When the Belgian company Studio Orka brought its devised-theatre piece Tuesday to the Manchester International Festival, MIF officials said that their policy is that disabled characters must be played by disabled actors and that performances of the work would not proceed with a non-disabled actor in one of the roles. Studio Orka argued that Tuesday could only be performed by the actors who collaboratively developed it and changed the character to a person injured in an accident who recovers. – The Stage
Author: Matthew Westphal
An Aging Jazz Legend’s Wife Started A GoFundMe Campaign, Claiming Severe Health And Financial Problems. His Old Friends Are Very Suspicious
Kenny Burrell, the 87-year-old guitarist, is still drawing a six-figure salary and health insurance from UCLA, where he has been tenured faculty for decades. But his wife launched a crowdfunding campaign in May, saying they were desperate and faced potential homelessness. (She also won’t let anyone see him or come into their home, claiming their immune systems are compromised.) Reporter Geoff Edgers investigates. – The Washington Post
The Stampede To Chase Streaming Video Subscribers Is Creating An Avalanche Of Content
As AT&T/Time Warner/HBO, NBC Universal, Disney, and Apple rush to compete with Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime (who, of course, all compete with each other), streaming television has become a giant maw that must be constantly fed with new shows. Yes, this gives showrunners plenty of room for creativity with material and format, but it’s also leading from the “Golden Age” of TV to the era of “good enough.” Jonah Weiner offers a longread about the prospects, good and bad. – The New York Times Magazine
Ballet BC’s Emily Molnar Named Nederlands Dans Theater’s Artistic Director
When Molnar took over the [Vancouver-based] company in 2009, it was on the verge of bankruptcy. Since then she’s brought in big-name contemporary choreographers and built up” Ballet BC’s quality and reputation to the point that they now tour internationally. She begins her job at NDT, one of Europe’s leading contemporary dance troupes, in August 2020. – The Georgia Straight (Vancouver)
Conductor Who Transformed Sistine Chapel Choir Resigns As Financial Investigation Continues
“Msgr. Massimo Palombella” — who raised the (previously abysmal) standards of the papal ensemble, garnering it a major-label recording contract and international respect for the first time in many decades — “has resigned amid an investigation by Vatican prosecutors into alleged money laundering, fraud and embezzlement in connection with the choir’s funds.” – Financial Times
Police Abruptly Evict Artists From Beijing Studio Districts
“Scores of Beijing police, clad in riot gear and rain slickers, were seen yesterday marching artists out of the Luomahu, or Roma Lake, Art District ahead of its sudden demolition, purportedly under the auspices of China’s sweeping campaign against organised crime. Similarly, about 30 riot police moved into Beijing’s Huantie Art District on Sunday (7 July) to begin eviction of the several hundred artists with studios there.” – The Art Newspaper
How ‘Oklahoma!’ Created The Original Cast Album Genre
“Typically, show music was cut down and rearranged for a popular dance band. But [Decca president Jack] Kapp had no time for such niceties” — he was rushing to get a recording of the hit show to market after a long musicians’ strike — “and the musical’s full Broadway orchestra was brought in to accompany the performers. There had been a few, somewhat limited, cast recordings before, but Decca’s improvised innovation came closest to capturing the full experience of attending a Broadway musical.” – The New York Times
‘People Will Say We’re In Love’: How The Perky Operetta Duet Of The 1943 ‘Oklahoma!’ Became The Twangy Country Song Of The 2019 ‘Oklahoma!’
The Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization was willing to let Daniel Fish, director of the revisionist revival now on Broadway, experiment with the way the story was told but forbid any changes to the songs’ melody, rhythm or harmony. So why is this duet’s effect so different? Jesse Green breaks it down. – The New York Times
Tania Bruguera, Cuban Artist-Activist, To Launch Investigative Journalism Project
“At the Manchester International Festival, … Bruguera revealed plans to establish an investigative journalism initiative that will award prizes and grants and offer workshops for Cuban writers at the Institute of Artivism Hannah Arendt, which she founded in Havana in 2015. The announcement comes amid a crackdown on freedom of expression in the country.” – Artforum
The U.S. Has A Vibrant, Innovative Flamenco Scene — Why Is It Continually Underrated? (Especially When A Dancer Has A Non-Spanish Name)
Alice Blumenfeld, alumna of Flamenco Vivo and now director of the company ABREPASO: “Only as I started to branch out did I realize there are many people breaking boundaries in flamenco in the U.S. in incredible ways that could only be possible in the melting pot that is America.” – Dance Magazine