Norman Lebrecht says that Marin Alsop handled the Baltimore dust-up with all the aplomb, dignity, and compassion one would expect from her. “This seemed to be just another of those occasions when musicians pick the worst possible moment to air unrelated internal grievances,” but Alsop responded by quietly asking to meet with the musicians directly, and then asking what she could do to help them. “That’s Marin Alsop, through and through. Of all current conductors, she is probably the best facilitator, the one who gets things done.”
Blog
Rea Blocked From American Appearance
“American Equity, the professional actors’ union, has invoked contractual and financial barriers that make it impossible for Stephen Rea, noted Irish film and stage actor, to appear in Pittsburgh Irish & Classical Theatre’s long-advertised world premiere of “Henry” by Irish playwright Thomas Kilroy… The impasse between Equity and PICT over Rea was because the Small Professional Theatre contract with Equity under which PICT operates states, ‘Non-resident aliens shall not be employed in Small Professional Theatre productions.'”
Payola Got Creative In The ’90s
Paying radio DJs to play certain songs has been illegal since the 1960s, but by the late 1990s, the recording industry and the radio world were essentially winking at each other as more sophisticated and creative forms of payola came to be almost routine. New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer’s settlement this week with Sony may be only the first of many legal proceedings to come.
Good News/Bad News At MIA
“The Minneapolis Institute of Arts balanced its $21 million annual budget and raised attendance but saw its membership fall more than 8 percent in the fiscal year that ended June 30. The year was a difficult one in which the museum continued a $50 million expansion designed by architect Michael Graves even as it lost longtime director Evan Maurer, whose resignation for health reasons became effective in February. Maurer, who had been incapacitated much of the previous year, began a leave of absence in September that culminated in his departure after 16 years at the museum’s helm.”
The Next Davidson
It’s not easy being the son of a legend. Just ask Adam Davidson, who has started to carve out a name for himself in the L.A. theatre scene, even as he simultaneously attempts to slip out from under the considerable shadow cast by his father, Gordon, head of the Center Theater Group for 40 years.
Karla’s Story May Meet Resistance In Canada
A lawyer representing the families of victims of Canada’s most notorious serial killers, Karla Homolka and Paul Bernardo, says that he may try to stop distribution of a new Hollywood film about the horrific killings by citing Canada’s child pornography laws. Homolka and Bernardo’s victims were underage, and were sexually abused and tortured before being killed, a terrifying ordeal which still haunts the entire country. Producers say that while the film is quite disturbing, it is not overly graphic, and attempts to show the crimes from Homolka’s perspective, rather than focusing visually on what was done to the victims.
Harry Potter & The Language Barrier
The unusual level of security surrounding the release of the latest Harry Potter book has led to an unusual problem in the international marketplace: translators didn’t get to begin working on foreign versions of the text until mid-June, and at 672 pages, there’s a lot to work through. The Spanish language edition, for instance, won’t be on shelves until next spring. The first translations (German and Mandarin Chinese) are expected to be available this fall.
Living Well Is The Best Revenge
What do you do when your TV network’s critically acclaimed programs get snubbed year after year by the Hollywood insiders who pick Emmy nominees? Well, if you’re the WB, you keep your mouth shut, smile and wave at the more fortunate networks… and then schedule the broadcast premiere of Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers directly opposite the Emmy telecast.
The Accidental Blockbuster
“‘Toulouse-Lautrec and Montmartre,’ the new exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago, is showing signs of turning into an unexpected blockbuster. About 20,000 people saw the show in the eight days after it opened on July 16… Ticket sales leveled off in the second week, but by the end of the week, about 27,600 people had seen ‘Toulouse-Lautrec’… Box office is so boffo that Art Institute officials are entertaining the possibility that [the show] could substantially exceed its projected attendance of 250,000.”
Promotions In Beantown
Boston Ballet has promoted seven dancers for the upcoming season, but the personnel changes are nothing like the upheaval that occurred after artistic director Mikko Nissinen’s first season in the Hub. “When the upcoming season opens in October with ‘Cinderella,’ 37 of the 45 dancers on Boston Ballet’s roster will have been brought in by Nissinen.”