“[T]he professional fireworks display is an exercise in pomposity, aggression, triumphalism, and hubris. The pyrotechnician – and, more importantly, his patron – intends to ornament the night sky beyond the powers of God himself. … Fireworks are imperialist and, as we used to say in school, hegemonic. That they are popularly believed to be populist entertainment does not say much for the populace.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
‘A Dance Lover’s Paradise’ In The South Of France
“With 28 choreographers from 10 countries presenting 16 world premieres in as many days, … 30,000 spectators are expected to attend the [Montpellier Dance F]estival, which ends July 4. And it’s here that Angelin Preljocaj took to the stage for the first time in 16 years in Un Funambule (‘The Tightrope Walker’).”
Karl Malden, 97
The Everyman actor, who earned cinematic acclaim in A Streetcar Named Desire and On the Waterfront as well as television stardom in The Streets of San Francisco and decades of American Express commercials, said, “I learned in my second year of drama school that I was not a leading man – I was a character actor. So I thought, I’d better be the best character actor around.”
How The Lilacs Bloom’d In The Dooryard
Robert Roper considers how Walt Whitman’s experiences of volunteering in Civil War hospitals, and of writing letters of condolence to the families of newly-dead soldiers, helped shape “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d,” his elegy for Abraham Lincoln.
Staged Shawshank Redemption To Play West End
“Stephen King’s The Shawshank Redemption is to receive its UK stage premiere at the West End’s Wyndham’s Theatre this September. Written by Owen O’Neill and Dave Johns, the play is based on King’s 1982 novella Rita Hayworth and The Shawshank Redemption and follows the seven-time Academy Award nominated film of 1994, which starred Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman.”
Big US Challenge Grant For Belfast’s Lyric Theatre
“The project to rebuild Belfast’s Lyric Theatre has received a boost with the offer of a £500,000 grant from a US-based charitable foundation. The Kresge Foundation will hand over the money if the Lyric can raise £800,000 by June next year. … The new theatre will consist of a 394-seat main auditorium, a 150-seat studio theatre, a rehearsal room, extensive riverfront foyers and bar, backstage facilities and office accommodation.”
Caroline Baumann Named Acting Director Of Cooper-Hewitt
“Ms. Baumann, who is presently the museum’s deputy director, has worked at the Cooper-Hewitt since 2001, where she has also served as director of development and director of external affairs. … [She] will succeed Paul Warwick Thompson, who is leaving to become the rector of the Royal College of Art in London.”
Harve Presnell, 75, Actor With Two Careers
“[T]rained as an opera singer, [he] brought an imposing physical presence – he stood 6 feet 4 inches – and a resplendent voice to the Broadway stage, delivering a star-making performance as Leadville Johnny Brown in The Unsinkable Molly Brown.” Unfortunately, “his triumphant debut led to unsatisfactory film roles and a somewhat stunted career appearing in national tours of Broadway musicals” until the “Coen brothers gave him a second Hollywood career as a character actor when they cast him in Fargo in 1996. That role led to a series of meaty film parts, including Gen. George C. Marshall in Saving Private Ryan.“
Small Companies Say British Equity’s Pay Demands Will Kill Fringe Theatre
“Fringe theatre companies have warned that the sector will be ‘destroyed’ if proposals by Equity seeking to enforce the National Minimum Wage for all actors become law.”
The Master’s Degree: Valuable Credential, Intellectual Journey Or Waste Of Time And Money?
The NY Times Room for Debate blog asks four contributors: “How do students know if an M.A. is worth it or not? What degrees might be worth getting, and which are not? How does a student weigh the risks and benefits of taking that intermediate step in higher education?”