A radio talk show host in Seattle assails a planned sculpture for an outdoor sculpture garden by Louise Bourgeois. Why? Because it’s of a nude father and son on a fountain. And this is bad because…
Tag: 10.01.05
Pittsburgh Symphony Musicians Downsize Their Deal
Pittsburgh Symphony musicians have agreed to a new contract with some big concessions. “During the first year of the new contract, which runs through Aug. 31, 2008, musicians will take a 4.2 percent pay reduction, resulting in a savings of $500,000. The orchestra, which posted a $500,000 deficit last year, will reduce the number of musicians from 99 to 95 and institute a hiring freeze. In year two of the contract, an unpaid week of vacation and the hiring freeze will save $1 million. In year three, the PSO will save $900,000.”
Performing Arts Centers Team Up To Develop New Plays
Minnesota’s Ordway Theatre is joining four other comparable nonprofit performing arts centers in Boston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Hartford, Connecticut, to form Five Cent Productions “to develop new works of musical theater and breathe new life into the art form. ‘The industry has come to rely on the retread, on the revival. People are tired now of seeing the revivals. I mean, these are great classic works of Americana. But people need to see new things’.”
The Movie Box Office Problem? People Zigged While Hollywood Zagged
Hollywood movies had a great September, rebounding from a dreadful summer slump. “Amid 19 weekends of diminished box office — a record stretch that started in late February and ended in early July — many said they believed a cultural sea change was underway. Among the theories: People preferred to consume their entertainment in the comfort of their homes, whether watching DVDs on super-sharp plasma screens, surfing the Internet or playing video games.” The real reason? Movies nobody wanted to watch.
La Scala Dancers Strike
After the famed opera house’s renovation, “the dancers say their dressing rooms are too small and they are being squeezed out in order to make more room for the orchestra.”