“Conceding what had become painfully obvious along Broadway, the producers of Gem of the Ocean, a new play by August Wilson, said yesterday that they were postponing the show’s first performance while they continued their hunt for financing. All performances through Nov. 14 have been canceled.”
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Cleveland Arts Center Keeps Raking In The Cash
Cleveland’s $42 million “Idea Center”, which will house dance studios, a small theater, and broadcast facilities for local public radio and TV stations when it is completed, got another major gift this week when the Reinberger Foundation pledged a cool million to the project. “This is the third major gift for the project this year. The George Gund Foundation contributed $1.6 million in July. Key Bank donated $1 million in March. The two nonprofit partners have raised about $10 million. They hope to raise an additional $17 million, with the rest of the money coming from historic tax credits and the state.”
Monkey See, Monkey Sue
“Taking a cue from recording companies, Hollywood movie studios are preparing to file copyright infringement lawsuits against computer users they say are illegally distributing movies online… The lawsuits will target movie fans who share digitized versions of films over peer-to-peer networks, with the first wave of litigation planned for as early as Thursday.”
Yoko Ono Scores #1 Hit With New Recording
“Yoko Ono has topped the US dance charts with a record backing gay marriage. The 71-year-old widow of John Lennon recorded Every Man Has A Man Who Loves Him to voice her support for the controversial issue. It is a new version of Every Man Has A Woman Who Loves Him, which she recorded nearly 25 years ago. Ono has also recorded a lesbian version of the song.”
Is Iceland The New Canada?
Taking a page from Canada’s book, the nation of Iceland is attempting to lure American filmmakers to its shores. But unlike Canada, the reasoning behind the come-on is more than just financial: Icelanders go to more movies than residents of any other nation, and locally made films often get lost in the Hollywood shuffle. “The hope is that these filmmakers will bring revenue into a country that has struggled to diversify beyond fishing, and that the American and European crews will bring their expertise. The theory is that these skills will be passed along to local filmmakers, [and] the production values of Icelandic films will be raised.”
A Serious Look At Designer Art
This year’s Carnegie International art exhibition in Pittsburgh is focusing on “designer art,” displaying work by 38 artists from across the world. It’s an interesting attempt to show how pop culture trends can intersect with the world of serious art, but “the problem with designer art is that it can be difficult to distinguish from everyday commercial art… The brainier designer-directors tend to produce work that is more interesting to philosophize about than to experience.”
Painting George Washington
A new exhibit at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Arts provides a survey of the portraits of America’s first president and war hero, General George Washington. 15 of the most famous and interesting likenesses are the work of the American master Gilbert Stuart, and behind the series lies a fascinating tale of the evolution of an artistic relationship between painter and subject. Washington was not an easy personality to capture on canvas, but over the years, Stuart managed to break down the president’s defenses, and earn the trust of the most powerful man in a new country.
Ballet Master Thompson Dies
Basil Thompson, the acclaimed former ballet master of Chicago’s Joffrey Ballet and soloist with the American Ballet Theater, has died of sudden cardiac arrest at age 67. Thompson was on the dance faculty of the University of Iowa, and had recently consulted on the Joffrey’s revival of “Petrouchka”.
Christie’s Auction Nets $128 mil
A 1904 Monet oil painting of the British Parliament has sold at auction for $20 million. “It was the first time the painting – titled Londres, le Parlement, Effet de Soleil dans le Brouillard – had been offered on the open market. The sale, which also included works by Miro and Van Gogh, fetched a total of $128.2m.”
Dublin’s Historic Abbey Theatre Struggles (And On Its Birthday)
Dublin’s Abbey Theatre, “associated with the greats of Irish culture, including W B Yeats, Augusta Gregory, Sean O’Casey and J M Synge, is embroiled in an off-stage drama which rivals its front-of-house productions. Mounting debts, disastrous box-office numbers and a very public row between board members and the theatre’s creative director, Ben Barnes, have rather overshadowed the festival to celebrate the founding of what was intended as a cornerstone of Irish cultural and artistic life.”