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Brantley: Growing Up With Theatre

As theatre critic of the New York Times, Ben Brantley is the most powerful theatre critic in America. He says that stories of Broadway’s decline over the years have been overblown. “The so-called golden era of Broadway was actually pretty short-lived. We are always lamenting its decline and saying it is no good now, but I don’t necessarily think that is anything new. Theater in general is certainly less glamorous then when I first came to New York as a kid, but I am also looking at it through adult eyes. I sit through some bad stuff, but when I get to sit through some of the good stuff, it is still rewarding like nothing else.”

New Harry Not Expected To Swamp Publishers Again

The last Harry Potter book threw the publishing business into turmoil when a second printing of 3 million copies was ordered within 48 hours of the book’s release. “Some publishers were as much as six weeks late taking delivery on their fall lineups because the printers who make their books were too busy producing ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.’ Even though it has an all-time record first U.S. printing of 8.5 million copies, ‘Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix’ is not expected to upset the publishing business as its predecessor did. Book sales overall are low so there is more press capacity available, and because the book is overdue, North American printers have had more time to figure out how to handle it.”

What’s The Male Version Of Chick Lit?

Chick Lit is a big thing. But is there a male equivalent? Not really, writes Steve Almond. “The last time I checked, 70 percent of readers were women, and I’d put the percentage who read relationship fiction (the broader province of Chick/Dick lit) to be in the high 90s. Almost the entire crowd at the panel on Singledom was female. And the vast majority of my own readers — from what I can tell — are women. This is because women are more likely to struggle, in a conscious way, with the problems that beset romantic relationships, to talk about these problems, and to seek out writing that makes them feel less alone with the psychic tumult of affairs of the heart.”

ABT Director Resigns

The executive director of the troubled American Ballet Theatre has resigned. Elizabeth Harpel Kehler was the third director to resign in three years. “Her predecessor, Louis G. Spisto, was forced to resign in 2001 amid accusations of mismanagement. Wallace Chappell served from October 2001 to August 2002, when he was moved by Ballet Theater’s new chairman into the newly created position of director of strategic initiatives.”

Iraq Museum Staff In Revolt

Most of the staff of Iraq’s National Museum are revolting against museum leadership. “More than 130 of the 185 staff of Iraq’s state board of antiquities office in Baghdad, which runs the museum, have signed a petition demanding the resignation of its directors. Staff said they believed that some of the thefts from the museum were an inside job. They also accused Dony George, the board’s head of research, of arming them and ordering them to fight US forces.”

Art Vigilantes Threaten To Tear Down Art

A piece of public art in Sydney that some residents call “poo on sticks” has so infuriated protesters that a group of “art vigilantes has threatened to tear it down. “The group, which calls itself the Revolutionary Council for the Removal of Bad Art in Public Places, has set a three-month deadline for the offending sculpture to be whisked away. If the deadline is not met, it says, the work will be defaced or destroyed. ‘We have blowtorches, angle grinders and bolt cutters, and we will use them if necessary’.”

English National Opera – A Daunting Job

Sean Doran is only a few weeks into his job of running the embattled English National Opera. “Fresh, if a little bruised and battle-hardened, from his four extremely lively years as director of Western Australia’s Perth International Arts Festival, Doran lets the Irish lilt in his voice sound an optimistic note. ‘One of the reasons I accepted the job was that I do believe ENO is one of the few opera companies that has the ability to develop the art form itself. My ideas will come from continuing to learn exactly how this company ticks and how far I can stretch it’.”

Venice – The Countries That Are There But Not There

Scotland does have a representative at this year’s Venice Biennale. “Though the artists’ names are listed in the index, Scotland does not appear in the list of participating countries. Not all of these listed countries have a presence in the Giardini. There simply isn’t the room. So a good many late-coming nations have pavilions scattered throughout Venice. But officially, as we are not listed, we do not have a national presence, though the ground floor of the same palace, the Ca’ Gustinian-Lollin, is the official national pavilion of Singapore. The Welsh, who also have a presence this year, are treated the same way. They are there, but not there. The politics of this is obvious.”