Bidding Begins On Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization
"The first round of bidding has begun for the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization, the privately held company that controls what is probably the most valuable back catalog in the theater business. Gag orders seem to be all over the place, but word is that the bidders include Disney, Sony, Andrew Lloyd Webber and the Ambassador Theater Group, a London-based company." New York Post 10/10/08

email this story | Posted 10/10/08@07:05AM

Amid Financial Crisis, British Theatre Will Hurt, Not Perish "Inevitably, the West End will find it harder to attract investors and harder to shift tickets," but might there be an upside for smaller companies? "Perhaps the credit crunch will mean that many more wake up to the fact that fringe tickets are often terrific value and offer an overall experience that is often far more enjoyable than that in the West End." The Guardian (UK) 10/10/08

email this story | Posted 10/10/08@07:32AM

Le Clézio Deserves The Nobel -- And More English Readers "While the storm in an imperialist teacup about the award of this year's Nobel prize for literature to JMG Le Clézio rages on, and the debate about the ills and virtues of American writing simmers away, I fear the fierce debate is overshadowing the fact he is a most worthy winner of the prestigious prize. That he is virtually out of print in English is both sad and a reflection of our traditional insularity and lack of curiosity for foreign culture." The Guardian (UK) 10/10/08

email this story | Posted 10/10/08@07:09AM

Bidding Begins On Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization "The first round of bidding has begun for the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization, the privately held company that controls what is probably the most valuable back catalog in the theater business. Gag orders seem to be all over the place, but word is that the bidders include Disney, Sony, Andrew Lloyd Webber and the Ambassador Theater Group, a London-based company." New York Post 10/10/08

email this story | Posted 10/10/08@07:05AM

More News You Can Use: Tips On Theatre Bargains In NYC Far be it from us to interpret the appearance today of cheap-ticket tips in two New York City dailies as a portent of doom. Nonetheless: "The new and improved TKTS booth opens next Thursday at 3 p.m. - and not a minute too soon. With the economy tighter than the Naked Cowboy's trunks, saving dough is more than ever on everyone's mind." Daily News (New York) 10/10/08

email this story | Posted 10/10/08@06:56AM

Can Only Liberals Write Good Fiction? "At a Litquake tribute to Tobias Wolff, writer Stephen Elliott described a link between fiction writing and political bent: 'Literary fiction is character driven, and to write good characters you have to have empathy, and if you have empathy, you're a liberal.'" San Francisco Chronicle 10/10/08

email this story | Posted 10/10/08@06:35AM

Design Challenge: A Beautiful, Muscular Bike Rack "There's no single reason why bicycle commuting has gone into high gear, though spiraling gas prices, concern about greenhouse-gas emissions, and an appreciation of messenger cool are surely contributing to the crowded bike lanes." But parking for bikes in Philadelphia has not kept pace, and existing racks are aesthetically and practically displeasing. "The time has come to build a better bike rack." Philadelphia Inquirer 10/10/08

email this story | Posted 10/10/08@06:16AM

Poets As Paid Professionals "Everyone is talking about the creative economy, but the first-ever Massachusetts Poetry Festival is doing something about it. ... The festival is a celebration of poetry for its own sake, but could also be a tool to expand and capitalize on a precious cultural asset." That includes thinking about professional development for poets. Boston Globe 10/10/08

email this story | Posted 10/10/08@05:45AM

The Love Life Of Emily Dickinson (Really!) In the popular imagination, Emily Dickinson "is forever the lovelorn spinster, pining away in her father's mansion on Main Street in Amherst, Mass. ... Her exile on Main Street has seemed a necessary part of the Dickinson myth, so necessary, indeed, that contrary information--which happens to have been piling up lately--has often been discounted or ignored." Slate 10/09/08

email this story | Posted 10/10/08@05:26AM

In South L.A., A Black Theatre Takes Root The Ebony Repertory Theatre opens its first production tonight in South Los Angeles, an area that "has lacked a significant theater presence for more than a decade." Company founder/producer Wren T. Brown says he "wanted to ensure that the so-called minority community had a place to go see theater where the standards are high and not compromised." Los Angeles Times 10/10/08

