Blog

The Cost Of Music On Broadway

The musicians’ dispute with Broadway producers over how many musicians must be hired for a show centers on the cost of musicians. But “most people are misinformed about the world of Broadway pit orchestras. They’re not as expensive as you might think (only $1-$6 of a $75 ticket goes to the musicians), and successive contract concessions have whittled their size to a fraction of their Golden Era heyday. There used to be 30, 40, even 50 (musicians) in the pit at a Broadway show. Now the (size) is as small as three. ‘Phantom’ is probably the biggest show on Broadway, and it has only 26.”

Raising Money From The Arts – A Conflict Of Interest?

Should politicians who support the arts be trying to raise campaign money from the arts community? Connecticut’s governor, an arts supporter, recently solicited the attendance of arts groups for a $250/plate fundraiser. “He calls and says, ‘I’m having a fund-raiser for Gov. Rowland and I’d like to see you there.’ There’s pressure to attend.” Some feel coerced.

Critical Reading – A Critic And His Letters From Readers

Bernard Holland goes through his files of reader letters over the past six years. “Critics open their mail with a blend of gratitude (someone cared enough) and apprehension (we have been found out), but most will recognize an imbalance of justice at work. Reviews and columns come, potentially at least, before many eyes; the letter reaches only two. Yet when accurately aimed, it can hurt. The accusation might concern a wrong name or an unnoticed change of cast, or a fact just plain wrong. If writing accepts the privilege of public exposure, it cannot flinch from the returns of service whizzing back at it in swift postal forehands and backhands. Hovering just beyond this building lurk the grammar gestapo and the spelling storm troopers, issuing postcards in wavering hands and eager to point out the illiteracy of the addressee.”

Interpreting Dance Outside The Studio

“Dance, by its very nature, lends itself to a wealth of interpretations — by critics, audience members and even the performers themselves.” Paul Taylor says that once his dances leave the safety of the studio, “they cannot help but be transformed into something else, for better or worse. A conversation with Mr. Taylor shows how fraught the relationship between criticism and artistic control can be. He views criticism with a mixture of pleasure and disdain, although he does not follow reviews as diligently as he used to, he said.”

Radio Consolidation Blues, Miami Style

South Florida radio is woefully narrow. “Looking for local news? Buy a newspaper. Want to hear rock en español? Load up the CD player. Crave a Triple-A (adult album alternative) outlet like those in other cities that play such new, talked-about artists before they break through? Get a moving van. And if you have a desire to hear classical music on FM, well, tough tubas. How about alternative country, progressive/alternative hip-hop or Hindu chants set to dance beats? Uh, you’re kidding, right? Miami’s 36 English-language and 17 Spanish-language stations have each carved out their little piece of the pie with generally narrow playlists, and their owners are perfectly happy about it.” Let’s blame consolidation.

Britain’s Historic Buildings Are Being Looted

“The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings warns that churches and historic houses have never been at so much risk as crooks target decorative fixtures and fittings to feed the home renovation boom. Such thefts have reached ‘epidemic’ proportions, according to the society, Britain’s oldest heritage conservation group. Last year there were 3,600 thefts from churches alone, with statues, fonts and even whole altars vanishing.”

World-Wide Reading Against The War With Iraq

Monday, the Lysiustrata Project will perform readings of Aristophanes’ anti-war play. “In the United States, as many as 1,000 separate productions are planned – in all 50 American states – 33 in Massachusetts and 18 in Chicago alone. In Canada, the play will be recited in seven provinces, at more than two dozen venues and, of course, in two languages. On the same day, there will be readings in London, Paris, Berlin, Athens, Beirut – indeed, almost every major world capital. Two readings are planned in Reykjavik, one in Damascus and nine in Aristophanes’s homeland, Greece.”

Releasing Books Into The Wild

Register a book, leave it someplace, and tell where it is on the internet. Someone else will pick it up, read it and pass it on in the same way. It’s called bookcrossing. “There are close to 100,000 people who have signed up as bookcrossers on the Web site, with nearly 270,000 books registered and more than 20 million hits a month. Once you have registered a title on the site, you print out a BookCrossing label, paste it into the book along with your identity number and release it into the wild. Anybody picking up the book is supposed to register the find on the Web site, post a journal entry commenting on the book and describing the release date and location. All of that information is available on-line for anybody curious enough to browse the site. There are more than 13,000 books sprinkled around Canada waiting to be claimed, read and recycled.”

Free Museum Admission Fails To Attract Low-Income Visitors

A report says that free admission to British museums has resulted in hordes of new visitors, but that the policy had failed to attract lower-income visitors. “Its figures show the Natural History Museum in London attracted 72% more visitors last year compared with 2001, the Science Museum had 101.4% more visitors and the Victoria & Albert Museum had 111% more. However, numbers visiting the British Museum fell 4.14% last year.”