The online realm Second Life now hosts a virtual community patterned after, and named after, Al-Andalus, i.e., medieval Spain under Moorish rule. The realm includes a virtual Alhambra and Great Mosque of Córdoba, as well as a library (run by a Smithsonian librarian), theater, and (of course) mosques, churches and synagogues.
Tag: 09.10.10
Liberace Museum to Close After 31 Years
“When this started 30-some years ago, Lee was still a name,” says the chairman of the Liberace Foundation board of directors. “Keeping that brand alive has been very difficult.”
Chicago’s Shattered Globe Theatre Shuts Down
“After more than two decades, things appeared to have shattered at Shattered Globe Theatre. According to ensemble member Linda Reiter, the board of the venerable off-Loop company has decided to cease operations, return grant monies and dissolve the entity.”
Tsuris in Israel Over Boycott of West Bank Theater
The first Israeli-built cultural center in the West Bank will soon open in the settlement of Ariel. Scores of Israeli artists – with the public support of a large group of Western colleagues, some quite famous – are refusing to perform at Ariel, saying that their presence would legitimize an occupation they oppose. Meanwhile, many West Bank settlers are outraged at the boycott, and Prime Minister Netanyahu is backing them.
William S. Burroughs’s Lost Graphic Novel Will See Print
Ah Pook Is Here, the never-published graphic novel Burroughs wrote with artist Malcolm McNeil, will be released next year by Seattle publisher Fantagraphics.
National Orchestra of Spain Cancels 2011 North American Tour
According to a statement from CAMI, “Severe reductions in the financial support of all artistic organizations and the reduction of subsidy to the National Orchestra of Spain makes it impossible for them to maintain any overseas touring.”
At L.A. Opera, Domingo Negotiates Exec. Contract While Starring Onstage
Don Plácido is currently rehearsing the lead role, Pablo Neruda, in Daniel Catán’s new operatic version of the film Il Postino. When not in rehearsal, he is negotiating an extension of his contract as L.A. Opera’s general director, a role in which his performance has been receiving growing criticism.
From Lepers to Paranoia to Optimism to Feminism: A History of the Polka Dot
“Polka dots hearken to the 1950s, summing up the best of Mad Men-era America: optimistic, prosperous, ostensibly prim, but also dizzyingly energetic … Yet the polka dot’s roots are in more earthy stuff: animal pelts, warriors, and disease. At different moments, polka dots have hinted at sexuality, superhuman powers, torture, and paranoia.”
Simon Russell Beale to Make Ballet Debut
None other than Christopher Wheeldon asked the award-winning, slightly pudgy Beale to play the Duchess in the new Alice in Wonderland for the Royal Ballet. Says SRB, “I am completely and utterly incompetent at dance, but I’m thrilled.”
NY City Ballet Tries the Calvin Klein Approach to Advertising
This week, an ad “showing a fine-featured, blonde-haired woman outfitted in a nude bustier will be projected against buildings in neighborhoods such as the Lower East Side and SoHo. She’s captured in an embrace with a muscular young man, his arms encircling her waist. While they could be hawking lingerie, or perhaps perfume, what in fact they’re selling is ballet.”