email this story | Posted 10/10/08@05:13AM

Giving Up For The Greater Good Desperate times bring dire questions. "Should arts groups be willing to call it their mission to preserve the arts community as a whole, even if that means merging with another -- or in the extreme, shutting down altogether?" Los Angeles Times 10/10/08

email this story | Posted 10/10/08@05:01AM

The Standout On The Stirling Prize Shortlist The Royal Institute of British Architects' Stirling prize is handed out tomorrow, and it ought to go to Pritzker winner Zaha Hadid for her Austrian ski station, Colin Amery argues. "It is notoriously hard to predict the Stirling's result, though on grounds of aesthetic adventurousness Hadid wins hands down." Bloomberg 10/10/08

email this story | Posted 10/10/08@04:55AM

Singapore, Where The Art Market Hasn't Tanked "Paintings and sculptures by emerging artists from Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries have defied slowing auction demand for top Chinese and Western works as global financial markets tumble and the prospect of a U.S. recession increase. Sellers at three art events this weekend in Singapore -- a fair and two auctions -- are hoping that sentiment will hold." Bloomberg 10/10/08

email this story | Posted 10/10/08@04:47AM

Spacey Topples Ayckbourn (Whoops) "Kevin Spacey flung his arms open to hug the frail playwright Alan Ayckbourn after his show 'The Norman Conquests' in London. Instead, he knocked over the 69-year-old Ayckbourn, who walks with a stick." Bloomberg 10/10/08

email this story | Posted 10/10/08@04:42AM

News You Can Use: Tips On Arts Bargains In NYC "Fortunately for anyone who wants to maintain a busy cultural calendar but hears the call of frugality -- and for those of us who pinch pennies regardless -- New York is ... the home of the bargain ticket, with an array of discounts, promotions and freebies for everything from poetry readings downtown to the glamour of opera at Lincoln Center." The New York Times 10/10/08

email this story | Posted 10/10/08@04:18AM

Amid the Bombs, Political Satire Plays Baghdad Playing to determined crowds who travel to the National Theater after dark, Ali Hussein's cabaret-style two-act Bring the King, Bring Him "portrays Iraqi politicians as petty, corrupt and detached from the people they govern. […] So out of touch is one politician that he proposes (just like a real-life legislator) erecting a huge Ferris wheel 'so people can cool off in the summer heat'." Los Angeles Times 10/09/08

email this story | Posted 10/09/08@09:34PM

Let the Punishment Fit the Crime "Andrew Vactor was facing a $150 fine for playing rap music too loudly on his car stereo in July. But a judge offered to reduce that to $35 if Vactor spent 20 hours listening to classical music… [he] lasted only about 15 minutes." The idea of the sentence "was to force Vactor to listen to something he might not prefer, just as other people had no choice but to listen to his loud rap music." Yahoo! (AP) 10/09/08

email this story | Posted 10/09/08@09:26PM

Was the Roman Polanski Trial a Miscarriage of Justice? A new BBC documentary argues - with agreement from both the defense and prosecuting attorneys - that the director's notorious trial for statutory rape was distorted by an ambitious judge. "It really isn't about whether Polanski is likeable or not. It's about whether he was treated fairly under California state law. And clearly he was not." The Daily Telegraph (UK) 10/09/08

email this story | Posted 10/09/08@09:24PM

Ten Things Theaters Need to Do Right Now to Save Themselves Brendan Kiley has a list of urgent suggestions to save the art form from its imminent doom - from the inventive (provide child care, letting the kids play theater games in a rehearsal room while the parents groove to Pinter) to the risky (provide lots of cheap alcohol) to the unlikely (no more Shakespeare). Money quote: "Fringe theater shouldn't be in the game of ennobling, it should be in the game of debasement." The Stranger (Seattle) 10/07/08

