Tag: 03.05.03

Does How We Applaud Say Something About Who We Are?

It is “one of the truisms of London cultural life: standing ovations are rarely seen in the theatres, opera houses or concert halls. Across the Atlantic, however, leaping to your feet is almost the norm. Could it be that national character informs the way that we applaud? Or does our reception of a performance have a direct bearing on our attitude to culture?”

And The Winner Is…Musicals

“For the second year in a row, musicals are creating a big buzz in Hollywood. Last year, it was Baz Luhrmann teaching audiences a whole new way to envision musicals with ‘Moulin Rouge!’ This year ‘Chicago’ heads into the Academy Awards as the front-runner for Best Picture, and it’s up for a dozen other awards. In the theater world, the hope is that this high-profile attention will spike interest in seeing musicals on stage – and that it will help nurture a new generation of theater-goers.”

DVD Burners – What, Me Worry?

DVD recorders are here. But the movie industry doesn’t seem to be greatly concerned. “The reason? Hollywood has learned from the piracy woes of its music-industry cousins. Unlike music CDs, DVD movies have encryption codes that make them almost impossible to burn. And the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) has aggressively prosecuted pirates like Norwegian teenager “DVD John” Johansen, who publicized on the Net the copyright-protection code of a range of DVDs.”

What Arts Cuts Would Mean In New Jersey

In New Jersey, where Governor James McGreevey proposes to eliminate state arts funding, arts groups are trying to assess the impact of the cuts. What it would mean for mid-size arts groups: “reduced programming, possible layoffs, downgraded ambition, increased frustration. And the ripples could go beyond state grants. Private foundations and other arts supporters could pull back as they evaluate the financial stability of the arts organizations they have supported in the past.”

Studio Libeskind: The Daniel And Nina Show

Nina and Daniel Libeskind are a power couple. “The couple, who invite constant comparison to characters from Mike Myers’ ‘Sprockets’ routine, do not look like the shark-suited developers or heavy-lidded bureaucrats who have dominated the downtown-redevelopment story. But in the decade or so since Daniel, the distinguished professor, and Nina, who shares a starring role in Studio Daniel Libeskind as the driving force of its business side, have been designing actual buildings rather than promoting architectural education, they have become a political force to be reckoned with.”

Fabled Ancient Library Reopens

The amazing Villa of the Papyri, Herculaneum’s most famous building, finally opened this week, some 2000 years after it was enveloped in mud in the eruption that buried Pompeii. The “largest Roman villa ever found, it was the magnificent seafront retreat for Lucius Calpurnius Piso, Julius Caesar’s father-in-law. Piso, a literate man who patronized poets and philosophers, built there one of the finest libraries of its time. Many believe that the mud filled lower terraces could hide the fabled second library, which probably contains lost plays by Sophocles, Euripides and Aeschylus, lost dialogues of Aristotle, and Livy’s History of Rome, of which more than 100 of the original 142 books are missing.”

Broadway Compromise Near

Broadway producers and musicians are said to be close to an agreement on a new contract, with the contentious issue of ‘minimums’ more or less left to be battled out at every individual production site. “The minimum number of musicians required in the larger theaters… will be reduced from 26 to 18, and more flexibility will be built into the so-called ‘special situations’ clause, which allows producers to petition the union for fewer musicians on a show-by-show basis. Minimums will be preserved, but in theory only; for all practical purposes, every show will negotiate its own minimum.”

Disney Hall Almost Paid For

The Frank Gehry-designed Disney Hall, which will play host to the Los Angeles Philharmonic beginning next fall, has come within $10 million of being fully paid for. The hall is estimated to cost $272 million, and has taken 15 years to go from initial planning stages to final construction. Backers say they are optimistic that the final fundraising push will go quickly, and the county has stepped in with an additional $14.5 million of street and neighborhood improvements around the hall.