Kevin Young analyzes two notorious cases of text theft: Harvard undergrad Kaavya Viswanathan, whose How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild and Got a Life got national press before it was published and even more publicity after reporters and writers discovered that it was almost entirely pastiche, and Adam Wheeler, who plagiarized his way into and through Harvard, nearly got a Rhodes Scholarship and Stanford admission with stolen material, and used so much fake material on his resumes that he ended up in jail for fraud.
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Art Dealer Mary Boone Pleads Guilty To Filing False Tax Returns
The Mary Boone Gallery’s 2012 tax forms reported a false business loss for the previous year of about $52,000 although the gallery actually made a profit in 2011 of about $3.7 million, according to documents filed by the United States attorney’s office.
Carole Shelley, Tony-Winning Actress, Dead At 79
The current generation of Broadway fans probably remembers her as the original Madame Morrible in Wicked, but she won her Tony for playing Madge Kendal opposite Philip Anglim in the original Broadway run (1979) of The Elephant Man. She’s also remembered, by an earlier generation, as one of the Pigeon sisters in the original stage and screen versions of Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple.
Shift In Funding Has St. Louis Theatre Companies Concerned
A shift in the Regional Arts Commission’s funding philosophy, as reflected in its most recent round of grants, has raised concerns in the St. Louis arts community, with some applicants receiving zero funding, including theater companies like New Line that have consistently been supported.
Seattle Opera General Director To Leave For Welsh National Opera
Aidan Lang, who succeeded longtime general director Speight Jenkins in 2015, will complete the coming season before heading to Cardiff. In his tenure so far, he has seen Seattle Opera’s mainstage attendance increase by 27% and launched a new series of contemporary chamber operas, many linked to current social issues.
San Antonio Requires All Funded Arts Orgs To Do Data Analysis
“San Antonio nonprofit arts organizations that receive City funding have been tasked with using a data analysis tool to help measure their overall effectiveness in marketing, staffing, fundraising, and other aspects of management. By Sept. 30, just before the City’s new fiscal year begins Oct. 1, each of 47 arts agencies will have submitted data on their operations and use of public funding.”
North America’s Largest Fringe Festival Breaks Box Office Record
“Lovers of drama, comedy and green onion cakes flocked to the Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival in record numbers this year. … Patrons purchased a record 133,276 tickets to more than 1,600 shows, generating $1.46 million in box office revenue, an increase of 10 per cent from last year.”
‘We Wanted To Be The HBO Of Opera’: Opera Philadelphia Changes The Model
Company general director David Devan, on the O17 and O18 festivals devoted to new work as well as about changes to regular-season programming: “Our industry is hanging on by a thread to models that were created in the ’50s-’70s. A subscription model focused on excellent performance in the traditional repertoire … This would be like ignoring the streaming movement and sticking to network television. We wanted to be the HBO of opera.”
DC’S Shakespeare Theatre Company Finds Its Next Artistic Director
“[The STC] has reached across the Atlantic and tapped British director Simon Godwin as its new artistic director effective next August, signaling a commitment to large-scale classics on its two downtown Washington stages.”
Judge Roy Moore Sues Sacha Baron Cohen For $95M Over ‘Who Is America? Segment
“The horse-ridin’, pistol-packin’, Donald Trump-backed conservative had signed a release before meeting for the show with Baron Cohen, who was posing as an Israeli anti-terrorism expert. But the suit filed today in D.C. District Court (read it here) claims that the release Moore signed ‘was obtained through fraud’ and therefore is ‘void and inoperative.'”