“In the Theatre Guild Archive of the Harry Ransom Center in Austin, Texas survives a script, marked ‘as broadcast,’ of Miller’s adaptation of Jane Austen for radio. Miller’s radio play, with Joan Fontaine as Elizabeth Bennet, aired on Thanksgiving eve, 18 November 1945.” – Los Angeles Review of Books
Author: Matthew Westphal
Where Are The World’s Best Non-Native English Speakers?
According to a new report from an international education company that tested 2.3 million volunteers in 100 countries, the level of English as a second language is highest in Northern Europe, Singapore, and South Africa and lowest in the Arab world and parts of Asia. – The Economist
Stephen Garrett, First Director Of Getty Museum In Los Angeles, Dead At 96
“Garrett helped transform J. Paul Getty’s pet project museum, which the billionaire originally operated out of his own home, into what is now arguably the wealthiest art museum in the world.” – artnet
Following New York’s Lead (Gingerly), Philadelphia Gives Library Card Holders Free Access To Cultural Institutions
Like NYC’s Culture Pass, the new Experience Pass will let Free Library of Philadelphia cardholders reserve one free entry per year at some of the city’s cultural institutions. But the famous ones aren’t taking part (yet): the best-known of the 11 participating institutions are the Museum of the American Revolution and the Magic Gardens on South Street — along with the Mayor’s Box at the Wells Fargo Center, which means users could see 76ers and Flyers games. – Philadelphia Magazine
Remember That Big Golden Sculpture Hanging In The Lobby Of The New York Philharmonic’s Hall? It’s Gone, And Lincoln Center Says It Won’t Be Back
The abstract artwork, titled Orpheus and Apollo and created by sculptor Richard Lippold specially for Philharmonic Avery Fisher David Geffen Hall when it opened in 1962, was taken down for “maintenance and conservation” in 2014, something that all too few people had noticed. Now Lincoln Center and the Philharmonic have indicated that, when the venue’s reconstruction is completed in 2024, the hanging sculpture won’t be reinstalled “because of current safety standards that impact the wiring.” – Gothamist
‘What I’ve Learned From 10,000 Nights At The Theatre’: Guardian Critic Michael Billington’s Farewell Essay
“British theatre is incredibly resilient, yet radically different from when I took up my post at the Guardian in 1971. Even the job of being a critic has altered in all sorts of ways. … But if the process – and the people who get to write the reviews – has changed, the role of the critic remains much the same.” – The Guardian
Howard Cruse, ‘Godfather Of Queer Comics’, Dead At 75
“While [he] was not as famous as underground comics stars like R. Crumb and Art Spiegelman, his artistic influence was nonetheless felt strongly, especially among other gay cartoonists. In the early 1980s he was the first editor of Gay Comix, a series of occasional comic books … He then developed Wendel, an adventurous strip about a man and his lover navigating the early years of the AIDS epidemic.” Cruse won multiple awards for Stuck Rubber Baby, a graphic novel that we might describe today as autofiction. – The New York Times
The Man Who Brought Chinese Science Fiction To America And Made It A Hit
“The success of The Three-Body Problem” — the first translated novel to win a Hugo Award — “not only turned [author] Liu Cixin into a global literary star; it opened the floodgates for new translations of Chinese science fiction. This, in turn, has made Ken Liu a critical conduit for Chinese writers seeking Western audiences, a literary brand as sought-after as the best-selling authors he translates.” – The New York Times Magazine
From the Ground Up
The latest piece by choreographer Allison Orr — known for creating dances performed by forklifts, sanitation trucks, and the like — is From the Ground Up, made for Wake Forest University’s Facilities and Campus Services departments. Hundreds of people gathered at the Quad to watch lawnmowers waltz, housekeepers twirl and heavy equipment dance. – Doug Borwick
Kyle Marshall On Dancing The Abstract Work Of Trisha Brown While Creating His Own Explorations Of Religion And Race
A Q&A with Gia Kourlas “about examining his religious upbringing, performing the dances of a postmodern master while choreographing his own works and developing a close-knit dance family.” – The New York Times