The top ticket for the Broadway musical Young Frankenstein costs $120. That’s notable because ever since 2001, hit musicals have reserved a certain number of “premium” tickets for buyers willing to pony up $225, $325, or even $450. But the producers of Frankenstein have reportedly decided that premium pricing was a mistake.
Author: sbergman
Maazel Reflects On DPRK Concert
New York Philharmonic music director Lorin Maazel had plenty to say about his orchestra’s trip to North Korea in the leadup to the controversial performance. Now, after the concert, he remains adamant that the trip was worth it, and says that, “in a way, it was alerting the populace that the party line had changed. Americans are no longer criminals and mad people and fanatic warmongers.”
Voigt Sidelined Mid-Performance
Soprano Deborah Voigt had to leave the stage of the Metropolitan Opera midway through the second act of Tristan und Isolde on Friday night due to illness. The performance was halted for about 15 minutes, then continued with Voigt’s understudy in the lead role. Voigt is expected to return for future performances.
This Is Not A Rerun
The management of the 24-member Shreveport Symphony wants to cope with a $500,000 accumulated deficit by converting all of its musicians from full-time employees making a minimum of $12,683 per year to freelancers paid by the service, averaging $3,123 per year. Musicians would also lose their health insurance under the plan.
Online Innovation Signals A Hollywood In Transition
“Predicting the death of network television is a popular pastime in Hollywood… But it’s still not time to count the Big Five networks out yet, say media watchers. They may have stumbled in the transition to the world of digital entertainment, underestimating audience appetite for consumption in new media beyond traditional TV, but they’re rapidly trying to adapt.”
LACMA’s Land: Imagine The Possibilities
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art has acquired a potentially valuable parcel of land across Wilshire Boulevard from it’s main campus. Now, what does LACMA plan to do with this acquisition? That depends on who you ask, but Christopher Hawthorne writes that the possibilities are fascinating…
Bestselling Novelist Donates $1m To Combat Alzheimer’s
“British novelist Terry Pratchett said Thursday he will donate $1 million to fund research into Alzheimer’s disease, the incurable illness he was diagnosed with last year… Pratchett is best known for his Discworld fantasy series. More than 55 million copies of his books have been sold worldwide.”
Hallelujah, Yet Again
Leonard Cohen’s hauntingly beautiful song, “Hallelujah,” seems to get rediscovered every decade or so, and jammed into every available space in film and TV soundtracks. Now, it’s come to the attention of the online generation, with the strange result that a 73-year-old songwriter now has one of the top downloads on iTunes.
The MySpace Casting Call
Where are filmmakers finding fresh, undiscovered talent for their movies these days? Why, online, of course…
UK’s Four To Get A Lot More British
Britain’s Channel Four is planning to cut way back on the number of American TV programs it airs, and will recommit itself both to homegrown dramas and documentaries. The costs of changing over to digital broadcasting and a need for more government funding are behind the change in philosophy.