“The high-kicking UK production, the most successful ever lottery-funded project, leaves [Disney] blockbuster Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time beached.”
Tag: 05.25.10
A New Subgenre Develops In Singapore: Mandarin Musicals
“Over the last decade, Singaporean audiences have been treated to regular revivals of Broadway or West End musicals, like Phantom of the Opera and Mamma Mia, and as their appetite for the Western art form grew, it encouraged a few local theater troupes to produce their own” original musicals. Until recently, these shows were in English, but Chinese-language musicals are now attracting enthusiastic viewers.
The Problem With London’s Fringe Theatre
Matt Trueman: “[It] has become a hotbed of half-hearted approximation – a culture in which making do, will do. Time and again, I find myself watching a production that is a shadow of the show it wants to be. Props and furnishings stand in not for their fictional counterparts, but rather for the props and furnishings that would have been bought had the funds been available.” (Same for actors.)
The Other End Of Hype: LA Phil’s Dudamel Gets The Critic Slapdown
“The savior of classical music” has only been on the job for seven months. Give him a break. He hasn’t yet learned to walk on water.
Jailed Iranian Director Jafar Panahi Released On Bail
“The acclaimed film-maker had been held in Tehran’s Evin prison after voicing support for an opposition candidate in last year’s disputed election. He was released on a bail of $200,000 (£140,000), it was reported. … He had been on hunger strike for a week to protest against his detention.”
The Rise Of Flarf
“[W]hile painting and even music have seen dramatic post-modern upheavals, much of poetry printed in popular magazines can be mainstream: non-alienating, often easy to parse and respectful of meter and even rhyme. A small group of poets hopes to change that.”
Are US Museums Safe From Mega-Heists?
The vastness of the nation helps to protect them. “Let’s say you hit the National Gallery — you gonna escape to Baltimore?” asks the founder of the FBI’s National Art Crime Team. “If you rob a museum in Philadelphia, where you gonna go — Camden? Countries in Europe are so close, and you have open borders and unarmed guards.”
Pasadena Symphony Draws Ire With Conductor’s Departure
“[A] rift has formed between the orchestra’s upper management and its players on allegations that company leaders haven’t been honest about the circumstances behind the longtime conductor’s departure. While the company says [Jorge] Mester quit, his representative says he was fired. … One symphony musician was reportedly let go for expressing outrage at Mester’s departure.”
To Kill A Mockingbird Turns 50, With Fanfare
“Its publisher, HarperCollins, is trying to tap into what appears to be a near-endless reserve of affection for the book by helping to organize parties, movie screenings, readings and scholarly discussions.” Festivities in Harper Lee’s hometown “are not expected to attract an appearance by the mysterious Ms. Lee, who is 84 and still living quietly in Alabama after never publishing another book.”
In Palladio’s Own Hand
Ada Louise Huxtable: “Seeing the original ink-and-wash drawings made almost 500 years ago, with Palladio’s handwritten notes, often done on the site, erases the centuries; they create a miraculous fusion of the distant past and immediate present, a kind of aesthetic time warp that brings the man and his moment wonderfully alive.”