Scottish Ballet is making another bid to relocate to Tramway. “The ballet company, which has wanted to leave its home in Glasgow’s west end for many years, withdrew its bid for some £3.5m of funds in January. However, the ballet believes the Tramway site, in the city’s south side and owned by the city council, is still the best option for a new home and is expected to reapply for funds in October.”
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Clear Channel Pulls Howard Stern Off Its Stations
Clear Channel pulls Howard Stern off its stations “as public scrutiny over salacious speech and suggestive behavior on TV and radio is on the rise after Janet Jackson bared her breast during the Super Bowl halftime show. The move also came the day before Clear Channel chief executive officer John Hogan is to appear before a House subcommittee hearing on broadcast decency.”
Fiddler – Handle With Care
How do you freshen up a classic like Fiddler on the Roof without disturbing those finely etched images so many have of the show? One can “hardly ignore the special place the show holds in the public’s affections. ‘I told the whole team very early on that I wanted to take care of `Fiddler.’ That’s a phrase I’ve never used before. But there’s already a vast audience that loves the piece, people who will be bringing their children to the theater, perhaps for the first time. And it’s very important not to disappoint.”
Hollywood’s Color Divide
Why don’t African-Americans have more power in Hollywood? “In the history of the movie studios no African-American has ever had the power to green-light a film. Part of the problem is that the movie business is similar to the Italy of the Medicis; without a patron to offer favor, there’s no place to go but down.”
Hall Sets Record For West End Performances
Jerry Hall set a record by appearing in six West End theatre performances in one night. “In just under three and a half hours, the Texan supermodel graced the stage in Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, Fame, Blood Brothers, Anything Goes and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Although she did not have any lines to learn – all were non-speaking roles and one lasted just 30 seconds – the performances last night earned her a place in the Guinness World Records.”
Worrying About The White Barn
“Nearly five years after the death of Lucille Lortel, a clause in her will may determine whether the historic, 148-seat White Barn Theatre in the Cranbury area of Norwalk, Conn., a major summer-stock venue for over 50 years and a key part of her legacy, will be sold or razed, and whether cluster houses will rise on the 18 acres surrounding the site.”
Shakespeare On Ice (Literally)
“Several years ago, Rolf Degerlund, the director of the Ice Globe Theatre, had a vision. Returning to Sweden from London and a visit to the newly restored Globe, he thought, why not recreate the theater in snow and ice? ‘What I imagined was actors playing Hamlet with clouds of frost coming from their mouths’.”
Plugged In, Tuned Out
How are portable electronics changing our behavior? Take iPods, for example. “Music allows people to use their eyes when they’re listening in public. I call it nonreciprocal looking. Listening to music lets you look at someone but don’t look at them when they look back. The earplugs tell them you’re otherwise engaged. It’s a great urban strategy for controlling interaction.”
Did Disney Rip Off Nemo From French Book?
“A French children’s book author told a Paris court yesterday that the main fish character in the Disney film Finding Nemo, which has so far grossed $850m (£457m), was a direct copy of his own creation, a cheerful orange and white clown fish named Pierrot.”
Supreme Court To Take Up Nazi Art Theft Case
The US Supreme court is taking up the case of an American woman trying to sue Austria for paintings stolen from her family by the Nazis. “The court will decide by summer if she can sue the Austrian government to recover six paintings, worth an estimated $150 million, in federal court in California.”