“The promise of Tony Awards is one of the ways that Broadway productions, rarely cash rich, are able to draw Hollywood performers to the stage for much less money than they could make doing a movie or a television show. (Or operating a nice lemonade stand.) But this year, Tony dreams will go unfulfilled for some big-name actors,” due to a veritable glut of star power on the stages of the Great White Way.
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Broadway Takes A Turn For The High-Minded
“The traditional view of Broadway is that it’s the greatest place in the world for razzle-dazzle musicals, but a desert when it comes to high culture. That’s certainly not the case this year.” In fact, this year’s crop of New York theatre hits reads like a list of great American drama.
Dance Without Music? Sacrilege!
The row over the use of taped music in ballet performances has leaped across the pond, and musicians in Glasgow, Scotland, were protesting this week outside choreographer Matthew Byrne’s new production of La Sylphide. “The union believes the music for the show could be provided by a group of just six or seven players, although an orchestra would be ideal.” Organizers say that, while live music is always preferable, the tour simply would not have been possible with the expense of an orchestra added in.
Wasserman Quits LA Times Book Review
Steve Wasserman has resigned as editor of the LA Times Book Review. “Wasserman has been instrumental in building the prestige of the Times Book Prizes and Festival of Books, and at last month’s festival he was treated by many visiting authors and publishing industry figures as something of a celebrity. At USC, he is co-founder of the Los Angeles Institute for the Humanities, which gathers local intellectuals, literati and journalists twice each month for discussions.”
Mostly Mozart Reconfigures
This summer, the Mostly Mozart Festival will reconfigure its home at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall. “One goal of the new structure was to break down the formality of the concert hall and enhance the personal and musical connection between players and listeners. “We’re eager to bring back the populist feeling of our origins,” Lincoln Center executive Jane Moss said, citing the festival’s early days, when all tickets sold for $3. The project is also intended to provide an acoustical setting more appropriate to the sound of an 18th-century orchestra.”
Montreal Musicians Set A Strike Date
The musicians of Orchestre symphonique de Montréal have announced that they will go on strike next Monday after working without a contract for a year and a half. The musicians claim that OSM management’s demands for wage freezes and incremental raises will drive the organization into the artistic ground, and further note that the orchestra has not had a pay raise in 9 of the 14 years since 1991. The strike announcement brings to a head a dispute which had been simmering for months, with musicians frequently wearing red shirts onstage to call attention to their situation.
Management: Strike Solves Nothing
OSM management insists that it is demanding nothing but vital concessions from its soon-to-strike musicians. “The strike will not change the issues that the OSM is confronted with, as much on the international scene as in the Montreal market. In light of those issues, and as is the case with most great symphony orchestras, the OSM must establish conditions that foster the resumption of touring and recording, taking into account the new reality of the world of classical music. In Montreal itself the OSM faces progressively stronger competition, and it is important that the Orchestra equip itself with a framework of more flexible labour relations if it is to preserve its place in the music and entertainment market.”
Oooh, Shiny! But What The Hell Is It?
Ever since Minneapolis’s Walker Art Center opened its sparkling new addition last month, denizens of the Twin Cities have been staring at the gleaming silver box that forms the bulk of the space, and wondering what exactly it is supposed to look like. Perhaps a spare head from your old Rock ‘Em, Sock ‘Em Robots game? Or maybe a next-generation lunchbox? To the outdoorsy crowd, the dang thing doesn’t look unlike the world’s most challenging climbing wall. The Walker isn’t offering any officials, but thankfully, one newspaper was smart enough to put the decision in the hands of the people.
Is That Art Ironically Amateurish, Or Just Amateurish?
Increasingly, contemporary art festivals seem as much about the inevitable scandal generated by a headline-grabbing artist as they are about advancing art itself. But as artists turn increasingly to deliberately amateurish techniques to grab headlines and elicit an emotional reaction from viewers, they must remember to back up their irony with substance, says Susan Mansfield. Without some obviously solid thought behind it, ironic art can become nothing more than shoddy work.
Commerce + Art = Architecture
Learning architecture in a university setting can be quite different than practicing it professionally, especially when actual clients get involved and start imposing their real-world wishes on an architect’s vision. “Typically, architecture students’ projects are assessed by architects – although the students may consult with engineers and construction companies – not by developers, with their concerns about costs, loading docks and maintenance.” But the Yale School of Architecture is bringing the two sides together in an effort to better educate its students about the realities of the business.