Well, maybe something is salvageable (though very possibly not, as numbers of infections continue to mount): “If audiences show faith in theaters’ revamped safety, social-distancing, and cleaning protocols, this July and August’s remaining ticket returns could help reverse a death spiral that has so far yielded a barely consequential $3 million in ticket sales between April and June, and narrowed the usual field of 25 to 30 potential blockbusters to just 7 or 8 wide-release films.” – Vulture
Author: ArtsJournal2
One Of Britain’s Most Beloved Children’s Authors Emerged From 47 Days In Intensive Care For Covid-19
“I’ve survived,” tweeted Michael Rosen. “The 74-year-old author, performer and broadcaster is one of Britain’s most beloved writers, the author of more than 140 books including We’re Going on a Bear Hunt and Little Rabbit Foo Foo, and children’s poetry including Chocolate Cake and Don’t.” – The Guardian (UK)
The ‘Novel Of Ideas’ Is A Gimmick, But One That Sometimes Works
The form of “novel” is young, but its conventions are mostly clear – and the novel of ideas is different. “Whether executed as science fiction, bildungsroman, or more recently, the satirical form Nicholas Dames calls the ‘theory novel,’ the novel of ideas is ‘artful,’ with all the equivocality this term brings. Willingness to court the accusation of relying on overly transparent stylistic devices is a consistent, perhaps even cohering feature of a notoriously unstable genre.” – The Paris Review
The Broadway League Pledges To Perform A ‘Sweeping Audit’ – And Make Changes
People are right to be frustrated about the lack of diversity backstage, says the president of the Broadway League, which is ready to perform a “diversity audit” of many parts of Broadway. She says that the League can’t force participation, but that it “would strongly encourage all affected entities, including labor unions and nonprofits that operate on Broadway, to cooperate with the researchers.” – The New York Times
Retiring From Ballet At 26
Why would Silas Farley leave the stage at New York City Ballet when he was absolutely at the top of his game? “My hope is to become a leader in a really substantive way in the art form. … And I know that there are so many other facets of leadership experience and education that I don’t have.” – The New York Times
Six Arrests In Theft Of Banksy Memorial At Bataclan
Six people were arrested in France, with two accused of organized theft and four of concealing the theft. “The artwork, part of a series made by Banksy during a visit to Paris in 2018, was stolen from the Bataclan in January 2019. Video footage showed the hooded thieves cutting through the fire door. Detectives announced earlier this month they had found the work in an abandoned farmhouse in the Abruzzo region east of Rome.” – The Guardian (UK)
Ola Mae Spinks, Librarian Who Used Her Own Money To Organize ‘Slave Narratives’ At The Library Of Congress, 106
Spinks was working as a school librarian in Pontiac, Michigan, when “she and a friend, also a librarian, contacted the U.S. Library of Congress and volunteered to visit Washington, D.C., to help organize the ‘Slave Narratives.'”- Detroit Free Press
In Britain, Performing Arts Spaces Say They’ve Been Hung Out To Dry
The government issued a five-step roadmap to reopening … a roadmap that “did not come with dates or monetary help attached.” One theatre executive said the roadmap was “‘as useful a map as a snakes and ladders board,’ adding: ‘We need dates, data and INVESTMENT now!'” – BBC
Elly Stone, Singer Who Powerfully Brought Jacques Brel’s Songs To A Wide Audience, 93
Stone “was enjoying a moderately successful career as a singer and actress when she jumped to a new level of fame in 1968 as part of the wildly popular musical revue Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris.” – The New York Times
This Is Not A Museum, Australia
A new “museum” in Sydney is intended to be built on a flood plain, with no clarity about permanent collections, no storage on site, and so much more that’s even worse. “The new Powerhouse in Parramatta is set to be an embarrassing example of worst practice by international museum standards. Ironically the current Powerhouse would not loan valuable pieces from their collection to any institution so poorly equipped.” – Sydney Morning Herald