“The perennial search for a portrait of Shakespeare is really a search for an image that justifies our idea of Shakespeare, our idea of writing. We somehow want the young Shakespeare to look like Joseph Fiennes, fiery and slashing. But what if he looked like Ricky Gervais? Would the plays mean less to us?”
Author: Laura Collins Hughes
Looking Within, Sundance Finds Its New Director
“The Sundance Film Festival on Wednesday named veteran John Cooper as its new director, signaling the top U.S. gathering for independent movies remains on a even keel in choppy economic waters. … He had previously been the festival’s director of film programming as well as director of creative development for the Sundance Institute, which he joined in 1989.”
Broadway’s Vital Signs Are Good — In The Short Term
“No major new Broadway production has been canceled because of economic or budget concerns so far this spring. … Over all, Broadway is on track to have 43 productions open during the 2008-9 season, an unusually high number at any time, but especially during a recession.” On the other hand, it’s “far from clear whether Broadway marquees will be bright or dark through this summer and into the fall.”
The Rose Isn’t Crowded, And, No, That’s Not A Bad Thing
When the literary symposium about Brandeis University’s Rose Art Museum takes place March 16, participants might consider the museum’s modest attendance figures. “We have become so accustomed to using pop-culture yardsticks — profitability, celebrity, fashion — to measure the success or failure of art and art museums that it’s easy to lose sight of what matters. In fact, a degree of obscurity, relatively speaking, is one of the great charms of the Rose’s collection.”
That Guy On The Stage? He May Also Be Your Scalper.
“Less than a minute after tickets for last August’s Neil Diamond concerts at New York’s Madison Square Garden went on sale, more than 100 seats were available for hundreds of dollars more than their normal face value on premium-ticket site TicketExchange.com. The seller? Neil Diamond. … Selling premium-priced tickets on TicketExchange, priced and presented as resales by fans, is a practice used by many other top performers, according to people in the industry.”
Monsters Vs. Aliens Vs. Cinemas: Digital, 3D Revamps Lag
“DreamWorks’ big-budget bet, ‘Monsters vs. Aliens,’ has faced one hurdle after another — including a whipping from the blogosphere over its extravagant Superbowl ad in January. But now comes the worst news yet: Fewer than half of the theaters that were supposed to be ready for digital 3D projection will be ready by the movie’s release on March 27. … [T]he economic recession has further delayed the already-long-delayed conversion of movie theaters to digital projection.”
Sotheby’s Deems $10.3M Pay Too High For Its Chief Exec
“Sotheby’s cut the pay of Chief Executive William F. Ruprecht for 2008 after he earned $10.3 million the year before as the art market peaked. The New York-based auction house indicated in a filing last month that Ruprecht’s pay, while reduced, was at least $2.1 million. … Sotheby’s 2008 profit of $28.3 million was the smallest since a $20.7 million loss in 2003. More than 200 staffers will lose their jobs this year amid $100 million in cost cutting.”
Seattle Study: Corporate Contributions Have Plummeted
“The recession is hitting Puget Sound arts and cultural organizations hard, calling for bold steps to manage through the crisis, a study of local arts groups found. Endowments and contributions are down anywhere from 5 to 50 percent. Corporate contributions have fallen 20 to 50 percent overall, and in several cases dropped completely. … While some organizations are actively addressing the crisis, others are responding more cautiously and still others ‘seem to be in denial,’ the report said.”
Kimmel Center Could Take A Lesson From New Tully Hall
“As I walked up to 65th and Broadway one recent evening, Tully’s interior, bubbling with cafe life, had a way of waving me over. The auditorium itself offered close contact with the sound. Intermission was a snug but not claustrophobic experience. Overheard conversations tended to be about the music. The Kimmel isn’t quite like this, not yet.”
An Unlikely Match: Prisoners Doing Musical Theatre
“Some might scoff at the notion of mixing culture with prison and claim that this is not what prisons are for, but that would be to miss the point. On the evidence of two hours in Wandsworth nick, this is what rehabilitation is all about and precisely the kind of approach that can – for some – make prisons more effective.”