“A conductor’s first reaction to being offered an outdoor summer concert with an orchestra is often, well, no. The repertory is usually boring; the weather tends to be sweltering; no one in the audience pays attention, anyway. There are more prestigious gigs. Unless!”
Author: ArtsJournal2
Has Fiction Lost Its Sense Of Humor?
No, but “a more interesting question might have been: was the comic novel ever alive? Is there something distinctive you can point to that can be called ‘comic fiction’? And are those two questions, or a different way of phrasing the same one?”
Why Was ‘The Boys In The Band’ So Revolutionary For Its Time?
The play sure doesn’t look very revolutionary now, but in 1968, the history of gay male characters on stage was short and not very pleasant. Now, however, it’s revolutionary because the gay characters are actually played by out gay actors.
Art Really Is A ‘Financial Product’ Now, And That’s Because Of Blockchain
What? Er, yes. It’s all about technology. “Auctions have become a public forum for private transactions.”
Lorraine Gordon, Who Ran New York’s Most Venerated Jazz Nightclub, Has Died At 95
Gordon took over the Village Vanguard in 1989 and ran it with fierce protectiveness. “She fell in love with jazz as a teenager in the 1930s, listening to it on WNYC radio. The music pierced her soul, she said, ‘like a spike in my heart.’ It was the start of a lifelong romance.” She’d made her first trip to the club in 1940.
Sir Elton John Says It’s Time To Boycott Facebook, Twitter, And More If They Don’t Act On Homophobic Bullies
“I don’t know why they allow it,” he says. “The things that are on social media are so disgusting that there has to be action taken by the people that own these companies.”
Top AJBlogs Posts For The Weekend 06.10.18
Speaking of Hans Magnus Enzenberger . . .
His poem “last will and testament” begins: “get your flag out of my face, it tickles!” Jerome Rothenberg’s appealing translation from the German continues:Hans Magnus Enzensberger and get that tinny wreath off my chest, it’s … read more
AJBlog: Straight|UpPublished 2018-06-10
Propwatch: the flowers in Creation (Pictures for Dorian)
Beauty. Beautiful. Beautifully. It’s justpossible I overuse these words. A quick search through my dropbox suggests that in the past year I’ve applied them to: Alina Cojocaru’s acting in Giselle;the final image … read more
AJBlog: Performance MonkeyPublished 2018-06-08
The latest episode of Three on the Aisle, the twice-monthly podcast in which Peter Marks, Elisabeth Vincentelli, and I talk about theater in America, is now available on line for listening or downloading. In this … read more
Now that you’ve had a look at the moody green splendor of the moorsnear Manchester, England, take a look at the brilliant skyscape near Bordeaux, France (courtesy of our staff), and a favorite poem … read more
“The qualities of a second-rate writer can easily be defined, but a first-rate writer can only be experienced.” Willa Cather, “Katherine Mansfield” … read more
The Dance Floor: Not Just For Exercise, Also For Refuge
Chicago artist Nick Cave has made it official now, at the Park Avenue Armory in New York: He wants to use massive art/dance projects to inspire and encourage those feeling pretty down these days. “‘Empowerment’ is the word that performers have been using to describe their take on the project, and what they want to convey to the audience, [a dancer said]. In an onslaught of negativity, ‘you have two choices,’ he said. You can be discouraged and tormented, ‘or have the audacity to say, ‘I’m not going to let this break me.’'”
If Humans Went Extinct, What Would Happen To Animals?
A classic book of speculative biology gets an update and gets republished. “The mythological-looking creatures illustrated in the book seem to come out of a Tim Burton movie. There’s the rabbuck, a rabbit-like animal that has grown the size of a deer because it lives where there are no predators. Then, there’s the reedstilt — also called Harundopes virgatus — with a long, beaky snout and razor thin legs to snatch fish out of the water. And mountainous regions will be inhabited by the groath.”
Who’s Going To Win At The Tonys Tonight?
Mean Girls has a ton of nominations, the same number as (yes) SpongeBob Square Pants. But Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, of course, may sneak up on them, and Once on This Island is a “scrappy” fave.