“Signs of a West End slump are beginning to worry its leading lights. Cameron Mackintosh, the millionaire impresario, has admitted that business is slow, and curtains have come down early on some West End productions.”
Tag: 01.30.06
Wendy Wasserstein, Feminist
Wendy “Wasserstein’s humor contributed to feminist discourse in the theatre in numerous ways. Her plays are simply funny, and tweak the stereotype of feminists as humorless and strident. She wrote bright, comic plays with a twinge of sadness, melancholy that became more evident and more cutting as her career went on.”
Fo Faces Milan Voters In Mayoral Quest
Nobel-prize-winning playwright Dario Fo casts his vote in his attempt to be elected mayor of Milan. “The 79-year-old satirist, who has never before held public office, arrived with his actor wife Franca Rame to cast his vote at one of 124 polling stations open across the city. Repeating his campaign slogan: ‘I am not a moderate,’ the centre-left candidate said he was hopeful of winning the primary against three other candidates.”
New York Theatres Take On George Bush
A theme on New York stages, these days? Bush-bashing. “I used to get booed (in Las Vegas) two or three years ago when I made a George Bush joke. Now they laugh and nobody boos because things have changed.”
“Bubble” dual DVD/Theatre Release Called Success
Steven Soderbergh’s “Bubble” played to tiny box office on its opening weekend. “While the film’s box-office performance was modest because major theater chains refused to run it, the film’s backers declared victory for their release strategy. We are very happy with the results so far of this first day-and-date release.” The film’s release was controversial because it opened in theatres as it was released n DVD.
Grants For Live Music
The American Music Center has made grants to 24 New York and New Jersey dance companies to support live music accompaniment. The Live Music for Dance program has made more than 400 grants, totaling $4.75 million, over the last two decades.
African American History On The Mall
A decision about where a new museum in DC celebrating African-American history is to be made this week. “The country has always been reluctant to come to grips with the slave part of its history. Washington, more than any other city, has that contradiction. People look at the South with the cotton plantations and sugar plantations and say, yes, slavery. But the idea of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison as slaveholders is a much more difficult idea. You don’t sit in Lafayette Square and think about the slave auction block.”
Where Did All The Stars Go?
“Who killed the movie stars? Conversations with dozens of Hollywood insiders result in a forest of pointed fingers. Certainly, the entertainment media are blamed for their obsession with tearing down talent as fast as it blooms, but so is the death of the midlevel movie, the dismantling of the studio system, competition from television and the Internet, the enormous paydays with their just as enormous expectations, not to mention the sometimes questionable behavior and talent of the young stars themselves.”
Piano’s Remake Of LA Museum Comes Into Focus
Renzo Piano fills in more details of his design for the makeover of the LA County Museum of Art. “I was yesterday in New York where we’re working on the Whitney Museum. So different! There is no reason to repeat yourself — unless you are a stupid guy. There is always a new story to tell.”
LA County Museum Plan Tests Architect’s Reputation
“Renzo Piano Building Workshop is the firm you hire when what you need from your architect is clarity, craftsmanship and refinement. But the latest version of the architect’s scheme for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art suggests that in this case, the combination of a tight budget and an ill-matched collection of existing buildings is severely testing those skills.”