Theatre impresario Garth Drabinsky might be under indictment in the US and generally disgraced everywhere after bankrupting the Livent empire. But yesterday he rose from the dead to announce he’ll bring an Athol Fugard play to Toronto. – The Globe and Mail (Canada)
Despite the 16 felony counts of fraud and conspiracy waiting for him in the US, Drabinsky said he planned to produce more plays, including the big-budget musicals he specialized in at Livent. – New York Times
Critics had a field day with director Sam Mendes’s comment last week that British theater’s “reliance on Hollywood stars meant it was in peril of being held hostage by the lure of glamour,” since it was Mendes himself who had Nicole Kidman strip bare in “The Blue Room” last year and set off the current craze for celebrity casting (and stripping). But, if lagging ticket sales are any indication, British audiences finally are tiring of Hollywood stars taking center stage. – The Guardian
France reopened its renovated Paris Opera Tuesday, after a 12-month revitalization project to restore the 1867 Charles Garnier building, which had long suffered from acid-rain and pollution damage. – New York Times
Twentieth Century classical music is built on the idea of the maverick – the composer rebelling against the conventions of what came before. So just what defines a maverick? – Sonicnet.com
The recording industry isn’t going to win the digital music wars by suing everyone in sight. The companies need to figure out how to entice consumers. “Music as a service holds an incredible opportunity for the recording industry, but the industry isn’t going to grow by selling CDs, it will grow when the labels begin to think about this business as a service.” – Wired
A new report released last week by the National Arts Journalism Program at Columbia University measured arts coverage on American television networks – on ABC, CBS and NBC – during the decade of the 1990s. Not surprisingly, there wasn’t much. “According to the findings, on an average day, viewers receive 30 seconds of information on the arts. That’s 3 percent of the weekday news agenda. Annual arts coverage on all three networks dropped from about 500 minutes in 1990 to 300 minutes in 1999.” – Houston Chronicle
The glittering new 42nd Street Studios opens in New York. The complex includes 14 rehearsal studios, administrative and offices spaces, and a fully-equipped black box space called “The Duke on 42nd Street.” – Theatre.com
— protesting Australia’s proposed new tax structure (currently before parliament) rallied outside Sydney’s Parliament House Tuesday. The proposed legislation would limit artists’ tax deductions, thereby making it much harder for most to earn a living wage. “The tragedy is that artists, who make a vital contribution to Australia’s quality of life, are struggling on meagre incomes. We know that their practices will be hit disproportionately hard by the GST.” – Sydney Morning Herald
Twenty years ago, when Pittsburgh’s steel industry shut down, the city looked bleak. But 16 years ago the city turned over part of its decayed downtown to the newly created Pittsburgh Cultural Trust with the charge of using culture as a magnet to bring the downtown back to life. The trust has spent $65-million of public money and attracted $112-million in private funds, as well as inspiring $650-million of commercial investment. Oh yes, the city’s center is thriving. – The Globe and Mail (Canada)
A typical scenario: Artists move into a derelict section of town because it’s cheap. They fix it up, the area becomes cool and rents skyrocket as those with money move in to soak up the atmosphere. “In a number of U.S. cities, they are actually now implanting artists (much the way greenery is replanted on polluted soil), knowing that a funky demimonde will attract business even to disaster areas. To keep the artists there, they have evolved non-profit holding companies on 15- to 30-year horizons.” – The Globe and Mail (Canada)
