Author: Matthew Westphal

‘Homiesexual’ — Young Straight Guys Getting Cuddly With Their Bros On TikTok Draw Big Audiences

“The youth-oriented social media platform is rife with videos showing ostensibly heterosexual young men spooning in cuddle-puddle formation, cruising each other on the street while walking with their girlfriends, sharing a bed, going in for a kiss, admiring each other’s chiseled physiques and engaging in countless other homoerotic situations served up for humor and, ultimately, views.” And the vast majority of the fans are female. – The New York Times

Feats Of Strength: Dancing ‘The Rite Of Spring’ As A 35-Minute Solo

For the Joyce Theater’s online season, choreographer Molissa Fenley has revived State of Darkness, her 1988 adaptation of the Stravinsky ballet for a single performer, with seven different dancers — as different as Sara Mearns, Annique Roberts, and Michael Trusnovec — giving their own interpretations. Gia Kourlas reports on how the project has come together. – The New York Times

Five Years After Aneurysm, Joni Mitchell Still Struggling To Walk

In a Q&A with Cameron Crowe about a new disc of unreleased recordings, Mitchell said, “Polio didn’t grab me like that, but the aneurysm took away a lot more, really. Took away my speech and my ability to walk. And, you know, I got my speech back quickly, but the walking I’m still struggling with. But I mean, I’m a fighter. I’ve got Irish blood!” – BBC

Entire Hong Kong Philharmonic Trapped In Island Quarantine

Ever since the bass clarinetist tested positive for the coronavirus, “they have been placed in the same section of the 1,080-room camp [on Lantau Island], each minimally furnished room the size of a standard shipping container. Jamming and group rehearsals are banned, obviously, given that nobody can leave their own rooms.” Here’s how they’re getting through the days. – South China Morning Post (Hong Kong)

Pathbreaking Set Designer Ming Cho Lee Dead At 90

As his biographer puts it, “In the 1960s and ’70s Lee radically and almost single-handedly transformed the American approach to stage design.” His work for spoken theater, dance, and opera won him numerous awards, including two Tonys and the National Medal of Arts; he had an equally great impact during his 48-year career teaching stage design at Yale. – The New York Times

African Activist Arrested For Trying To Take Asian Artifact From Louvre

Just a week after he was given a fine but no jail time for attempting to take pieces of African art from another Paris museum, Mwazulu Diyabanza — who calls his acts political protests demanding the return to Africa of artworks looted by European colonizers — was stopped by Louvre guards after lifting and carrying off a sculpture. In a video of the incident, Diyabanza declares, “I came here … to take back what was pillaged from Africa.” The sculpture is from the Indonesian island of Flores. – Artnet

Curator Of Hay Festival Abu Dhabi Accuses Royal of Sexual Assault

“Caitlin McNamara was the curator of the first sister festival in Abu Dhabi, which was feted as an opportunity to promote freedom of expression, human rights and women’s rights in the UAE. … She [has] accused Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan” — the Emirates’ minister of tolerance — “of sexually assaulting her on 14 February, 11 days before the festival began.” – The Guardian

Eight Small Theaters Sue New York State And City For Right To Reopen

“The lawsuit, filed Friday in Federal District Court in Manhattan, argues that the orders shutting down theaters ‘shock the conscience and interfere with plaintiffs’ deeply-rooted liberty and property rights, including the right to work, right to contract, and right to engage in commerce.’ The theaters filing suit … have 199 seats or fewer, and most of [them] are commercial operations.” – The New York Times