“German actress Hanne Hiob, a daughter of playwright Bertolt Brecht, has died, officials said Wednesday. … Among other parts, she played the title roles in her father’s plays ‘Saint Joan of the Stockyards’ and ‘Carrar’s Rifles.'”
Author: Laura Collins Hughes
WSJ Publisher: Vampire Google Sucks Newspapers’ Blood
“The gloves are coming off in the intensifying battle between newspaper publishers and Google. In a keynote speech at the annual PricewaterhouseCoopers Entertainment and Media Outlook event Tuesday, Dow Jones Chief Executive Les Hinton raised the rhetoric a notch, calling the Internet search giant a vampire ‘sucking the blood’ out of the newspaper business, and promised that new developments would level the playing field.”
Colleges Cultivate Philanthropy By Creating Courses In It
“College students, many of whom spend the little extra cash they have on pizza and laundry, don’t fit the typical profile of a wealthy benefactor. But in a growing national movement, students enrolled in newly created philanthropy courses are steering thousands of dollars to local charities. … The goal, say professors and donors, is to build upon surging interest in social responsibility among college students and make philanthropy part of the mainstream curriculum.”
Charge: Nations Do Too Little To Track Art Stolen By Nazis
“Governments have failed to live up to commitments to track down and return looted art to Nazi victims and their heirs, claimants’ representatives said before an international meeting on Holocaust-era assets. The June 26-30 conference in Prague, attended by delegates from some 50 countries, will review how far nations put into action a non-binding 1998 agreement, known as the Washington principles. Delegates also aim to agree [on] a new declaration on stolen art.”
City Opera Could Take A Lesson From ENO’s Troubles
“This is the tale of two city operas, both of which present high art at popular prices. That innate contradiction has landed them in trouble, but where English National Opera in London has turned around its fortunes in the past year to enjoy acclaim, New York City Opera faces a rump season that may be its last. Yet such is City Opera’s insularity these days that it seems to have learned nothing from ENO’s near collapse. Let’s see if we can help.”
At Peak Of Tourist Season, Much Of Broadway Going Dark
“Walking through New York’s Theater District earlier this week, I was startled by the sight of more than a dozen dark theaters or posters advertising final performances. … By the end of July, 19 of the district’s 39 houses (49 percent) will be empty at a time when the city is abuzz with tourists looking for somewhere to spend their entertainment dollars.”
ART Exec. Director Orchard Stepping Down After 4 Decades
“Robert J. Orchard, executive director of the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Mass., since it was founded in 1970, will step down at the end of the company’s 2008-09 season. The ART vet will stay on as special adviser to help incoming artistic director Diane Paulus launch her inaugural season and provide support during the leadership transition.”
Boston Symphony Lays Off 10 Staffers
“The Boston Symphony Orchestra confirmed today that 10 employees are being laid off, from departments including development and public relations. … The layoffs follow a staff hiring freeze instituted in December 2008 and the cancellation in April of a European tour the BSO had scheduled for 2010.”
Hollywood’s Next Big Thing: Board-Game Adaptations
“It might seem like trying to turn board games into event movies is the height of creative laziness. Actually, Land of the Lost is the height of creative laziness. But there might be some rationality to the board game idea.”
NEA Handing Out More Than $3 Million For Bigger Big Read
“The National Endowment for the Arts is giving out funds totaling over $3 million to 269 organizations as part of its latest Big Read initiative. The program, which launched as a pilot initiative in 2006, has grown exponentially since its inception; in its first Big Read push in 2006, the NEA gave $265,000 to 10 cities to start community reading programs.”