“‘Your world is about to ‘change its face’ but I know where you’re going…as far and as high as you want,’ Audra McDonald tweeted to her.”
Author: ArtsJournal2
Top AJBlog Posts For 12.06.15
It was more than weird to come home on Wednesday night and find MPs voting on British military action in Syria. I had just seen scenes from an earlier conflict, mediated through the giddy… … read more
AJBlog: Performance MonkeyPublished 2015-12-06
AJBlog: Performance MonkeyPublished 2015-12-06
The Only Way To Go In London Is Up – And Is That Destroying The Skyline?
“In all cases the story of the Shard should give rise to caution. It set a precedent for a series of other towers across London in which claims for good design became ever less credible. While it contributed to improvements to the station at its base, London Bridge remains seriously flawed. And eloquent statements made by its architect didn’t match reality.”
Some In Barcelona Don’t Want Picasso Art School Turned Into Woody Allen Museum
“They claim the Allen museum would be ‘geared towards tourists and not citizens.’ This weekend, the group organised workshops and artistic activities outside the building in support of its campaign. Campaigners are reminding the city’s radical mayor, Ada Colau, that one of her electoral promises last May was to reopen the building as an art school.”
The Chinese Government Is Using A Folk Artist’s Work As Propaganda
“Behind this slick campaign is one family’s tale of persecution, division and conflicting views on government control of art. The story offers a darker counterpoint to the party’s upbeat message, underscoring longstanding efforts to control art and bend it to political aims.”
Why Wally Lamb’s Next Novel Is Only Going To Be Available As An App
“There are obvious downsides to releasing a book exclusively as an app. ‘I’ll Take You There’ won’t be available in bookstores or even from e-book retailers like Amazon or Barnes & Noble when it comes out next spring. Instead, Mr. Lamb’s fans will have to buy it from the iTunes app store, and it will work only on Apple devices. Mr. Lamb said that as a music and film lover, he was excited by the prospect of enhancing a narrative with music, film clips and video.”
We Can’t Let Screenings Displace Live Theatre
“There needs to be some comprehensive research that goes beyond the anecdotal and allows both the NT and RSC to have a proper dialogue with those companies affected and with the Arts Council, to find ways to allow audiences and all parts of the theatre ecology – from the giants to the minnows – to thrive alongside each other.”
The Odd Anomie Of Post-Binge Emptiness
Seriously, what do you do when you’re out of shows?
Turning Florence Into A ‘Disneyland For The Well-Off’
“A Florentine cannot even buy bread in the city centre any more because the shops only sell gelato to please tourists, or alcohol to please students – groups that represent the economic lifeblood of the city.”
London’s Theatres Still Exude Magic
“More than 14 million people see shows each year at the 60-odd major theaters clustered around the Soho neighborhood and Leicester Square (known as the West End) and beyond, compared with about 13 million at Broadway’s 40 theaters and tens of thousands more at several major Off Broadway theaters.”