Ealier this month a Florida Episcopalian bishop got a high school production of “La Cage aux Folles” canceled. This weekend “the students took the show to Orlando Repertory Theatre after a week of debate about whether the bishop overstepped his bounds or held his moral ground. At least three other theaters also opened their doors to the group.”
Tag: 09.08.07
Even On Tour, Matthew Bourne’s A Protective Papa
“His shows are virtually guaranteed to sell out wherever he plays, but choreographer Matthew Bourne always keeps one seat free for a very important person – himself. … In London, he attends every single performance. On tour, Bourne stays with his company until completely satisfied that everything is in place, then heads back home – only to join them on the road at a new venue the following week.”
In Creative Realm, Gods And Artists Sometimes Clash
“The very idea that art purports to be a creative activity can offend a man of faith,” Peter Conrad notes. “But is it really nonsensical to praise a man of genius for creating a painting, a poem or a tune, just because he did not invent the canvas and the colours, the words or the notes? Art is a magical activity, and anyone who creates the likeness of a man seems to be exercising the power that created man in the first place.”
Would Any Other Artist’s Death Lead The News?
“When Pavarotti died this week something very unusual happened. The death of an artist – no. It was that the death of a classical practitioner of an elite art form led many news bulletins here in Britain, and no doubt around much of the world. All right, Pavarotti was a special case, someone who transcended the rigid categories which divide music. … But the ability to command the news headlines is unusual. When was the last time it happened in this way?”
Proms Reports Record Attendance
“This year’s BBC Proms season has attracted a record number of people to its concerts at London’s Royal Albert Hall and Cadogan Hall. Organisers said more than 272,000 people had booked tickets, beating the previous high of 265,000 in 2001. There was also a 5% increase in ticket sales compared to last year.”
Madeleine L’Engle Dies At 88
“Madeleine L’Engle, an author whose childhood fables, religious meditations and fanciful science fiction transcended both genre and generation, most memorably in her children’s classic ‘A Wrinkle in Time,’ died on Thursday in Litchfield, Conn. … Her works included poetry, plays, autobiography and books on prayer, and almost all were deeply, quixotically personal. But it was in her vivid children’s characters that readers most clearly glimpsed her passionate search for answers to the questions that mattered most.”