“No, you are not hallucinating. The documentary William Shatner’s Gonzo Ballet concerns the attempt [by choreographer Margo Sappington] to create a ballet based on Shatner’s 2004 album Has Been[, made with singer Ben Folds].” The movie gets its world premiere this April at the Nashville Film Festival.
Author: Matthew Westphal
Concert Assn. Of Florida Headed For Bankruptcy
Less than two years after founder Judy Drucker was pushed into retirement, South Florida’s only major presenter of top-level touring classical and dance artists appears certain to shut down. CAF’s board chairman is trying to get the Broward and Arsht Centers to take over the season’s remaining events.
Fire Strikes Pleyel Piano Factory
France’s last manufacturer of pianos was devastated by an overnight blaze at its factory in Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris. About 40 pianos were destroyed, including 10 custom-designed instruments, with total damage estimated at €5 million. All models and designs survived intact (as did Pleyel’s technicians), and the company expects to resume production in the spring.
Surviving Picasso: It Was Different For Everyone
“His biographer John Richardson, who lived near him in Provence during the 1950s, told me about the warmth and rollicking conviviality of the man: the genius was also genial. Others described a predator who gobbled up visual stimuli and wolfed down friends, employees and lovers.”
Studying Acting Abroad: Does It Help?
“Every so often you come upon an actor’s bio that lists training at a school outside the United States. What makes a performer decide to study abroad and what are the benefits? Six actors who’ve done it” – in Russia, England, Denmark and Italy – “let us know.”
A Glass Forest In The New York Subway
“When commuters push through the turnstiles at the new South Ferry Terminal in a few weeks, they’ll find themselves surrounded by an arabesque of glass panels depicting intertwined silhouettes of trees – a lyrical, $1 million installation by the identical-twin artists Mike and Doug Starn.”
SAG Sacks Executive Director – Again
“The self-described moderate faction of the Screen Actors Guild’s national board of directors fired national executive director Doug Allen for the second time in less than two weeks Feb. 8, hoping to turn the corner on 18 months of infighting.” The first dismissal was challenged last week in a lawsuit which was itself dismissed. “They fired him a second time to make absolutely certain it would take.”
NY Phil To Visit Vietnam Next Fall
As a follow-up to last year’s headline-making concerts in North Korea, the Philharmonic (with incoming music director Alan Gilbert) will play two programs in Hanoi. The Asia tour will also include Abu Dhabi, Singapore, Tokyo and possibly Bangkok.
Denis O’Hare Wants To Be Miserable
The Tony-winning actor says, “What I liked about doing [Yasmina Reza’s A Spanish Play last year] is that no one walked out happy. The audiences weren’t happy, we weren’t happy, and it was a great learning experience.” And on his favorite playwright: “In Chekhov everybody is flawed. Everybody is a pain in the ass. Which is great. You read Chekhov’s biography, everyone makes everyone else sick.”
Equine Statuary Returns With A Vengeance
“A giant white horse has been chosen as a new £2m art commission for south east England dubbed ‘Angel of the South’. The design, by former Turner Prize winner Mark Wallinger… will see a horse standing on all four hooves at 33 times life-size.”