“Hold the champagne. Not everyone in Canada’s fractured culture world is rejoicing at last week’s news that Ottawa is writing a cheque for $25 million to kick-start an annual global contest in Toronto culminating in six-figure prizes for the world’s best emerging artists in theatre, dance, music and the visual arts.”
Author: Laura Collins Hughes
Shrek Takes On A Deathly Shade Of Green
“Box-office grosses for ‘Shrek,’ DreamWorks’ $30 million flagship musical, have crashed through the subbasement as the recession continues to tighten its death grip on Broadway. … This is a startling collapse for a brand-name show that’s been open for only a couple of months.” Nonetheless: “The betting around Shubert Alley is that ‘Shrek’ will slug it out at least until the Tony Awards in June….”
Book Borrowed By JFK To Be Returned, Uh, Soon (Whoops)
“The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum said it will display, as part of a weeklong celebration of Presidents’ Day, a 1930 biography of Abraham Lincoln that was apparently borrowed by Kennedy, or a member of his staff, when he was serving in the Senate in the 1950s. … It has been listed as missing in the Library of Congress online catalog, and will be returned to its collection after the display.”
Slumdog Isn’t Poverty Porn. Here’s Why.
“I’m going to set aside the question of ‘Slumdog’s’ cinematic merits (which I and many film critics worldwide agree are numerous) and focus on the charge that has been popping up on a number of blogs: that the movie is ‘poverty porn.’ As I understand it, this accusation boils down to three issues, all of which have misconstrued the nature of art.”
West Village’s Oscar Wilde Bookshop To Close
“The Oscar Wilde Bookshop in Greenwich Village, which is believed to be the oldest gay and lesbian bookstore in the country, will close on March 29, its owner announced on Tuesday, citing economic troubles. The store nearly closed six years ago, only to be sold and given a last-minute reprieve.”
A Young Obama On Canvas, Or Just A Look-Alike?
“Sure, President Obama’s busy trying to solve the nation’s problems. But Megan McCluer and her husband, Michael Heffner, would like just a minute of his time to settle a mystery: As a young man, did he sit for a portrait painted by an obscure Los Angeles artist? And what’s up with the shirt?”
Every 45 Years, A New Nurses’ Station
“The prognosis for the medical facility depicted for the past 45 years on ABC’s ‘General Hospital’ isn’t good. The daytime soap’s long-standing hospital set is flat-lining as part of an explosive story line. Following a fiery crisis, producers plan to construct a totally new interior.” Happily for the hospital’s fundraisers, “the wealthy Quartermaine family will donate the cash necessary for the hospital’s plastic surgery.”
Novel, A Laura Bush Favorite, Is Banned For Profanity
“A Stanislaus County school board banned a celebrated but controversial piece of Chicano literature from its high school classrooms this week because trustees and the superintendent believe ‘Bless Me, Ultima’ contains too much profanity. … [T]he 1972 novel … was spotlighted on former First Lady Laura Bush’s must-read list and is also the literature selection for this year’s state high school Academic Decathlon competition.”
Its Numbers Healthy, Film Industry Cut From Stimulus Bill
“The motion picture industry’s record-setting month at the box office may have cost it $246 million in tax breaks, as the Senate on Tuesday stripped a provision from the economic stimulus bill that critics derided as an unnecessary Hollywood bailout. In denying the tax breaks on new film projects, senators cited the $1.03-billion haul from movie ticket sales in January, a 19% year-over-year increase,” though the Motion Picture Assn. of America argues that the reality isn’t so rosy.
A Tony Award Up For Grabs On eBay (So Far, Zero Bids)
“How much is a Tony Award worth to an artist’s career? An online auction may soon provide a precise answer to the question. The estate of the costume designer Florence Klotz has placed her Tony Award, received in 1985 for her work on the short-lived Broadway musical ‘Grind,’ for sale on eBay.”