,000, well below the national average.” – Sydney Morning Herald 12/14/00