“Here’s how it’s supposed to work: T.C. Boyle has published more than 20 books since 1979. For his new story collection, ‘Wild Child,’ his publisher set up a classic book tour; he traveled to a dozen cities, staying in hotels and reading to audiences of 50 to 1,000 people.” By now, that kind of tour is largely for literary stars. “[H]ow will their lesser-known counterparts connect?”
Tag: 03.07.10
Portrait Of A Prop Master
“To understand why East West Players loves Ken Takemoto, ask about ‘the duck.’ The fake fowl – a Rube Goldbergian contraption he created for a 2008 revival of Pippin – shows just how clever, conscientious and cheap the 75-year-old prop master can be.”
Why ‘Nixon In China’ Is No ‘CNN Opera’
Mark Swed: “Anyone who took a close look at Nixon in China discovered that it was not ‘CNN opera,’ despite the historical accuracy of the libretto: It was a boldly anti-CNN opera. Its concern was everything that they didn’t tell you on television. … [It] was not about what Nixon meant for China but what China meant for Nixon.”
Violinist Struggles To Regain Use Of Hands Crushed In Haiti Earthquake
Romel Joseph, a 50-year-old Haitian-American who had already triumphed over blindness, had his left hand crushed by a falling wall and his right impaled by nails (not to mention a leg crushed and pinned by another wall) in the January earthquake that destroyed Port-au-Prince. Doctors, nurses and musicians are coming to Joseph’s aid as he recovers in a Miami hospital.
Colorado’s Only Black Theatre Might Close
“Saddled with debt, infested with infighting and now again seeking new artistic and executive leadership, the late founder Jeffrey Nickelson’s dream is proving to be unsustainable, done in by petty bickering, staggering costs and audience abandonment.”
This Music Brought To You By…
“It’s no longer possible to ‘sell out’ — at least, not within a certain time-cherished understanding of the term. Rockers, rappers and up-and-coming pop titans of all stripes are licensing music and image as an integral part of brand-building, which largely has usurped selling music and concert tickets as many musicians’ professional end goal.”
Lloyd Webber’s Phantom Sequel Savaged Online Before It Opens
“Love Never Dies may well be the most pre-emptively vilified show yet. Vicious verdicts began popping up online immediately after previews started on February 22.”
The Secret Of Pianist Yundi Li
“He presents reason rather than pizzazz, and restraint at the keyboard rather than the sighing, eye-rolling histrionics of a Lang Lang; Yundi Li’s disdain for the publicity game is all too apparent.”
Hollywood Star Salaries Sink
“A-list actors, who in years gone by could expect to bank anything from $20-$30m [£13.3-£20m] a film, are still waiting for salaries to return to anything like pre-slump levels. Fewer studio movies are being made, and a troubled independent film sector is so far unable to pick up the slack.”
Screens And Projection Increasingly Part Of The Theatre Stage
“We have a culture right now that has us buried in our BlackBerrys and our iPhones and all of our Palm things. Everywhere you look, there’s a screen now.”