“More than 60 years after its premiere, the musical that Eubie Blake and Andy Razaf considered their masterpiece – ‘Tan Manhattan’ – finally is getting a second chance. To the songwriters’ considerable dismay, the show died in February 1941, after just a few engagements…”
Blog
Voters – Wanna See A Movie?
With the Motion Picture Academy declining to send DVD copies of movies to voters of awards, studios are getting creative about getting voters in front of their pitcures.
Scottish Opera In Long-Term Danger
Scottish Opera’s financial crisis is so profound and longterm that the company is being damaged. “With a key board meeting looming early next month, Scottish Opera is reported to be £3 million or more in debt. The Scottish Executive is reported to have turned down a request for more funding on top of a £7.5 million annual Scottish Arts Council grant, while officials say they want a long-term solution to the opera’s woes.”
Director Moons Booing Audience (Now He Pays The Price)
When a Rio audience booed Gerald Thomas’ reworking of Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde,” he went up on stage and dropped his pants, mooning the crowd. “Now Mr. Thomas, the eternal enfant terrible of Brazilian theater, is paying the price. Acting on a complaint filed by the local chief of police, prosecutors have charged him with public indecency, and on Nov. 11 he is scheduled to appear before a judge who will decide whether there are grounds to proceed with the case.”
Rock Music And The Hungarian Revolution
“Rock music played lead in giving Hungarian baby boomers the resolve to bring down their communist state, says one of those reformers who today is a government official.”
Disney As Hard Rock Cafe?
Alex Ross goes to Disney Hall: “Gehry’s building is enjoying a mammoth wave of publicity, the like of which has not been seen in classical parts since Lenny partied with the Panthers on Park Avenue. My first reaction was of slightly disappointed déjà vu; if more of these silver-winged creations touch down in cities around the world, they will begin to resemble quarter-of-a-billion-dollar Hard Rock Cafés.”
Tough Anti-Copy Laws Come To UK
European digital rights management comes to the UK. “While much of what home users do with their CDs, DVDs and videos could now be legally questionable, the directive is instead aimed at large-scale privacy outfits.”
Royal Shakespeare Company Denies Demolition Plans
The Royal Shakespeare Company denies it hs decided to tear down its Stratford theatre. “The Sunday Times said plans to demolish the RSC’s grade II-listed venue to make way for a £100m ‘theatre village’ were being scrapped. An RSC spokesman said demolition was ‘the least likely of our options’ but no definite plans had been finalised.”
Chicago’s New Theatre – It Works
Chicago’s new theatre for mid-size arts companies had its debut over the weekend. It’s not the warmest space to be in, reports Sid Smith. But “on the plus side, the seats are comfortable, and a steep rake, especially in the balconies, makes for superb sightlines, particularly for dance. The well-equipped stage is wide and deep, but flexible, able to accommodate both the large corps de ballet from George Balanchine’s ‘Serenade’ and the natural intimacy of duets during Saturday’s inaugural gala.”
A Music Mag For Adults
Pretty much all music magazines are written for younger fans. But what about older adults? They still like music too. A new music magazine called Tracks hopes to reach that market. “Older consumers generally do not excite advertisers, and Tracks’ first issue has little in the way of ads from companies that are not record labels. But older consumers, whether out of technological impairment or a habit of collecting, still actually buy music. So as the music industry has watched sales drop 30 percent over the last few years, these listeners – and readers – have a special, and growing, power in the music industry.”