“In the space of a few short years, the Boston-born, Southern California transplant (born Richard Anthony Monsour) had merged the laid-back, sun-blasted lifestyle of the surf scene with a blistering rhythm of rockabilly and early rock-and-roll. As the mad scientist behind what was dubbed ‘surf rock,’ Dale was, in the words of a 1963 Life magazine profile, a ‘thumping teenage idol who is part evangelist, part Pied Piper and all success.'” – The Washington Post
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Leadership At Top US Nonprofit Theatres Is Finally Becoming More Diverse
“Across the country, scores of artistic directors, most of them white men who have served as community tastemakers for years, are leaving their jobs via retirements, ousters, and an industrywide round of musical chairs. As their successors are appointed, a shift is underway: according to a national survey conducted by two Bay Area directors, women have been named to 41 percent of the 85 jobs filled since 2015, and people of color have been named to 26 percent.” – The New York Times
Lawyers For Guy Who Stole Terracotta Warrior’s Thumb Try Defense That’s — Let’s Call It Novel
At a holiday party in 2017 at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, an inebriated Michael Rohana allegedly broke off and pocketed the thumb of one of the 2,000-year-old Chinese terracotta warriors on display there at the time; FBI investigators found it in his home desk drawer a few weeks later. Now his public defenders are using some inventive arguments to get his charges reduced: that Rohana was too drunk to intend to steal the thumb, that the thumb wasn’t worth enough to qualify for the charges, that the Institute was, at the time of the incident, not a museum but “an after-hours nightclub.” – The Courier-Post (Cherry Hill, NJ)
Thanks To Met Museum Admission Fees, New York City To Give $2.8 Million To Smaller Arts Groups
As part of the City’s agreement to let the Met charge non-New Yorkers a mandatory admission fee, the museum is to give the City a portion of the new revenues for grants to other organizations. Now the City’s Department of Cultural Affairs has announced that it will distribute $2.8 million of those revenues to 175 groups throughout the five boroughs. – ARTnews
Orlando Ballet Declines To Renew Contract Of Its Biggest Star
“Arcadian Broad, who has a national following as Orlando Ballet’s best-known dancer, will depart the company next month. The ballet company declined to renew his contract, as well as that of his fiancée, fellow dancer Taylor Sambola.” Said the company’s executive director, “We’re grateful for Arcadian’s talents, and wish him the best as he spreads his wings. Now it’s time to bring new voices, new ideas and ballets with widespread critical acclaim to Central Florida.” – Orlando Sentinel
Once Again. Trump’s Proposed Budget Defunds NEA, NEH, Public Broadcasting, Libraries
“For the third time in as many years, the White House has proposed a federal budget that would shutter the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting — which supports PBS and NPR — and the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Like last year, the plan provides small appropriations for each agency to facilitate its orderly demise.” – The Washington Post
British Opera Audiences Are Booing The Villains, Just Like At A Panto
“Audiences at the opera are increasingly booing the ‘baddies’, not for a perceived poor performance but because of their characters, in a change that has been attributed to the enthusiasm of new audiences. While lifelong opera-lovers have feared the trend may be disconcerting for singers, especially foreign stars who would find the world of pantomime alien, it has been emphatically welcomed by many.” – The Telegraph (UK)
Actor Richard Erdman, 93
“The mirthful character actor who stood out on the big screen in The Men, Cry Danger and Stalag 17 and then on the sitcom Community … excelled at playing soldiers, sailors, wisecracking sidekicks and pals.” – The Hollywood Reporter
UK’s National Portrait Gallery Turns Down £1 Million Of Sackler Money
“London’s National Portrait Gallery has decided against accepting a £1m grant from the Sackler Trust, following growing controversy over the damaging medical impact of OxyContin, a drug produced by the family’s pharmaceutical company.” – The Art Newspaper
La Scala To Return €3 Million Of Saudi Money
“The Teatro alla Scala in Milan on Monday decided to return more than three million euros in funding to Saudi Arabia, amid growing criticism that Italy’s premier temple of music should not accept money from a country with a jarring human rights record. Mayor Giuseppe Sala said the theater’s board of directors had deliberated over the issue and ‘unanimously decided to return the money.'” – The New York Times