“With the death yesterday of Edwin Mirvish, 92, Canada and England lose a man who played a modest but pivotal role in late 20th-century theatre. But in Toronto, the theatres the Mirvish family supported, the productions they mounted – and above all, Ed’s populist touch – shaped a cultural ecosystem.”
Author: sbergman
Only One Szarkowski
Alan Artner writes that the death of photography curator John Szarkowski calls to mind anew how unique his talents were. “Everybody is lesser than Szarkowski, for no one active at an art museum today has come close to his record of nearly 30 years of defining contemporary photography or 45 of reapproaching masters of the medium through eye-opening writings and lectures. Without any exaggeration, it can be said that, at Szarkowski’s death at age 81 last Saturday, he left no heirs with comparable acuity of vision, liveliness of wit and elegance of expression.”
Tintin The Racist?
A British commission on racial equality is calling for a Tintin comic book to be banned from UK bookstores over complaints that it is transparently racist. The graphic novel, entitled “Tintin in the Congo,” includes stereotypical caricatures of Africans, who frequently speak in embarrassingly imbecilic style. Tintin’s author, Herge, “continued to revise his books after their publication, and admitted embarrassment over some of the views they expressed.”
Harry Breaks A Midnight Record
“The new Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, has taken a record-breaking $12m at midnight screenings in the US. The figure is the most made at the box office for a Wednesday opening midnight run.”
Superstar Music, Up Close And Personal
One of the great frustrations of being a fan of a wildly popular band or musician is the necessity of seeing them live only in grossly oversized venues with terrible acoustics and no sightlines. So it’s getting attention that a number of high-profile performers are mounting shows this summer in decidedly scaled-down venues. On the plus side, those in attendance will get a much more personal performance. On the down side, not many tickets are available, and the ones that are will surely cost you…
The Joy Of Promming
The BBC Proms is the world’s largest classical music festival, and the unique spirit that permeates the concerts comes largely from the Prommers, a diehard group of music fans who show up early for every concert and take their place in a huge, standing-room-only pit in front of the stage. “It’s hardly surprising that, over the years, the tastes and foibles of the Promenaders have been projected on to Proms audiences as a whole.”
Actor Charles Lane, 102
“Charles Lane, a skinny character actor who played mostly cranky roles and made more than 200 Hollywood movies and scores of television shows over six decades, died July 11 in Los Angeles at age 102. No cause of death was reported.”
Seattle Opera Scores Major Gifts
Seattle Opera has announced a whopping set of gifts totaling more than $21m to fund its endowment and daily operations. The donations come principally from three donors, including $15m from longtime supporter Gerald Hanauer.
Chicago Symphony Back In Balance
The Chicago Symphony, plagued by red ink in recent years, has brought its budget into balance for the fiscal year just concluded. “Ticket sales for CSO main series performances increased from $4.2 million in 2005-06 to $4.3 million in 2006-07, representing just over 85 percent paid capacity.” The orchestra also kept its endowment draw to a pre-planned 5%, or $10m.
PA Ready To Offer Hollywood Discounts
Pennsylvania lawmakers are working on a deal which would substantially increase tax breaks and other incentives for film crews wanting to shoot in the Keystone State. “To qualify, 60 percent of film expenditures (on wardrobe, transportation, food, lighting and such) would have to be in the state. Of that spending, productions could get up to 25 percent back in tax rebates.”