“If the question is whether, a century from now, his operas will get new productions, his symphonies will circulate more frequently, or pianists will take on his études, Mr. Glass couldn’t care less. ‘I won’t be around for all that,’ he said. ‘It doesn’t matter.'” As for commercial versus noncommercial work? “My attitude has been that they’re both the same. Why is it better to get a check every week from a university than to get royalties? Of course I’m a sellout. What else would I be?” – The New York Times
Author: Matthew Westphal
James Dean, Who Died 64 Years Ago, To Star In New Film
Two visual-effects companies will apply CGI to surviving film footage and photographs of the actor, who was killed in a car crash at age 24 in 1955, to create “a realistic version of James Dean” for a live-action Vietnam War-era drama titled Finding Jack, planned for release on Veterans Day 2020. – The Hollywood Reporter
Trump’s Justice Dept. Threatens Publisher Of Book By Anonymous Administration Official
“The Justice Department is going on the offensive against the anonymous author of A Warning, telling them in a letter obtained by CNN Business that he or she “may be violating ‘one or more nondisclosure agreements’ by writing the anti-Trump book. The author’s publisher is rejecting the argument and saying the book will be released as scheduled. And the author’s agents are accusing the government of trying to unmask the author.” – CNN
Ceiling Caves In During West End ‘Death Of A Salesman’, Five Injured
Shortly after the start of Wednesday evening’s performance of this production — well-known for casting Black actors as the Loman family — audience members began to hear dripping water. About half an hour in, the sound got louder and then a portion of the ceiling crashed into the auditorium. The 1,200-seat Piccadilly Theatre was quickly evacuated, the show was cancelled, and star Wendell Pierce met the audience outside to apologize. – WhatsOnStage (UK)
A Picasso And Giacometti Museum Will Open Next Year In Beijing
“Paris’s National Picasso Museum and the Giacometti Foundation are teaming up to manage the new institution for at least the first five years, from June 2020 through June 2025. (After that, they may extend the partnership or hand the museum over to Chinese management.) The institution will present up to four exhibitions each year.” – Artnet
Catherine Deneuve Hospitalized After Minor Stroke
“The 76-year-old screen icon … had a ‘very limited stroke which is reversible’, her family said in a statement. ‘Happily she has no loss of motor function, although she will of course have to rest for a while.” – Yahoo! (AFP)
Trigger Warning: For Theater In 2019 America, Guns Aren’t Only An Issue For The Prop Shop
One night at Hamilton in San Francisco earlier this year, right at the moment of the Hamilton-Burr duel, an audience member had a heart attack; the commotion made some people believe there was a real shooter in the house, and the audience stampeded. A real shooting during a play could happen, as it has at cinemas and rock concerts; live-shooter training for theater personnel is now a thing. And since art reflects life, we’re seeing more guns onstage as well. Lisa Lacroce Patterson writes about how theaters are dealing with guns, onstage and off. – American Theatre
Response to The Chasm of Disbelief
The following is an incredibly thoughtful response written by Carter Gilles to my post The Chasm of Disbelief. I am particularly grateful to him for pointing out the important role that doing the arts, participating in the arts, can play in overcoming disbelief. – Doug Borwick
Propwatch: the invisible magnets in ‘Little Baby Jesus’
Most props, most props, you could hold them in your hand. A suitcase. A tooth. A (shudders) doll. They’re part of the pleasure of theatre, the imagination made palpable. But sometimes, sometimes they stay imaginary. – David Jays
The twenty-five record albums that changed my life (17)
This was one the now-forgotten Warner/Reprise “Loss Leader” albums, a series of low-priced sampler albums by Warner/Reprise artists that was one of the most ingenious and effective promotional ideas ever to be devised by a major record label. – Terry Teachout