“The House approved $50 million in recovery funds for the National Endowment for the Arts on Wednesday as part of the economic stimulus bill. The legislation, called the American Recovery and Reinvestment bill, was not included in the Senate’s version.”
Author: Laura Collins Hughes
Testing Alice Tully, Musicians Find Sweet Sound
“With giddiness and glee, musicians tested the acoustics of the newly renovated Alice Tully Hall on Tuesday, less than a month before it reopens after a $159 million, 22-month upgrade, a major milestone in Lincoln Center’s $1.2 billion remaking. … The musicians, acoustical experts and Lincoln Center officials in attendance all proclaimed the hall much more present, alive and reverberant than the old Tully, which had been widely faulted for its dry sound.”
Broadway’s Spring Schedule Is Packed, Not Paltry
“Broadway’s two dozen dark theaters won’t stay empty for long. Defying the economic slump, producers are scheduled to present 19 Broadway shows in the next three months. If they all arrive ahead of the June 7 Tony awards, the 2008-09 season will go down as the busiest in two decades, with 40 new productions. … The emphasis is on star-driven plays, which cost a fraction of what it takes to produce a musical.”
Brandeis Might Not Sell Art, But Museum Will Close
“Jehuda Reinharz, Brandeis University president, yesterday opened the possibility that the university would not sell its $350 million art collection but said he would not change his mind about closing Rose Art Museum and turning it into a study and research center.” Brandeis’s provost “said university officials believed they could not operate a museum, which is expected to abide by a code of ethics limiting the reasons it can sell off art, and then sell art to pay for needs other than the museum.”
Manslaughter By Inflatable Art, Prosecutor Charges
“Two people died when a walk-through inflatable artwork broke free from its moorings because of the creator’s gross negligence, a court heard today. Maurice Agis, 77, designed the multi-coloured Dreamspace structure and was taking it on a UK tour when disaster struck in July 2006 in Chester-le-Street, County Durham.”
Appreciation: John Updike, Impassioned Comics Fan
From his 1994 letter to the editor of the Boston Globe: “I can’t believe that you’re cutting ‘Spiderman’ — the only comic strip in the Globe, except for ‘Doonesbury’ half the time, worth reading. Do think again in making way for what sounds like one more jejune set of unfunny panels pitched at the nonexistent (or at least nonreading) X-generation.”
In Canada’s New Budget, A Greater Investment In The Arts
“The federal government has heard the arts community’s cries and offered its largest investment in culture, but some sectors will have to make do with the status quo. The Conservatives proclaimed the budget contains $276-million in new funds for arts and culture spread over the coming years. … [T]he scale of this year’s cultural spending far surpasses that in last year’s plan, which made only passing reference to culture.”
Appreciation: John Updike, Sportswriter
“Among the many literary achievements of John Updike, who died Tuesday morning, is that he turned in one of the best and most famous pieces of baseball writing ever.”
As Economy Suffers, Theatres Struggle To Stay Aloft
“From large theatrical enterprises to midsize houses to the vast array of 99-seat venues stretching from the San Fernando Valley to Orange County, many local stages are feeling the pinch, or in some cases the vise grip, of the world economic downturn.” For nonprofits, tight funds are nothing new. “But for some local theaters, years of thrifty budgeting may no longer provide a sufficient defense against looming calamity.”
With Book Soup Owner’s Death, LA Store’s Fate Undecided
“What will happen to Book Soup? Like most great bookstores, it is the product of one book lover’s taste and vision. Most of the store’s 60,000 volumes were handpicked by [owner Glenn] Goldman for a clientele he knew intimately after 33 years in the same neighborhood.” Though Goldman died this month “without a succession plan in place for Book Soup,” his death does does not dictate its end.