Minnesota’s Ordway Theatre is joining four other comparable nonprofit performing arts centers in Boston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Hartford, Connecticut, to form Five Cent Productions “to develop new works of musical theater and breathe new life into the art form. ‘The industry has come to rely on the retread, on the revival. People are tired now of seeing the revivals. I mean, these are great classic works of Americana. But people need to see new things’.”
Blog
Where Are The Women Playwrights? (Why Don’t We See Them On Our Stages?)
Despite critical acclaim, women playwrights are badly represented on American stages. “During the 2003-04 season 21 percent of professionally produced plays in the United States were written by women; during 2004-05, the number dropped again to 19 percent. The absolute numbers aren’t changing. There’s simply a kind of schizophrenia in the theater managements. I think that despite the evidence, artistic directors have a strong conviction that plays by women don’t sell’.”
Gore Vidal At 80
“He also is one of the last great feuding writers, since Truman Capote died and Norman Mailer appears to have mellowed. The three of them — but especially Vidal and Capote — engaged in savagely entertaining literary dust-ups, in lengthy battles rife with high-toned insults and sophisticated put-downs that those of us with lesser imaginations file away for later personal use.”
The Movie Box Office Problem? People Zigged While Hollywood Zagged
Hollywood movies had a great September, rebounding from a dreadful summer slump. “Amid 19 weekends of diminished box office — a record stretch that started in late February and ended in early July — many said they believed a cultural sea change was underway. Among the theories: People preferred to consume their entertainment in the comfort of their homes, whether watching DVDs on super-sharp plasma screens, surfing the Internet or playing video games.” The real reason? Movies nobody wanted to watch.
Parental Advisory
How do you recommend theatre to children? It’s not an absolute. There are many things to account for: “how mature he is relative to others his age, what gives her nightmares or whether the music of Andrew Lloyd Webber would make them start speaking in tongues or spit up.”
Shostakovich Centenery Calls For A New Look
“Shostakovich subtly manoeuvred his way round the Soviet system and enshrined in his music a message that could be interpreted in different ways – optimistic, despondent, crushed or defiant. With the advent of his centenary year in 2006, there will be ample opportunity to consider what the music meant to Shostakovich and what it still means to us.”
Moscow’s Art Fair Steps Up
“The Moscow World Fine Art Fair was set up by its Swiss-based organisers Art Culture Studio last year to tap into the huge amounts of money being made by Russia’s capitalists, but in 2004, regulations prevented anything from being sold. This year’s fair moved to a new and better venue and attracted more dealers, and Art Culture Studio persuaded the authorities to let dealers sell art rather than merely hold an exhibition.”
Opera Central – Why Don’t They Care?
Colorado’s Central City Opera is a terrific company. But it is neglected when discussions of great American opera companies come up. “The perplexing question is: Why? It certainly is not because of any lack in production quality. The diversity and daring of Central City’s programming easily competes with any summer festival in the country. Part of the problem lies with geography. The company is not only a bit isolated, it is also a long way from either of the two coasts, where nearly all the major classical-music critics live. And travel budgets are being cut everywhere.”
Paris Review’s New Look
“The magazine’s design — size, paper, type font — has been updated for a new sleeker look, but its contents have only slightly changed. No drastic moves here. As has been the case since the magazine’s inception, fiction, poetry and author interviews remain the central focus. But to that mix, Philip Gourevitch has added non-fiction writing and photographic essays.”
Will Scottish Opera Have To Merge To Survive?
Scottish Opera is in dire straits. Some say “unless urgent action is taken on funding, Scotland could be forced to merge its national opera company with Opera North in Leeds, England to survive. Shouldn’t Scotland be funding its own opera?