“The heavy snowfall caused several West End theatres to cancel their Monday evening performances. … The Royal Opera House performance of Die tote Stadt was also cancelled. Promoters said the weather meant that they could not guarantee the performers and crew would be able to make it into central London.”
Author: Laura Collins Hughes
HarperCollins’ Latest Digital Experiment: Video Books
“For those who don’t have the time to listen to an audiobook, let alone read a hardback or e-Book, HarperCollins brings you: the video book. Perhaps fittingly, the first author to get the video treatment is BuzzMachine’s Jeff Jarvis, whose book, What Would Google Do?, will be available in all the other formats as well….”
Philly Orchestra Parlor Game: Guess The Principal Guest
“At the moment, the Philadelphia Orchestra’s [music director] search is headed this way: Look for an announcement sometime this season that gives Charles Dutoit, 72, the full title of music director for a short and finite period.” The question then will be who might get a principal guest conductor slot, “with an implicit understanding that the job would most likely grow into that of music director several years later.”
Olivier Nominations Fail To Recognize Risk-Taking
“All awards are, of course, a lottery,” Michael Billington writes. “But the Oliviers more than any other lean towards a consensual conservatism. Yes, we can all agree it’s been a great year for the Donmar and that La Cage aux Folles is a hugely enjoyable show. But where is the acknowledgement of risk, excitement and adventure?”
SAG Talks On Hold While The Guild’s President Sues It
“In the latest stunning twist in the SAG saga, the guild and the congloms have delayed the relaunch of their contract talks because guild prexy Alan Rosenberg is going to court today to demand the reinstatement of ousted national exec director Doug Allen.”
There’s Catharsis In Crying (Maybe), But Is It Healthy?
“Tears lubricate love songs and love, weddings and funerals, public rituals and private pain, and perhaps no scientific study can capture their many meanings.” But that doesn’t stop scientists from trying. “Now, some researchers say that the common psychological wisdom about crying — crying as a healthy catharsis — is incomplete and misleading.”
Settlement Reached, MoMA & Guggenheim Keep Picassos
“New York’s Museum of Modern Art and the foundation that runs the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum can keep two Picassos, after heirs of the paintings’ Weimar-era owner settled a suit to repossess them. The settlement was reached yesterday and announced as jury selection was set to begin in the suit that the three heirs filed against the museums.”
The Art Just Isn’t Moving, So NY Galleries Are Closing
“Since September, four [Manhattan] galleries have shut their doors: Roebling Hall and Cohan and Leslie in Chelsea; Rivington Arms in the East Village and 31 Grand on the Lower East Side. More established galleries are hurting, too. They’re firing staff, dropping out of art fairs and extending their shows for months in an attempt to cut expenses.”
In Olivier Nominations, La Cage Leads The Pack
“La Cage aux Folles, which began life at the relatively tiny Menier Chocolate Factory in Southwark before transferring to the West End, has seven nominations – the highest number for an individual production – including best musical revival and best director, for Terry Johnson.” Meanwhile, four Donmar Warehouse shows collected a total of 13 nominations.
Turners Go To China On Tate Loan
“China is to get its first major exhibition of JMW Turner’s work after Tate Britain agreed to lend the country 80 paintings from its collection. The loan, announced by UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, includes key works The Decline of the Carthaginian Empire and Norham Castle, Sunrise.”