“I thought, at first, this had to be a satire … You cull a minyan’s worth of good-looking old Jewish ladies from a big pool of less desirable specimens; you put them on show wearing blue numbers; and the prize for the best story of their ordeal is a weekend at a fancy hotel? It’s like ‘Springtime for Hitler.'”
Author: Matthew Westphal
Some Things Are Simply More Important Than The Hemingway Look-Alike Contest
In preparation for this year’s event in Key West, “one Frank Louderback, an attorney and regular entrant, made all manner of plans for the Papa-off. When he learned that they would clash with work commitments, he requested that the case he was working on be postponed. The judge’s response is totally badass.”
LA MoCA Board Says Chief Curator Wasn’t Fired, But Resigned
“The leaders of the Museum of Contemporary Art’s board of trustees said Friday that chief curator Paul Schimmel resigned and was not fired, as The Times and other news outlets had reported.”
Why Julie Taymor Agreed To Stage The Lion King
“As she says wryly in this conversation with former Disney CEO Michael Eisner, ‘Disney’s aesthetic and my aesthetic are not the same.’ What finally moved her to accept, she says, was the challenge of reimagining the Disney story in a stripped-down form. She wanted to figure out how to create a stampede, or a sunset, on a stage.”
France May Extend TV License Fee To Computer Screens
“The French government is considering extending the television licence fee to include computer screen owners to boost revenues for public-sector broadcasting operations, the culture minister said on Saturday.”
Stefan Sanderling Walks Away From Florida Orchestra Podium Two Years Early
“The orchestra announced late Sunday that Sanderling is stepping down as music director” effective immediately – that is, ” two years sooner than he said he was a year ago, when the conductor announced he would not renew his contract after it expired at the end of the 2013-14 season.”
What’s The Problem With The Shard? It’s Too Short
James S. Russell: “The surface modeling … [of] facets to catch the varying light, and carved deep vertical seams … gives the tower presence on the skyline, but its proportions, seen full height, are ruinous. It’s too thick at the bottom and looks as if it crushes its brick and stone surroundings – among the most ancient in London – rather than soars out of them.”
Soprano Evelyn Lear, 86
“Like a lot of American singers, [she] first made her name in Europe, where she triumphed especially as Marie in Berg’s Wozzeck and in the title role of his Lulu … Throughout her career, she enjoyed successes in the standard repertoire as well, especially works by Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Puccini and Strauss.”
The First Iraq War Opera
“Fallujah was developed in Vancouver, Canada, by City Opera Vancouver with the help of a playwright [Heather Raffo], a composer [Tobin Stokes], nine actors and an 11-member orchestra in a kind of performance laboratory. It will debut July 2 on explore.org/fallujah and will be marketed to opera houses.”
Dancer Left Paralyzed After Mugging Ready To Return To Stage
“Jack Widdowson, 19, was told he might never dance again after suffering serious spinal injuries in an attack in Cardiff in November. Now he is rehearsing for his first public performance on stage on Friday.”