The playwright was one week into rehearsals for Describe the Night this past August when the storm flooded Houston and did $15 million worth of damage to the Alley Theater. He wondered if it was even appropriate for the show to continue – hell, he wondered if his vocation as a playwright was of any use to the world at all – yet, as he writes in this essay, both he himself and the Houston community had deeper resources than he had known.
Author: Matthew Westphal
A Year After Strike, Pittsburgh Symphony Is On The Mend
Says board of directors vice chairman Tony Bucci, “Last year, right, wrong, agree, disagree, ugly or nice, we confronted our problems.”
Santa Fe New Mexican Critic Craig A. Smith, 63, Dead In Apparent Suicide
“He began writing both feature stories and critical reviews [on opera, classical music, and theater] for Pasatiempo [magazine] in 1990 and continued to contribute to both Pasatiempo and The New Mexican after he left the staff around 2010 until the time of his death.” He was also the author of a 2015 biography of Santa Fe Opera founder John Crosby.
Stolen John Lennon Diaries Recovered In Berlin
“German police recovered around 100 items that belonged to late Beatles star John Lennon that were stolen from his widow in New York, including three diaries, two pairs of his signature metal-rimmed glasses, a cigarette case and a handwritten music score.”
‘Call Me By Your Name’, ‘Get Out’, ‘Lady Bird’, ‘Good Time’, ‘The Rider’ Lead Independent Spirit Awards Nominations
Not only are these prizes for indie movies with budgets under $20 million honors in their own right, but for the last four years, the winner of the Best Feature prize went on to win the Best Picture Oscar the following night.
Christo And Smithsonian Sued For Copyright Infringement Over ‘Running Fence’ Images
“The photographer Gianfranco Gorgoni … says he was not properly credited or paid when his photographs of the land art project in California were used in a 2007 exhibition and book, and is seeking recognition for his work.”
Two Groups Of Female-Led Investors Look At Buying Weinstein Co. And Making It A Feminist Concern
“Throwing a lifeline to an entertainment company that has become a symbol of the systemic mistreatment of women in Hollywood would seem like the last thing that feminists like Gloria Allred and Ana Oliveira, chief executive of the New York Women’s Foundation, would be interested in doing. But each is involved with a group holding separate acquisition talks with the embattled Weinstein Company – with the aim of benefiting sexual misconduct victims.”
Baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky Dead Of Brain Cancer At 55
“A favorite of audiences thanks to his alluring voice and heartthrob presence, Mr. Hvorostovsky cut a striking figure, his trim 6-foot-1 frame topped by a mane of prematurely white hair. He also had a compelling personal story: He escaped the street-gang life as a teenager in a grim Siberian city, found his talent there despite the region’s cultural isolation, and overcame a tempestuous drinking problem that could have ruined his career.”
Classical Music Critic Conrad Wilson Dead At 85
One of Scotland’s leading critics, he spent a quarter-century at each of the country’s major newspapers, The Scotsman and The Herald.
Why Journalism Needs A ‘Language Beat’
Michael Erard: “Immediately after the election, Masha Gessen … called for a ‘language beat’ to track the erosions [in the meanings of words in the current climate]. But here’s a reality check that I hope isn’t merely pedantic: language consists of more than words. This gives the writer interested in politics, language, and the shifting of realities many topics to tackle beyond lexicography and semantics. As someone who’s been writing about language and linguistics for a long time – I consider myself a ‘language journalist’ – here are some that I have my eyes on.”