email this story | Posted 10/09/08@08:57PM

'The Most Unreliable Food Book Ever!' Writer Barry Foy has produced The Devil's Food Dictionary: A Pioneering Culinary Reference Work Consisting Entirely of Lies. A sample definition: "Comfort food: 1) Any type of food that you would prefer your friends did not see you enjoy; 2) the fortifying, familiar, and satisfying fare that killed your grandparents." Miami Herald (Washington Post Service) 10/09/08

email this story | Posted 10/09/08@08:56PM

China Cracks Down on Sacred Classical Music Despite the runaway success of Western classical music there, the Chinese Communist authorities have recently become nervous about works with Christian themes, regardless of their place in the canon. A Messiah by the visiting Academy of Ancient Music was made invitation-only; the Mozart and Verdi Requiems have been restricted; even part of Carmina Burana(!) was censored. The Daily Telegraph (UK) 09/30/08

email this story | Posted 10/09/08@08:53PM

Why Twitter Doesn't Want to Make Money (Yet) "Twitter wants [according to its founders] to have both a sustainable product and business plan before it starts to capitalize on its community… [But] there may be a deeper, psychological reason that Twitter can't follow the dollar. It may have a Peter Pan complex-it just doesn't want to grow up." The Big Money (Slate) 10/08/08

email this story | Posted 10/09/08@08:51PM

Carlos Santana, Man of the Cloth The legendary Latin-jazz-rocker tells Rolling Stone, "I'm going to stop playing when I'm 67 and work on what I really want to do, which is to be a minister, like Little Richard." Meanwhile, he tells his band, "the theme of this tour is 'live your light.' I want the audience to be reminded that before they had all this stuff, this DNA and flesh and bones, they were made out of light." Rolling Stone 10/06/08

email this story | Posted 10/09/08@08:49PM

Da Vinci in 3-D The Detroit Science Center's exhibition "Leonardo da Vinci: Man, Inventor, Genius" features 60 of the Renaissance man's inventions in wooden models - some of which, like the fly-wheel, you can actually play with. Detroit Free Press 10/09/08

email this story | Posted 10/09/08@08:48PM

Children's Literature for a Financial Meltdown "A review of popular American children's books of the past century reveals a recurring theme in the children's publishing industry: When times are tough, cue the stories about times that were even tougher." Slate 10/09/08

email this story | Posted 10/09/08@08:47PM

BBC Worldwide Faces Political Heat for Its Success A British MP is launching an inquiry into whether the commercial arm of the UK's public broadcaster has become too aggressive and is unfairly competing with private enterprise. Variety 10/08/08

email this story | Posted 10/09/08@08:45PM

Mortier's Successor at Paris Opera Has Stroke "Nicolas Joël, noted stage director, director of the Opéra de Toulouse and general director designate of the Opéra National de Paris, was felled by a stroke in late August. Joël, 55, remains hospitalized in Toulouse." MusicalAmerica.com 10/09/08

email this story | Posted 10/09/08@08:44PM

That's One Durable Brand Identity The red-circle-and-blue-bar of the London Underground "is one of the earliest, best, most familiar and enduring of all corporate logos. It's been around in one guise or another for exactly 100 years ago this autumn." (includes historical slide show) The Guardian (UK) 10/09/08

email this story | Posted 10/09/08@08:42PM

Kimmel Center Meets Its Endowment Campaign Goal The Philadelphia arts center has announced that "it has pledges in place to meet its goal of a $72 million endowment." This year the Kimmel also achieved a $1.2 million operating surplus and retired its $30 million debt. Philadelphia Business Journal 10/09/08

email this story | Posted 10/09/08@08:41PM

Star-Ledger Saved (For Now) "The Star-Ledger of Newark, New Jersey, the 15th largest U.S. newspaper by circulation, will not be sold after one of its unions agreed to concessions that the paper said will allow it to stay in business." Yahoo! (Reuters) 10/07/08

