“With the Off Broadway production of Cambodian Rock Band now in performances at Signature Theater, [playwright Lauren] Yee and director Chay Yew appeared on Stagecraft, Variety‘s theater podcast, to talk confronting history, rocking out, and why they think audiences have responded so enthusiastically to a show that Yee said her husband didn’t believe she would actually write.” (includes text and audio) – Variety
Author: Matthew Westphal
Mutiny on the Bounty: Marron Estate’s Rich Art Trove to Be Dispersed by Dealers, Not Auction Houses
The late Donald Marron was a class act, so it struck me as fitting (not to mention smart) that his estate’s holdings of modern and contemporary art are not going to be hocked on the block at Sotheby’s or Christie’s — the usual fate of large collections that are put on the market. – Lee Rosenbaum
From Belgium to New York
When I think about the works by the brilliant Belgium-based choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker that I’ve seen over the years, I realize how the different New York spaces in which they were performed affected not just my eyesight, but my feelings. – Deborah Jowitt
Why The U.S. Department Of Defense Is Interested In Dancing Robots
The now-famous video of Spot the Robot dancing to “Uptown Funk” was created (as was Spot) by a contractor for DARPA searching for new ways to make robots useful to the military. “Considering the military applications of dance and choreography may seem peculiar, but there is abundant history to examine here.” – Dance Magazine
He Was One Of Sudan’s Most Beloved Musicians — Then He Went Silent For Decades And Was Even Thought Dead
In the 1970s and ’80s, Abu Obaida Hassan’s singing and skill on the Nubian tambour thrilled Sudanese listeners and even gained attention overseas. Then the imposition of a stern version of Sharia law and the 30-year dictatorship of Omar al-Bashir squashed the country’s music scene, and Abu Obaida withdrew from public view. In 2016, a Western record producer went looking for him and found him by sheer dumb luck, and with Bashir now ousted, fans are rediscovering Abu Obaida’s sound. – The Guardian
How My Fake College Essay Went Insanely Viral And Nearly Cost Me My Day Job
A Huge Frank Stella Painting Disappeared In Chile And Ended Up Being Used As A Lunch Table
“It’s a little known fact that in 1972, minimalist artist Frank Stella donated the painting Isfahan III (1968) to the Museo de la Solidaridad in Chile, a new institution that invited artists from around the world to donate art in honor of Chilean president Salvador Allende’s new socialist government.” And then came Augusto Pinochet’s coup … – Hyperallergic
Indian Cinema Is Finally Starting To Get Comfortable With Same-Sex Romance
Until just a few years ago, the very few times queer characters were shown at all in Bollywood movies were as figures of mockery. Now, very occasionally, a film with a sympathetic portrayal of same-sex couples or trans characters does come out of the big Mumbai studios. And more progress can be seen in India’s “regional” (non-Hindi-language) cinema. – BBC
The Rise Of Queer Tango In Buenos Aires Makes Perfect Sense
“Tango first emerged on the outskirts of the city, as the perfect poetic and musical medium for the outcast and marginalized to tell their stories. With this in mind, perhaps queer tango is just a new way of living up to the dance’s traditional roots.” – Atlas Obscura
Why An ‘Old-Timey Gothic Typeface’ Became ‘The Nazi Font’
Blackletter, or Fraktur (as it’s known in German), was used all over Europe during the Middle Ages and through the early years of the printing press. As the rest of the continent gave blackletter up, though, Protestant Germans held on to Fraktur (Roman type was Papist, you understand), and, by the early 20th century, the font had become a symbol of German-ness. You know where that led — and the association, even though it’s not really accurate, remains powerful to this day as the German alt-right rises. (includes text and audio) – 99% Invisible