“As long as there has been transportation to faraway places, people have been sneaking on board. … The stowaway fad, however, was a different kind of social phenomenon. It was part of the attention-seeking aesthetic of the Jazz Age, a larksome activity similar to flagpole sitting, outrageous swimming challenges, and ‘buildering’ – the art of climbing skyscrapers. … And, in the new age of the mass media, each stowaway’s story of success incited more attempts.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
‘Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri’ Is ‘A Shallow Look At Race In Rural America
“Now, no movie is one thing. … And so Three Billboards is about grief and anger, parental and police responsibility, truth and reconciliation. But it is also about class and race in rural America – and the levels to which [filmmaker Martin] McDonagh doesn’t actually investigate or interrogate his own storytelling decisions in that regard are frustrating.”
How Dancing Changes Dancers’ Brains
“Neuroscientist Agnieszka Burzynska … and her team looked at 40 female college students: half highly trained in modern dance, and half non-dancers. They had the subjects do various tasks – from watching dance videos to remembering the location of dots on a screen – and used scanners to look at their brain structure and activity. Here’s what they found.”
‘Les Mis’ Composer Claude-Michel Schönberg On What Makes A ‘Proper Song’ For A Musical
“Q: You’ve said that many new musicals don’t have proper songs. What goes into the making of a proper song?
“A: To write proper songs for a musical, there are special theatrical things you must master. Your songs must always be telling the story, which is very tricky, and you must learn how to do it. And the transitions between spoken dialogue and music are very hard; you can always tell when these transitions are awkward.”
France’s New Collection Of Camille Claudel Sculptures Are Now At Musée D’Orsay
“Eleven sculptures by the artist Camille Claudel, who was also Rodin’s muse and mistress, have gone on show at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris after six major French museums stepped in and acquired the works at auction last November. … Twelve items were acquired under French law, whereby the state is entitled to ‘pre-empt’ the sale of an object of national importance by matching the sale price (with buyer’s premium).”
Museum Of Ice Cream Fined For ‘Environmental Hazard’ In Miami Beach
The problem is the pop-up museum’s most popular attraction: a pool full of plastic rainbow sprinkles for visitors to roll around and play in.
An Open Letter To New York City Ballet Dancers Supporting Peter Martins
Former NYCB corps member Sophie Flack: “I have known some of you for a long time, so I’m telling you this as a friend: by posting on social media your sadness for Peter’s downfall, you are siding with an abuser. You are discrediting the men and women who’ve come forward, an extraordinarily difficult thing to do outside the ballet world, and career suicide when it’s done while still ‘inside.’ Even if you were to discredit each and every allegation, Peter’s documented crimes are inarguable, and would be fireable offences in any other setting.”
Soprano Lisette Oropesa Says She Was Denied Roles Because She Was Too Fat
“That’s why I lost weight … If you’re singing repertoire that only two other people in the world sing, congratulations, you’ve won the voice lottery! You can sing anywhere you want, you can write your own checks. But there are a million Norinas and Adinas and Lucias, so it’s much more competitive. There are roles I wasn’t even considered for because of the way I looked. I thought that I’d worked way too hard and was singing far too well (I believed) to be stopped before I could even enter the room. Someone would look at my photograph and say, ‘No. Too fat!’ It ain’t right, but it’s life.”
Director Of Houston’s Alley Theatre Abruptly Retires
Gregory Boyd, who served as artistic director for 29 years (and signed a five-year contract renewal in 2016), told staff that he had planned to retire after the end of last season but stayed on to help in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. “In this moment, while I am still ambulatory, I feel that it’s time for me to step aside …,” he said.
Alitalia’s Destruction Of Centuries-Old Viola Da Gamba Makes World News
Traveling from Rio de Janeiro to Tel Aviv via Rome, Myrna Herzog was told that there was no room in the cabin for her 17th-century instrument and she’d have to gate-check it. (The airline says Herzog declined the chance to purchase a seat for the gamba; she denies this.) She went public with photos of the damage, and the story has hit major newspapers in Europe as well as The Daily Mail and Fox News.