Blog

At 40, Edward Watson Figured He Could Keep Dancing And Dancing. And Then …

“At 41 it all went wrong.” (There was a ruptured ligament, then a broken foot. Then the pandemic put a stop to the new Wayne McGregor Dante Project he would star in. So he’s up and retired, aged 44.) “It becomes very revealing how much you’ve put your body through. What I’ve done for the last 30 years, it’s not normal to do that to your body. But it is possible.” – The Guardian

‘Second City Ruptured In Large Part Because America Ruptured First’

Chris Jones: “The pandemic that has closed its theaters — with no clear path to reopening — is a primary cause of trouble. But Second City is also suffering from the great American schism, the internal fury and polarization that has festered over the last four years, with direct encouragement from the top. Satire is on the ropes. A new owner can fix the internal problems, but the American people will have to decide if they ever can laugh together again.” – Yahoo! (Chicago Tribune)

Florida Performance Venues Are Very Confused About Reopening (Thank You, Gov. DeSantis)

“The governor’s controversial lifting of pandemic protections [on Sept. 25], even as coronavirus infections rose, was just one of multiple conflicting and confusing directives from the state, counties and cities of Florida. … For official live-entertainment venues, the state’s Phase 3 plan … says concerts halls and auditoriums [may] ‘re-open fully with limited social distancing protocols.’ … But the situation for smaller venues, many of which are technically bars, is often different.” – Variety

Has England’s Christmas Panto Season Been Saved?

Most of the holiday-season pantomimes planned for this year were cancelled due to the pandemic: even with lockdowns lifted, the need for socially distanced seating meant too few tickets could be sold to make productions viable. Now comes Britain’s National Lottery to the rescue: “Operation Sleeping Beauty” will see the Lottery buy up tickets for theatres’ empty seats. – BBC

Back To The Museum – But Alas It Had Lost Its Charm

Phil Kennicott: “I had thought I might escape the outside world for a few hours, shut out the chaos and crisis. But in room after room, the vast majority of the objects were mute and meaningless, and only those that somehow referenced other periods of crisis spoke with clarity. I had entirely lost my ability to experience art as escape.”- Washington Post

Guggenheim Museum Investigation Comes Up Empty But Chief Curator Is Leaving

An independent investigation into how the Guggenheim Museum handled last year’s exhibition on the artist Jean-Michel Basquiat has concluded there is no evidence that the show’s guest curator, Chaédria LaBouvier, who is Black, “was subject to adverse treatment on the basis of her race,” the museum announced on Thursday. The museum simultaneously announced that Nancy Spector, the artistic director and chief curator, who is white, was leaving “to pursue other curatorial endeavors and to finish her doctoral dissertation.” She has spent 34 years at the Guggenheim and has been publicly criticized by Ms. LaBouvier. – The New York Times

Recording Mogul Give $25M To LA’s Music Center For Community Events

“The $25 million gift, which exceeds the entire annual programming budget of the Music Center, also will be used to create a network of community partners who codesign programs. Many of these partners will be in the arts, but the Music Center will look to other groups as well, said Moore, who cited a deep connection between access to the arts and mental health and wellness.” – Los Angeles Times