“While the puppeteers behind the Tony-winning Avenue Q have won over Broadway, their success comes at a time when many puppeteers — and puppets — find themselves being replaced by pixels.”
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Korea To Invest In Arts
The Korean government has announced it will make a major investment in culture over the next few years. “The Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced on Tuesday that the government plans to invest over 1.7 trillion won into a new arts development policy in the next five years.”
New Theory: Angkor Destroyed By Its Own Problems
Coventional wisdom has it that Angkor Watt was destroyed by a seige in 1431. But researchers now believe that the city was done in by something much more mundane. “They created ecological problems for themselves and they either didn’t see it until it was too late or they couldn’t solve it even when they could see it.”
Cutting Forces Will Make Scottish Opera Better?
“If this is going to be a company “in better voice”, then the collective throats of the Scottish Arts Council need examining. The main musical redundancies are almost certainly going to come in the chorus, which will be completely disbanded as a full-time ensemble.”
Unions Protest Scottish Opera Cuts
“Unions representing staff at Scottish Opera have urged company directors to resign following news that almost half the workforce will lose their jobs.”
NPR To Expand News Resources
National Public Radio reveals its plans to start spending some of the money Joan Kroc left to the organization. “Of the $6.2 million in earnings expected next year, NPR will use $2.4 million to give discounts on newsmagazine fees for stations hit by steep price increases over the last five years. The remaining bulk of the investment income will pay for added staff at all levels of the news department.”
Is The Broadway Musical Dead?
“The Broadway musical is dead. Such, at any rate, is the conventional wisdom, echoed by everyone from aging theatergoers who saw Ethel Merman in Gypsy to youthful academics who write about popular culture as if it were Finnegans Wake. Perhaps. And yet no other genre remains so central to American theatrical life. Most of the best musicals of the 20th century continue to be revived regularly, on Broadway and elsewhere, just as their songs continue to be sung and recorded. Still, it is evident that the demand for first-rate new musicals greatly outstrips the supply.”
Why Avenue Q Cleaned Up
How is it that “Avenue Q” won the big awards at Sunday’s Tonys? The wins were a big surpirse to everyone. “Avenue Q,” a modest musical with singing puppets playing in a small Broadway theater, had pulled off what many in the business were calling one of the biggest upsets in Tony history. There even seemed to be a sense of shock inside the producing office for “Avenue Q,” where some were nursing hangovers yesterday from a long night celebrating the show’s three victories, which included awards for best score (the show’s music and lyrics) and best book (its dialogue and structure).”
How About An Artist For Arts Job?
Why should the government’s culture minister be a bureaucrat? How about an artist? “Britain has many suitable candidates. At random, I could suggest Simon Rattle, Elton John, Trevor Nunn or Richard Attenborough, all of whom have spent their lives working in the arts. Surely any one of these would be a better choice of arts minister than a professional politician who perhaps sees the job as a stepping stone and who may have some difficulty telling their Arne from their Elgar?”
The Capital Of Tango
“The preposterous-sounding truth is that, in terms of numbers, if not perhaps artistry, the foremost tango country in the world is actually Finland. The most startling proof of tangomania in Finland is the annual festival in Seinajoki, in which more than 150,000 people take part. The highlight is a tango-singing competition, which is televised, and the winners, the Tango King and Queen, become overnight stars.”