“As MAD‘s editor from 1985 to 2004 — a position he shared with John Ficarra — Mr. Meglin became a major figure in the magazine’s long history … [He] was the chief barometer of whether the publication’s silly and satirical humor had gone too far — or not far enough.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
‘The Unstoppable All-Female Shakespeare Uprising’ At The Donmar Warehouse
“By 2016 the Donmar, a tiny but high-profile theatre in Covent Garden [in London], had put on not one but three all-female Shakespeares, each with the great actor Harriet Walter, directed by [Phyllida] Lloyd and with an ethnically diverse cast drawn partly from ex-offenders. The trilogy – which includes [Julius Caesar,] Henry IV and The Tempest – has already been staged back-to-back in a large tent in King’s Cross and travelled to New York.” Says Donmar executive producer Kate Pakenham, “The Shakespeare trilogy has a feminist mission, a social mission, an inclusivity mission, an education mission. And that actually drove philanthropy and partnerships and funding that made the theatre richer in every way.”
Public Men’s Room To Be Converted Into 25-Seat Theatre
“Planning permission has been granted for a block of men’s public toilets in Newport to be turned into a performance space. The Victorian building in Newport city centre is to become a 25-seat micro-venue used for monologues, site-specific works, magicians and other professional and amateur performances.”
Novel Written As Single 270-Page-Long Sentence Wins €100,000 Prize
“It’s not often that an author described on his own Wikipedia page as ‘disgracefully neglected’ is awarded a €100,000 literary prize. But this is where the Irish author Mike McCormack finds himself, with Wednesday’s announcement that he has won the International Dublin literary award for his novel, Solar Bones.” The prize, formerly known as the Impac, is the richest one in English-language literature.
John Coltrane Album Lost For 55 Years Is Coming Out At Last
At the end of this month, the label Impulse! is releasing Both Directions at Once: The Lost Album, “a full set of material recorded by [Coltrane’s] quartet on a single day in March 1963, then eventually stashed away and lost. The family of Coltrane’s first wife, Juanita Naima Coltrane, recently discovered his personal copy of the recordings, which she had saved, and brought it to the label’s attention.”
Organizer Of Fyre Festival Fiasco Arrested For Selling Fraudulent Tickets While Out On Bail
“[Billy] McFarland, who pleaded guilty to wire fraud charges in March, was charged with an additional count of wire fraud and money laundering late Tuesday afternoon. Prosecutors say the scheme to sell tickets to exclusive events … was a fraud from the start, and one which specifically targeted people who had fallen for the Fyre Festival.”
Richard Florida Finds More Data Showing How Culture Shapes Urban Economic Development
“A new paper takes a deep dive into the connection between culture and economic development in New York and London. The paper … looks at the ways in which culture and cultural capital interact with economic factors (such as changes in median income and house prices) to shape urban economic development. And because urban economic development and culture are increasingly seen to be associated with rising gentrification and deepening inequality, it also looks at the effects of cultural capital on housing prices and housing affordability in these cities.”
Qing Dynasty Vase Found In Attic Sells For $19 Million
“An 18th-century Chinese vase forgotten for decades in a shoe box in a French attic sold for 16.2 million euros ($19 million) at Sotheby’s in Paris on Tuesday – more than 30 times the estimate. Experts at the auction house said the exquisite porcelain vessel was made for the Qing dynasty Emperor Qianlong and had set a guide price of a much more modest 500,000 euros.”
Ousted Director Of Amsterdam’s Stedelijk Museum Cleared Of All Conflict-Of-Interest Charges
“In a surprise turn of events, a team of legal researchers has issued a 120-page report that could exonerate embattled former Stedelijk director Beatrix Ruf, who resigned from the museum amid allegations that her private art consultancy posed conflicts of interest with the museum. … Although the report says that Ruf should have been more transparent about the remuneration she was receiving from outside professional activities, this did not pose a conflict of interest to the publicly funded museum.”
Paris Wants UNESCO Cultural Heritage Status For Its Bistros
“Less formal than restaurants but with more full meals than a café, these bistros are indeed a classic component of the archetypal Parisian scene. … Now, bistro defenders say, this institution is under threat, pressed under the boot of high rents and changing social habits. It’s easy to understand the concern, but will acknowledging bistros’ special place in Parisian culture actually do much to save them when the culture itself is changing?” Feargus O’Sullivan explains the changes and how they’re affecting the bistros of Paris.