“John Legend, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice have been awarded Emmys for their TV production of Jesus Christ Superstar, earning them EGOT status – meaning they have each won Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards. EGOT winners are an exclusive club: including the trio, only 15 people have ever managed to achieve the four wins, including Audrey Hepburn, [Whoopi Goldberg,] Mel Brooks and John Gielgud.”
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A ‘Genuine’ Leonardo Sells For $83 Million On Russia’s Version Of eBay
“‘Dmitry’, from the town of Mamonovo in the Kaliningrad region, says that the painting, titled A Young Girl in Furs, was authenticated by the Stockholm art valuation firm Atelje Catellani. … Before its removal, four days after it was posted on [the auction site] Avito, the advert read: ‘Attention: I am selling the original Leonardo da Vinci painting ‘A Girl in Furs’. Location: Germany … estimated value €280m … asking price €72m.'”
Jerusalem City Gov’t Evicts Gallery For Hosting Anti-Occupation NGO
Last year, the conservative mayor’s office, backed by Netanyahu’s controversial national culture minister, Miri Regev, began moving against the Barbur Gallery, which has been operating in a city-owned building for 13 years. The reason? Barbur hasted several events by Breaking the Silence, an organization founded by former Israeli soldiers who oppose the continued occupation of the Palestinian territories. Last week a judge approved an eviction request, even as he acknowledged that the request was blatantly political.
Iran Jails Director And Theater Manager For Staging ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’
“Cultural official Shahram Karami told the official IRNA news agency Monday that Iran’s judiciary had ordered the detention of the play’s director, Maryam Kazemi, and the manager of the theater that hosted it, Saeed Assadi. … Both were taken into custody Sunday evening, after the broadcast of a video trailer about the work.”
South Australia Government Slashes Money And Staff At State Arts Funder
The conservative state government that took over in Adelaide in March has announced cuts of nearly $5 million in state spending on culture and reduced the number of employees at Arts South Australia by 42%.
Berkeley Rep Theatre Chooses A New Artistic Director
Johanna Pfaelzer, who is currently the artistic director of New York Stage and Film, a nonprofit best known for its Powerhouse Theater summer program at Vassar College, will become the next artistic director of Berkeley Rep starting next fall. She will succeed Tony Taccone, who has been at Berkeley Rep for 33 years, 21 of them as artistic director.
Canadian Authors Are Having A Moment In Hollywood
“It’s an incredible time for Canadians in the industry and I think authors like Margaret Atwood who are so prolific and ahead of their time are making a difference. People outside Canada are noticing.”
Study: Disabled People Participating More In The Arts
While disabled people are still less likely to engage with the arts than others, 75.7% did so last year, the highest level since records began, and significantly above the average of 71.2% recorded between 2005/06 and 2016/17.
When Jazz Really Mattered (And Still Does)
“More people in the United States listen to and enjoy jazz or near-jazz than any other music. Jazz is of tremendous importance for its quantity alone.” That was Marshall Stearns, one of the founders of academic jazz studies, writing in 1956 to argue why his subject was worthy of serious scholarship. As Nate Chinen says in his fascinating and vital new book, Playing Changes: Jazz for the New Century, that passage now sounds bizarre, like a report from “a vanished culture.” In fact, the music’s status today is the complete opposite: Most people vaguely recognize jazz’s cultural importance, but no one’s expected to get too excited about it
Hundreds Of Ancient Roman Coins Found In Theatre Basement
The coins, hundreds of them, date back to the late Roman imperial era and were found in a soapstone jar unearthed in the basement of the Cressoni Theater in Como, north of Milan.