Author: Matthew Westphal

Paul Taylor Reveals First Plans For His Revamped Dance Company

“The choreographer Paul Taylor startled the dance world earlier this year by reinventing his company as Paul Taylor’s American Modern Dance, which he said would perform his works along with those of other modern dance pioneers and contemporary choreographers. Now the new enterprise is coming into somewhat clearer focus” with the announcement of its first season.

The Fox, The Hedgehog, And The Death Of Classic Hollywood

Kenneth Turan: “Simply put, Hollywood has traditionally been celebrated as the fox, entertaining everybody by making movies for a wide variety of appetites and audiences. … Today’s Hollywood, by contrast, has transformed itself into the hedgehog. The one big thing it knows how to do is make sequels and superhero movies and sequels to superhero movies, all aimed at a young adult crowd with no end in sight.”

Yo, What Fools These Mortals Be: When Plays Keep Reminding The Audience That They’re Plays

Sir Isaac Newton, Chris Jones observes, probably did not say “yay” – except in a new play about him now running in Chicago. “That in itself is not a new idea; playwrights have been modernizing historical subjects and simplifying conversations for generations. But in [this case and others], the anachronisms are intended to draw attention to themselves. … So what gives with this trend? To some degree it’s a consequence of the Wikipedia-ization of our culture.”

Atlanta Symphony Lockout: Donald Runnicles Speaks (Very) Frankly

“The lockout is essentially the board and management punishing the orchestra … It’s a one-sided attempt to force the orchestra to its collective knees. It also paints the orchestra as this intransigent group of musicians. But in fact they have shown extraordinary willingness to come to a common agreement, as what happened two years ago proves.”

Did Henry James Write YA Fiction?

“In fact, James is every bit as concerned with innocence recoiling at adulthood … The difference is that James writes about women, instead of wild boys. The archetypal Jamesian character is a young American woman – Daisy Miller, Isabel Archer, Milly Theale, Maggie Verver – whose innocence is manipulated and ultimately destroyed by the forces (usually British or European) of experience.”

Wonder Woman – And The Man Who Created Her

“It isn’t only that Wonder Woman’s backstory is taken from feminist utopian fiction. It’s that, in creating Wonder Woman, William Moulton Marston was profoundly influenced by early-twentieth-century suffragists, feminists, and birth-control advocates and that, shockingly, Wonder Woman was inspired by Margaret Sanger, who, hidden from the world, was a member of Marston’s family.”

Labor War Over, Met Opera’s Army Mobilizes For Opening Night

“The Met is an enormous operation – more than 1,500 people go to work there some days – and the weeks before opening night are among the busiest of the year. … A day spent backstage at the Met this week as the company prepared for its opening night on Monday provided a snapshot of the work, care and expense that go into putting on opera.” (includes video)