Pop Idol was a hit trying to find telegenic pop singers. Now a new TV series in the UK applies the format to the Broadway musical, attempting to find stars worthy of the West End. “Yet it is the very difficulty of performing musical theatre to anything approximating a competent standard that, the makers claim, elevates Musicality above the level of your bog-standard TV talent show.”
Tag: 11.03.04
A Cello Sells For Record Price
“A rare 18th-Century cello, by Italian cello maker Giovanni Battista Guadagnini, has sold for a record price of £341,250 at Christie’s in London. Made in the northern Italian city of Parma in 1760, it is one of only five Guadagnini cellos which have come to auction in the last 20 years.”
Wilson Play Officially Postponed
“Conceding what had become painfully obvious along Broadway, the producers of Gem of the Ocean, a new play by August Wilson, said yesterday that they were postponing the show’s first performance while they continued their hunt for financing. All performances through Nov. 14 have been canceled.”
Why Our Brains Differ From Apes
“A group of researchers at the University of California at Los Angeles and Emory in Atlanta has compiled the first extensive analysis of human and primate genomic data. The result is a big-picture look at why human brains are so evolved. The answer lies not in which or how many genes we have, but in how and when those genes turn on and off.”
New: First Dial-In Concert
The new generation of cell phones promise big things. And so this week the first-ever dial-in cell phone concert took place. “At 9pm, some 300 Rooster fans were expected to flock to the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London to see their heroes perform a 45-minute set. At the same time, up to 1,000 customers on the 3 mobile network were watching the very same concert on their telephones. Live music broadcasts are billed as one of the major enticements of third generation – or 3G – mobile technology.”
Congress’ Arts Report Card
Americans for the Arts has released report cards on members of Congress for their support of legislative arts issues. “The highest-ranked states tended to have smaller delegations. Among states with delegations of 10 or more House members, Massachusetts and New York finished in front. Thirty-three House members received the highest possible grade (A+). However, the average grade for the House was a B. Arts support is increasingly bipartisan, the report card shows, a relief to arts advocates who saw conservative Republicans attempt to scrap the NEA in the mid-’90s.”
The Miramax Saga
“Twenty-five years after Miramax Films was founded and 11 years after it was purchased outright by the Walt Disney Co., the company is in the news as never before. After two rounds of layoffs that have eliminated 26% of Miramax’s work force — and amid speculation that Bob and Harvey Weinstein, brothers who founded the company, might contemplate striking out on their own — its achievements stand in even bolder relief.”
Gauging The Health Of ABT
American Ballet Theatre had a lot of people taking its temperature when it recently announced the departure of its general manager, and pay cuts and furloughs for 50 employees. But the company says despite the current belt-tightening, it’s actually been expanding – adding “eight more dancers (bringing the total to 90), three weeks of performances at City Center instead of two, more touring, and increased ticket sales.”
Biotech In The Service Of Art Preservation
“Biochemists at the United Nations University in Caracas, Venezuela, are using DNA sampling to identify materials from which artifacts are made and the pests that are feeding on them. They then use biotechnology techniques to create weapons that target the pests specifically, without damaging the artwork.”
Man Arrested In Van Gogh Murder
The man suspected of killing Dutch film maker Theo van Gogh is a suspected radical Islamist with alleged terrorist links, the Dutch authorities say. The man, aged 26, has dual Dutch and Moroccan citizenship.