email this story | Posted 10/09/08@08:39PM

Kushner's B'way Musical Smashes Records In Chicago "Tony Kushner's complex musical 'Caroline, or Change' struggled to survive on Broadway. But thanks to a fine production from Charles Newell and a star turn from E. Faye Butler, the show has turned into the biggest hit in the long history of the Court Theatre. ... With 'Caroline,' Court has been doing around $10,000 in sales a day--which is a boffo box-office performance for a theater with only about 250 seats." Chicago Tribune 10/09/08

email this story | Posted 10/09/08@06:39AM

Cruddy Economy, Gas Prices Hurting Craft-Show Artists "The craft show life. You might call it the artist's rendition of a traveling salesman. It's set-up on Thursday, pack-up on Sunday, with selling in between. Often, there are only a few days before the next show." Humble as it may seem, it's a multibillion-dollar industry. "Still, rising gas, motel, and other costs are cutting into profits, forcing some to leave the business...." Boston Globe (AP) 10/09/08

email this story | Posted 10/09/08@06:24AM

Suddenly, A Glut Of Concert Venues In L.A.? "Within the next two months, three music venues capable of holding 8,000 concertgoers will open in Los Angeles. Even with the economy faltering, venue operators and promoters believe the simple law of supply and demand will keep the concert halls full, provided the ticket price is appropriate. Other industry execs, however, think the city may have a glut on its hands." Variety 10/08/08

email this story | Posted 10/09/08@06:14AM

DV8 Physical Theater: The Cost of Living

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Da Vinci in 3-D - Detroit Free Press 10/09/08

Giving Up For The Greater Good - Los Angeles Times 10/10/08
News You Can Use: Tips On Arts Bargains In NYC - The New York Times 10/10/08
Kimmel Center Meets Its Endowment Campaign Goal - Philadelphia Business Journal 10/09/08

Why Twitter Doesn't Want to Make Money (Yet) - The Big Money (Slate) 10/08/08
BBC Worldwide Faces Political Heat for Its Success - Variety 10/08/08

Let the Punishment Fit the Crime - Yahoo! (AP) 10/09/08
China Cracks Down on Sacred Classical Music - The Daily Telegraph (UK) 09/30/08
Mortier's Successor at Paris Opera Has Stroke - MusicalAmerica.com 10/09/08

The Love Life Of Emily Dickinson (Really!) - Slate 10/09/08
Spacey Topples Ayckbourn (Whoops) - Bloomberg 10/10/08
Was the Roman Polanski Trial a Miscarriage of Justice? - The Daily Telegraph (UK) 10/09/08
Carlos Santana, Man of the Cloth - Rolling Stone 10/06/08

Le Clézio Deserves The Nobel -- And More English Readers - The Guardian (UK) 10/10/08
Can Only Liberals Write Good Fiction? - San Francisco Chronicle 10/10/08
Poets As Paid Professionals - Boston Globe 10/10/08
'The Most Unreliable Food Book Ever!' - Miami Herald (Washington Post Service) 10/09/08
Children's Literature for a Financial Meltdown - Slate 10/09/08
Star-Ledger Saved (For Now) - Yahoo! (Reuters) 10/07/08

Amid Financial Crisis, British Theatre Will Hurt, Not Perish - The Guardian (UK) 10/10/08
Bidding Begins On Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization - New York Post 10/10/08
More News You Can Use: Tips On Theatre Bargains In NYC - Daily News (New York) 10/10/08
In South L.A., A Black Theatre Takes Root - Los Angeles Times 10/10/08
Amid the Bombs, Political Satire Plays Baghdad - Los Angeles Times 10/09/08
Ten Things Theaters Need to Do Right Now to Save Themselves - The Stranger (Seattle) 10/07/08

Design Challenge: A Beautiful, Muscular Bike Rack - Philadelphia Inquirer 10/10/08
The Standout On The Stirling Prize Shortlist - Bloomberg 10/10/08
Singapore, Where The Art Market Hasn't Tanked - Bloomberg 10/10/08
That's One Durable Brand Identity - The Guardian (UK) 10/09/08

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