What now? Sexual predators can be fired; assaulters presumably punished. These measures may bring relief and perhaps justice to victims, and they may scare abusers from doing more harm. But we are talking about the movie business, an industry that has systematically exploited some women while shutting others out of positions of power. Integrating more women into this male-dominated sphere may not automatically right the balance.
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Cleveland Orchestra Reports A Widening Deficit For Second Year In A Row
Executive director Andre Gremillet said three factors contributed to the shortfall: a decline of $383,000 in Annual Fund giving, a drop of $551,000 in “special” fundraising and, most significantly, a loss of major gifts in support of the orchestra’s Miami residency. Earlier this year, the orchestra reduced its presence in South Florida from four weekends to two.
In Young-Adult Lit, Queer Love Stories Are Becoming Normal
“Since [Cassandra Clare’s] City of Bones, which published 10 years ago, authors … have made young adult novels a place where queer love stories feel mainstream rather than an exception to the rule. And they’re about far more than coming out. The new generation of LGBT young-adult literature has room for romance, inclusion and happily-ever-after.”
When Rome’s Colosseum Was A Wild, Mysterious Botanical Garden
Today, the Colosseum stands bald and bare. But for centuries, it was a wild and overgrown place, and its lost history as a primeval garden ruin has left traces in the art and poetry of countless generations that walked among its stands.
Russia’s Answer To Tocqueville Visited America Exactly A Century Later
Fans of Russian lit will know Vladimir Mayakovsky as the great poet of the early Soviet era, but in 1925 – 100 years after the journey that led to Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America – he traveled to the United States (with stops first in Cuba and Mexico) and published his dispatches in Russian newspapers. (Mayakovsky did see the U.S. through Soviet eyes, but he loved New York City.)
It Took An Army To Install The Met’s Michelangelo Show
Among the most complex of the installations was the effort to mount a large-scale drawing that was a preliminary study for a fresco in the Vatican’s Pauline Chapel. The work arrived inside a metal case weighing 650 pounds, and required not only a forklift to install it securely, but also scissor lifts and 40 people to help with the task. Marcello Venusti’s famous copy of Michelangelo’s Last Judgment was even heavier, weighing in at 750 pounds.
Orlando Ballet Is Bringing Back Live Music (Yay!)
After several seasons of performing to recorded music only due to financial difficulties, the company’s upcoming productions of Romeo and Juliet and Beauty and the Beast will use a live orchestra. “The live music is possible because revenue is beating the ballet’s projections, says board president Jonathan Ledden.”
Have The Heads Of Broadway’s Nonprofit Theaters Been In Place For Too Long?
Gordon Cox: “Both on Broadway and off it, most of the city’s major nonprofits are led by artistic directors whose defining tenures are measured in decades. … In New York, the question of when the city’s most powerful nonprofit [theaters] will change hands is something no one wants to discuss openly but everyone whispers about behind the scenes.”
Do We Need To Put Away Our James Levine Recordings?, Asks Anthony Tommasini
“I feel heartache for the men, who say they were taken advantage of by someone they looked up to, someone in a position of intimidating authority. But how do Mr. Levine’s countless fans, and I as a critic, reconcile his legacy with what he’s been accused of? Is his work tainted beyond our ability to appreciate the artistry involved?” (The answer: not entirely.)
U.S. Supreme Court Hears Case Of Terrorism Victims Who Want To Seize Antiquities From Iran
“Can a collection of Persian antiquities held at a Chicago museum be used to pay damages to the American victims of a terrorist bombing in Jerusalem? That was the question argued at the US Supreme Court on 4 December, in a claim brought by Jenny Rubin and others against Iran. But the justices who questioned the lawyers involved in the case seemed skeptical about allowing the artefacts to be seized.”