“During the 24-month Broadway run of [the play], 21 puppies – golden retrievers and others that look goldenish – have cycled through the show’s cast, appearing in a brief but reliably crowd-pleasing scene toward the end of the show. And as each one ages out of the role – as soon as the dogs grow too big to fit in a gift box, they are replaced – each has been adopted by a performer, a crew member or someone else connected to the theater industry.” (includes slideshow)
Author: Matthew Westphal
Queens Without Borders: A Berlin Drag Show Offers Welcome And Aid To Queer Refugees
The project’s organizer, an Australian expat whose drag name is Olympia Bukkakis, “describes the show, with a bit of a cringe, as ‘conceptual drag,’ where specific themes are explored through various acts. It features a mixture of ‘punk, alternative queens’ along with refugees new to the city, incorporating belly dancing, burkas, and gender-bender performance art.”
Tales Of John Waters’s First Feature-Length Talkie, ‘Multiple Maniacs’
When the film went before a board of censors 50 years ago, says Waters, “the woman cried when she saw it, and she sent it to the judge. He said, ‘My eyes were insulted for 90 minutes, but it’s not illegal,’ which was the whole point of the movie! To make something that wasn’t illegal yet.”
How Werner Herzog Got The North Korean Censors To Just Trust Him
“At one point I filmed something which I was not allowed to do, so I wanted to have it edited or deleted. But … we were unable to delete it, and they wanted to take the entire memory hard drive. And I said, ‘But it contains two days’ worth of shooting, that would be terrible.’ So I said, ‘You know what, I can guarantee to you that I’m not going to use this material.’ And they said, ‘Guarantee, what do you mean by that?'” (podcast)
Met Museum Sets Attendance Record: 6.7 Million Visitors
“This year’s attendance – the fifth in a row exceeding six million – was 400,000 higher than that of the previous year. The Met attributed this to an increase of about 200,000 visitors at its Fifth Avenue flagship and the Met Cloisters combined and to 185,000 people taking in the Met Breuer during its first four months.”
Disney Fires Director Of ‘Frozen’ Musical
“Disney Theatrical Productions and director Alex Timbers have parted ways on the brewing Broadway production of Frozen. ‘Making the tough calls when creating a new Broadway musical is never easy, but this was especially painful,’ said Thomas Schumacher, the president and producer of Disney Theatrical Productions, in a statement. ‘Alex Timbers is one of the most exciting and innovative theater directors I know.'”
Haruki Murakami Is Not, In Fact, Dead
“Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami was the subject of a hoax on social media today, as a Twitter account seemingly belonging to his Japanese publisher Shinchosa tweeted a message claiming he had died.”
Luxury-Goods Billionaire Sets Plans For Private Museum In Paris
“Last month, the Paris City Council approved the project, which calls for transforming the building into ‘The Pinault Collection, Bourse de Commerce’ and filling it with art from Mr. Pinault’s collection of more than 3,000 works by contemporary artists like Andy Warhol, Damien Hirst, Gerhard Richter, Jeff Koons, Cindy Sherman, Agnes Martin and Cy Twombly. The interior is to get a makeover by the Japanese architect Tadao Ando.”
29 Publishers Shut Down By Turkish Government After Failed Coup
“According to the Turkish Publishers Association, the decree means that all goods, assets, rights, documents and papers belonging to the publishers will be transferred free of charge to the Turkish treasury, with no appeal to be made, and the prospect of further publishers being shut down in the future.”
Looking Before You Leap: Hints For Avoiding Nightmare Dance Gigs
“Many young dancers find themselves in compromising situations as they begin their careers. While some involve misunderstandings that become funny over the years, other bad situations – including public weigh-ins, sexual misconduct and unpaid overtime – can be so damaging to the spirit or the body as to end a career. There may not be a completely foolproof way to avoid a nightmare job, but there are steps you can take to protect yourself and learn what will be expected of you before signing on the dotted line.”