“Soft-spoken, easygoing, and modest, August was the least grandiose and least arrogant artist imaginable to achieve something so big. You might expect the man who could envision and create a 10-play cycle illustrating African American life in the 10 decades of the 20th century to be haughty, self-demonstrating, full of pronouncements about the high meanings of his work. That was not August’s way.”
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“Dr. Atomic” – Music Good, Sellars Not?
“As was the case with the previous John Adams-Peter Sellars piece, the Nativity oratorio “El Niño,” Sellars’s idiosyncrasy and obsession with concept leeched much of the theatrical vigor from this promising project. Recent productions of “Nixon” and “The Death of Klinghoffer,” not directed by Mr. Sellars, brought out previously unnoticed power in those works. Perhaps it is time for Mr. Adams to find a different collaborator.”
August Wilson’s Ears
“People talk about an artist having an eye. But with playwrights, it’s the ear that counts. Mr. Wilson had a peerless pair. His writing comes closer to the sweep of Shakespearean music than that of any of his contemporaries.”
An August Wilson Legacy
“He inspired a generation of black theater artists. And he will be greatly missed by many who knew him, in Seattle and beyond, as a generous friend and remarkable storyteller.”
Italy Says Getty Will Return Three Artifacts
Italy’s culture minister says the Getty Museum will return three artifacts to Italy. “Italian officials traveling to Los Angeles will receive the artifacts ‘within the next few days’ in the form of a donation from the Getty, ministry spokesman Walter Guarracino said. He said the donation formula allows the museum to avoid admitting any wrongdoing in the acquisition of the objects and doesn’t alter Italy’s position in its trial against Getty antiquities curator Marion True.”
August Wilson’s Place In History
“This period of time will ultimately be characterized by the work of the playwrights who gave voice to the American experiences that are not from the Anglo European tradition … playwrights such as David Hwang, Philip Kan Gotanda, Nilo Cruz and others. But August’s work will tower above all. He turned cultural history into dramatic poetry. You have to look back to the Henry cycle of Shakespeare to find a similar artistic accomplishment.”
Levy Wins Orange’s Best Of The Best
Andrea Levy wins the Orange Prize for Fiction’s best of the best award, for her novel “Small Island”. The award was granted for the best of the first 10 winners of the Orange Prize which aims to recognise and promote women’s fiction. The chairwomen of judging teams from each year chose Levy – who won the prize in 2004 – as the overall winner.
August Wilson And Colorblind Casting
“Wilson cared passionately about black theater as a distinct medium, and in the late 1990s he famously wrangled with Robert Brustein, then artistic director of American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge, Mass., who claimed that theater should be ‘a unifying, not a segregating, medium.’ In 1997 the two men held a public debate in New York, and Wilson continued to argue that ‘colorblind’ casting — casting without regard to race — is ‘an aberrant idea’ and that blacks should not allow others to dictate their culture.”
SanJoseSymphony.org? Don’t Go There!
The website Sanjosesymphony.org is being occupied by a cybersquatter. “Now, the only way to remove the embarrassing link is to buy the domain or file legal action. No bargain solution either way.”
What Oprah means To A Broadway “Color Purple”
“Twenty years and 49 million regular viewers later, Winfrey’s sudden and unexpected endorsement of the upcoming musical version of that very same Alice Walker story has propelled what was looking like a midtier Broadway opening heavily dependent on positive reviews into a critic-proof international megahit. Oprah’s impact on a Broadway show is unknown territory — Winfrey has never before formally got behind a Broadway show (or any other piece of theater, for that matter).”