Author: Douglas McLennan

THE SHOOTING OF ANTHONY LEE

The actor that LA police shot and killed at a Halloween party Sunday (he was carrying a toy gun) was a longtime much-loved Seattle actor. “For the many in Seattle who knew and admired this charismatic man who left his mark on our theater scene, Lee must be remembered not mainly as the victim of a freak shooting, but as a riveting actor and an extraordinary human being. He deserves that.” – Seattle Times

WILL THE KIMBELL MUSEUM LEAVE FORT WORTH?

“Quietly, in little-noticed legal maneuvers over the past two years and with the silent blessing of the City Council, the social contract Kimbell forged with Fort Worth has been dismantled. Few noticed, but the change meant that the people no longer held ultimate claim to the museum and its collection.” The final step came on August 15, when the Fort Worth City Council voted away protections that would keep the museum in town. – Fort Worth Weekly

THE IMPORTANCE OF A GOOD NAME

President Clinton has signed a bill to change the name of the National Museum of American Art to the Smithsonian American Art Museum, which will affect all 22 museums and research institutes run by the Smithsonian Institution. “As we send more and more traveling exhibits across the country and create affiliations with museums in all 50 states, it’s important for people to be able to recognize instantly that the Smithsonian has come to their town.” – New Jersey Online (AP)

THE SHOOTING OF ANTHONY LEE

The actor that LA police shot and killed at a Halloween party Sunday (he was carrying a toy gun) was a longtime much-loved Seattle actor. “For the many in Seattle who knew and admired this charismatic man who left his mark on our theater scene, Lee must be remembered not mainly as the victim of a freak shooting, but as a riveting actor and an extraordinary human being. He deserves that.” – Seattle Times

REVERSAL OF FORTUNE

  • The Royal Shakespeare Company was mired in controversy and sagging popularity as recently as two years ago. “But what a difference a couple of years can make. In 1996, [Adrian] Noble took the brave decision to cut London ties in half in favour of retrenchment and more regional touring, and new blood is continuing to revitalise the company.” – The Herald (Scotland)

BRIBING ‘EM WORKS

Canadian theatre is suddenly hot in Washington DC. This fall, four plays and a handful of readings are storming the U.S. capital. “The unprecedented amount of activity is largely due to the Canada Project, a two-year-old Canadian embassy initiative that offers Washington artistic directors free theatre junkets to Canada. The thinking is that if American producers are exposed to Canadian plays, maybe they will catch the bug and pass it along to their fellow Americans.” – The Globe and Mail (Canada)

ASIAN ARTS MECCA

A Taipei official has pledged to make the city “the cultural city of the Asia-Pacific,” beginning with a year-long arts festival of work from 10 nearby countries. “The Europeans know their neighbors well – they learn each others’ languages, histories, and literature and they work together to form a cultural power house. Someday, perhaps, our children will not only learn English and French and German but also confidently speak Vietnamese and Korean, read Sanskrit and write Chinese.” – China Times (Taiwan) 10/31/00

DEFINING THE ARTS

At a forum on the future of the arts, Australian artists launch “a withering attack on the government, the arts media, populism and the boards of the performing arts companies. One cited the image of Nicky Webster’s ‘Dream’ at the opening ceremony of the Sydney Olympics as a metaphor for a bland and hypocritical culture that says it embraces diversity but does otherwise. ‘You cannot present to the world your culture as the dream of a white 10-year-old school girl’.” – The Age (Melbourne) 10/31/00