The New Hampshire Symphony says it will have to cut back its season and let some musicians go if it fails to raise more money in the next few months. “The symphony has already scrapped two planned performances, scheduled for late February, as a cost-saving measure. Officials say smaller monetary donations from corporations and individuals, reduced government support, and the level of ticket sales have contributed to the trouble.”
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Monuments In Virtual 3D
“A team at the University of Geneva have been using sophisticated 3D computer modelling technology to bring historical monuments to life. They have developed virtual reality models of two Turkish mosques dating from the Ottoman era of the 16th century which let you move around and explore the buildings in real-time.”
Finalists For WTC Cultural Center
New York City Opera is among the arts groups in consideration for a new cultural center at the World Trade Center site. “Other groups competing to relocate to the site include the Joyce Theater Foundation, the Signature Theatre Co., the Children’s Museum of the Arts, the Drawing Center, the Museum of Freedom and the New York Hall of Science, the agency said. The list released Tuesday was narrowed from 113 interested institutions who responded to a worldwide invitation last summer.”
Gypsy Decides To Hang Around
Ticket sales to Broadway’s “Gypsy” have surged since producers announced that the show would close. So it’s not going to…
Wolfe Leaving The Public
George C. Wolfe is leaving the helm of New York’s Public Theatre. “Mr. Wolfe has established something of a cult of personality at the Public, in the tradition of the legendary Joseph Papp. And as the leading black stage director in the country and an openly gay man, he embodied the Public’s determination to reach diverse artists and audiences.”
The Theatre Of Factual Fiction
On London stages, there are now plays devoted to true events. “The resurgence of the theatre of fact is perhaps suggestive of a deeper problem for writers, namely that modern life in its unimaginable complexity seems to defy invention itself. The convention-bound play, assembling representative characters in symbolic spaces to rehearse the concerns of the hour, looks as capable of capturing the zeitgeist as a fishing net is of landing a blue whale.”
Do Playwrights “Plunder” Other Cultures When They Write About Them?
Playwright Lennie James went to New Zealand to write a play about teenagers there. But he encountered resistance. And it was brutal. “I mean, what is your deal, Lennie James? Are you going to travel the world stealing people’s culture?” When I was thrown out of the club to avoid any more “trouble”, Wiri followed me out, screaming my name at the sky and wishing me well in my quest to rob the “lesser” cultures of the world of their stories. “You go Lennie James! You go, bro!”
America’s Christian Right
The potent force in American culture? “An estimated 70 million Americans call themselves evangelicals, and their beliefs have already reshaped American politics. In the last election, 40 percent of the votes for George W. Bush came from their ranks, and now those beliefs are beginning to reshape the culture as well – thanks to a group of best-selling novels known as the ‘Left Behind’ series.”
FCC Outrage Is Political Theatre
There’s been an amazing amount of posturing and speechifying over Janet Jackson’s breast. “But even as the TV networks race to delete images of nudity and sex from such prime-time dramas as ER and Without a Trace in an effort to show that they can police themselves, media historians and analysts say real, lasting change is unlikely. As dramatic as the pictures and soundbites coming out of Washington today might be, it will be mostly political posturing, the experts say, merely the latest movement in a dance between Hollywood and Washington that started with the Communications Act of 1934.”
Fired Bolshoi Ballerina Sues Director
The ballerina fired by the Bolshoi last year after being told she was “too fat” by the director, is suing for $1 million. She had already won reinstatement to the company from the court, but her attorney says she wants money and a public apology. “We believe that remarks made by the Bolshoi Theater director offend the honor, dignity and business reputation of my client.”