Author: Matthew Westphal

How ‘Hadestown’ Went From Community Theater To Concept Album To Broadway

The Anaïs Mitchell/Rachel Chavkin musical about two Greek myths — Persephone’s abduction by Hades and Orpheus’s (failed) rescue of Euridice — traveled a long road that went from Vermont and New Hampshire to Manhattan’s East Village to Edmonton to London (the National Theatre, no less) to Braodway. “Along the way [Mitchell and Chavkin] experimented with everything from the set design, to the size of the cast, to their way of thinking about the main characters’ roles in the story.” – Vulture

Is This How Martha Graham Would Celebrate 100 Years Of Women’s Suffrage? (Probably So)

“This season, the Martha Graham Dance Company [starts] its two-year EVE Project, commemorating the 1920 ratification of the 19th Amendment that gave women the power to vote. Included are two new works: Pam Tanowitz’s Untitled (Souvenir), in which she merges Graham’s steps with her own; and Deo, a collaboration by Maxine Doyle and Bobbi Jene Smith. Inspired by the myth of Demeter and Persephone, Deo explores issues surrounding women and mortality with, aptly, an all-female cast.” – The New York Times

‘Netflix Of E-Books’ Begins Offering Original Content

Scribd, a subscription service for e-books and audiobooks with over 1 million paying subscribers, is launching Scribd Originals, which will “focus on ‘the space between a magazine article and a book’ — namely, pieces up to 50,000 words in length that are too long to run in a magazine but aren’t long enough to be published as a standalone book.” – TechCrunch

To Increase Access, English National Opera To Reduce Lowest Ticket Prices And Introduce Early Start Times And Relaxed Performances

The London company has held its highest ticket price at £125 and cut its lowest to £10 and is expanding its free-balcony-seats-for-under-18s from Saturdays to Fridays and opening nights. In addition, the company will offer its first-ever relaxed performance (with accommodation for learning-disabled and autistic attendees), and at least one performance in each run of an opera will end by 10 pm. – The Stage

European Parliament Moves To Do Away With ‘Freeport’ Facilities For Art Trans-Shipment And Storage

Freeports were created as duty-free facilities for temporary storage of art and valuables in transit. But with the EU having eliminated banking secrecy, art has become an asset class — and a vehicle for tax evasion and money laundering. So the number of freeports in Europe has mushroomed, with tax evaders and money launderers storing assets there long-term and in secrecy. – The Art Newspaper

Australia Makes It A Crime For Social Media Platforms Not To Take Down ‘Abhorrent Violent Material’

“The crime would be punishable by three years in prison and a fine of 10.5 million Australian dollars ($7.5 million), or 10% of the platform’s annual turnover, whichever is larger. Abhorrent violent material is defined as acts of terrorism, murder, attempted murder, torture, rape and kidnapping.” – Yahoo! (AP)