The “punk ballerina” choreographer’s latest project, anchored by her 26-dancer ballet/modern/voguing/capoeira work Rave, is “a four-night multimedia presentation curated with contributions from friends including performance artist Kalup Linzy, artist Will Cotton and photographer William Wegman.” (Yes, some Weimaraners will be there.)
Author: Matthew Westphal
When Opera-Singing Spouses Share The Stage
Stephen Costello: “Because [wife Ailyn Pérez] sees me wake up in the morning – bad breath, bad hair and all – we have a comfort level with each other that we don’t have with other people.” On the other hand … Anna Netrebko: “No, on the stage we are colleagues, nothing else. We have nothing to do with the couple thing.”
Break-Dancing Across The Green Line
The Philadelphia company Rennie Harris Puremovement brings its moves to Israel and the West Bank.
Is Jonathan Franzen The Mitt Romney Of American Letters?
“What he does [professionally], he does well. As a writer of enticing, accessible prose, Franzen is a craftsman. … But as a public figure, Franzen is a frustrating mess. He comes off as small, unsympathetic, out of touch, and tone deaf. … Franzen never apologizes for who he is, or his success, but just like Romney, the more he opens his mouth, the more you want him to shut it.”
How Do You Put A Price On Angst? The Scream On The Auction Block
“Sotheby’s experts anticipate the work will fetch more than $80 million, the highest presale figure the auction house has ever set.” Who might pay such a price, and why?
Tenor Toby Spence Recovering From Thyroid Cancer
The sweet-voiced blond hunkentenor was diagnosed last December, the morning after he performed in the opening night of Die Meistersinger at Covent Garden. “It was a shock, especially with the cancer being so close to my vocal cords,” he said. “The surgery has been a great success.”
North Korean Orchestra’s US Tour On Hold
“A planned visit to the United States by North Korea’s National Symphony Orchestra next month has been postponed following Pyongyang’s [failed] launch of a long-range rocket.”
The Difficult Lillian Hellman
“Once celebrated for her taut writing and devotion to social justice, her image since her death in 1984, aged 79, has curdled into something villainous. Her plays are still performed … but they are often dismissed as moralising melodramas. Her name now tends to invite vitriol about her being a Stalinist and a liar.”
E-Books Are Not Killing Reading (We’ve Said It Before, We’ll Say It Again)
“There are two big questions about the future of books and technology. One is: are people reading more and, by implication, buying more books? The answer is yes. … [O]verall revenues, and number of books sold in all formats, were up sizably in three years since 2008. Without e-books, the numbers would have been flat, or declined.”
It’s Time To Stop Worrying About Theatre Audiences Texting
Lyn Gardner: “[T]heatre-going doesn’t just begin with buying a ticket and end when the curtain falls. People clearly do want a more interactive theatre experience that allows them to engage with others who have seen what they’ve seen, and they want to share and discuss over many platforms.”