Almost three years ago plans were announced to mount a revival of the musical Sweet Charity. Between then and now, the stars are in, the stars are out. The director leaves, then comes back, songs are dropped, then they’re added. And now comes the out-of-town try-outs… Whew, you’d think redoing a show that’s already been a success would be easier…
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The National Takes On Politics (For Real Buzz)
Nicholas Hytner’s new season for the National Theatre in London is full of controversial issues. “What we are finding is that when we do plays about politics the place is really buzzing. We are plugged into and responding to the world we are part of, and making great entertainment, as well as provocative debate and artistic insight. Theatre is now back where we are sniffing things out as they happen.”
Farewell To Arms – Weinraub’s Hollywood Farewell Causes Furor
“Rarely has one article caused such a commotion on both coasts as journalist Bernie Weinraub’s goodbye to the Hollywood beat in The New York Times on Sunday. It was as if narrator Nick Carraway were given space in The Paper of Record to write honestly about the swell set, only this time he surprises us by revealing that he longed for the green light of status and money as much as Jay Gatsby did.”
Cameron: A Culture Without Challenge?
Are there lessons for the arts to be learned from last November’s American elections? Ben Cameron says yes: The “through-line of the arts right now is really a byproduct of things revealed in the last election we did not understand. What we’re hearing is audiences are less willing to tolerate ideas and viewpoints other than their own — there’s an intolerance I can’t remember seeing in a long time in the arts. Plays making unflattering references to subjects, or dealing with topics that are uncomfortable for people — well, they just start climbing over each other to get out of the theatre.”
Rich: The New American Censors
Welcome to the Culture Wars, Part 36. Writes Frank Rich: “Public television is now so fearful of crossing its government patrons that it is flirting with self-immolation. Having disowned lesbians in the children’s show “Postcards From Buster” and stripped suspect language from “Prime Suspect” on “Masterpiece Theater,” PBS is editing its Feb. 23 broadcast of “Dirty War,” the HBO-BBC film about a terrorist attack, to remove a glimpse of female nudity in a scene depicting nuclear detoxification. Next thing you know they’ll be snipping lascivious flesh out of a documentary about Auschwitz.”
Satellite Radio Transcends Radio
“It may blow your mind to think that over four million people are now paying $10 or $13 a month just to listen to the radio. Truth is, though, that what they’re getting isn’t very much like radio at all. They’re getting 65 music channels, free of commercials and endless teenybopper-top-10 repetition, and 40 to 50 talk channels. Because they don’t have to appeal to a mainstream audience to attract advertisers, the expert-fanatic channel hosts can “narrowcast” tightly targeted musical styles (like pop, acoustic, hip-hop, country, movie soundtracks, classical) and nichey talk topics (like comedy, sports, advice, old-time radio dramas, audio books, religion and children).”
Comic Books – No More Kids?
Comic books have been a big success in the adult market in recent years. “But the new wave has had its costs, chief among them being the near vacuum that’s been left in what was once a thriving market for well-crafted kids’ comics. If you need proof, just take a stroll through your local 7-Eleven. You’d be hard pressed to find any evidence of kids’ comics or the iconic racks they used to call home.”
Previn Wins Gould
Andre Previn has won the $50,000 Glenn Gould Prize. “Awarded once every three years, the international prize is open to individuals from any country and in a range of fields, including musical creation or performance, film, radio, musical theatre and writing. Past recipients include Canadian composer R. Murray Schafer, jazz icon Oscar Peterson, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, violist Yehudi Menuhin and conductor Pierre Boulez.”
What Happened To Design At MoMA?
Nicolai Ourousoff laments the place of design in the new Museum of Modern Art. “Whether because of a loss of imagination or the distraction of a high-profile $858 million building project, the department was already losing momentum before the museum closed for renovation five years ago. The reopening of the architecture and design galleries was an opportunity to reclaim, even trumpet, the museum’s role in shaping the conversation about architecture. Instead, the department has limited itself to passively documenting current architectural trends.”
MoMA And The Corporate Art
The Museum of Modern Art presnts a show of art donated to the museum by corporations. Roberta Smith isn’t impressed. “Not a good sign, you might say. It certainly deflates the heightened commitment to cutting-edge art that the Modern so emphatically telegraphed with its new design and distribution of display space.” This is a stopgap show thrown together without a soul. “With the majority of the art dating from the late 1970’s to the early 90’s, the show feels redundant and familiar, as if it were all purchased inside a few square blocks of SoHo during the last art boom.”