To the surprise of absolutely no one in the New York theatre scene, Lennon, the biographical musical focused on the enigmatic Beatle, is closing only a few weeks into its run. The production had been plagued by problems from the start, and a media report shortly before opening night suggested that the producers and cast were at their wits’ end in dealing with Lennon’s widow, Yoko Ono.
Blog
Reverse Course
It used to be that America’s East Coast-based stage actors toiled at their craft for little money and less recognition in the vague hope that their efforts would eventually earn them a trip to Hollywood, there to become true stars making real money. These days, the march of the actors seems to be going in the exact opposite direction, as many of Hollywood’s biggest names beat a path to New York to “legitimize” themselves on Broadway stages.
Hollywood To Get Family-Friendly
The theme of the season for Hollywood seems to be a return to family, if the crop of films slated for release between now and Christmas are any indication. “Often when Hollywood pursues a trend, it’s to the detriment of filmgoers. It’s glut, rut or both. So such an energetic return to hearth and home, moms and pops, might suggest a bottom line-inspired recoil from the world’s rough challenges. After all, it wouldn’t be the first time cinema used the American family as a barricade erected to protect our fantasies of security and fidelity. But many of the films in this bumper crop don’t signal retreat, but a willful engagement. And not a limited one – but an opening-wide one.”
Access Problems In Denver
Denver’s new opera house isn’t getting rave reviews from disabled concertgoers. “The Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition was invited to tour the opera house and found that lifts designed to carry people in wheelchairs to the lower orchestra level were slow and difficult to navigate. Also, lower-level seating near the orchestra is on a slope instead of being level for wheelchairs.” Opera House execs say that they will work with the coalition to address the problems, but some observers say that the problems needed to be corrected in the design phase, and may not be tweakable.
New Era Begins In St. Louis
David Robertson has officially arrived as the new music director of the Saint Louis Symphony, and the city may never have seen a conductor more eager to get started. “On Monday, Robertson threw out the first ball at the Cardinals game… On Tuesday, he heard auditions. On Wednesday, he held his first rehearsal as music director, and then charmed the audience at a ‘town hall’ meeting in [suburban] Des Peres.” Robertson’s biggest task may be restoring the orchestra to its place among the top American ensembles after years of crippling deficits, high-profile labor disputes, and organizational malaise.
Big Dreams In South Florida
Miami’s glittering new performing arts center will open a year from now, albeit without a primary tenant, and backers are hoping that its arrival will herald a new and better era for South Florida’s often scattered arts scene. Some proponents are even draw comparisons to Washington, D.C.’s Kenedy Center, which opened in 1971 and sparked a cultural renaissance in the city.
KC PAC Goes Back To Original Plan
The contentious negotiations to build a new performing arts center in Kansas City have taken another turn, this time sparking a return to the original plan to build the PAC on a downtown hilltop. “The decision ends months of uncertainty that began in April when the center board voted to examine an alternative — renovating the historic Lyric Theatre at 11th and Central streets and adding a new concert hall. Backers said the concept did not save enough money to justify abandoning the earlier plan.” Funding for the project, which is estimated to cost $304 million, is still somewhat uncertain, but backers are hoping to start construction by fall 2006.
Stolen Rembrandt, Renoir Both Safe And Sound
Hours after police in Denmark recovered a $40 million Rembrandt stolen five years ago from Sweden’s National Museum, it was revealed that the other major work stolen from the museum in that infamous raid, Renoir’s portrait entitled A Young Parisienne, had been recovered months ago by American authorities. The Renoir recovery was kept quiet so as not to jeopardize the ongoing investigation into the whereabouts of the Rembrandt. Four men are in custody and will likely be charged in the crime.
Awaiting A Operatic Triumph In T.O.
Toronto is a year away from the opening of its new Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, and William Littler says that the long wait for a true opera venue in Canada’s largest city may turn out to be worth it in the end, especially if the center properly reflects its main inspiration, Munich’s spectacular Nationaltheater, home of the Bavarian State Opera.
American “Man of Letters” Dies At 99
“Stanley Burnshaw, a consummate man of letters who was not only a poet, critic, translator, editor, publisher and novelist, but also skilled at setting type by hand, died yesterday on Martha’s Vineyard. He was 99… Burnshaw roamed the peaks of the literary world, famously dueling with Wallace Stevens over poetry and politics; publishing and editing work by his friend Robert Frost; writing a biography of Frost; and publishing important books by Lionel Trilling.”