“Here, the trio” – Brian d’Arcy James, Jonathan Groff, and Andrew Rannells – “explain what it’s like to play George, how they developed their own interpretations, and how heavy the head wearing the crown actually is.”
Tag: 01.14.16
New Database Reveals Historic Casting Disparities In British Theatre
The British Black and Asian Shakespeare Performance Database details the casts of 1,189 Shakespearean productions dating back to 1930. “Anecdotally, we’ve talked about it, but seeing it in that official way is a reassurance that we’re not imagining our ghettoisation into the more minor roles.”
Ticketholders For “Billy Elliot”‘s Last West End Performance Complain After They’re Booted For Celebrity Guests
“Ticketholders complained that they were being moved to other parts of the theatre to make way for celebrity guests attending the last performance. Customers who had booked seats in the stalls on April 9 were subsequently offered tickets in the Grand Circle instead.”
The Greatest Cocktail Pianist Who Ever Lived
“It’s the grossest of understatements to say that cocktail pianists get no respect. … On the other hand, it’s also true that most cocktail pianists aren’t worth listening to, at least not very closely. … But a few such folk are true artists, and one of them, Cy Walter, was a very great one, among the finest popular pianists of the 20th century.”
Audience Member Steps In After Actor Taken Ill And Makes Her Theatre Debut
In what has been described as a “fairytale in itself”, Melissa Bayern put herself forward for the role of the Witch in Into the Woods after attending a performance in which Gillian Bevan, who should have been playing the role, was taken ill. Bayern subsequently found herself making her professional stage debut in the musical.
How Do You Paint A Boeing 737? It’s ‘A Ton Of Effort’
“As the time-lapse video above shows, a lot more work and craftsmanship goes into painting a factory-fresh Boeing 737 than one might think. It’s an expensive process, with an estimated cost between $100,000 to $200,000, depending on the colors and level of detail involved.
Humans May Really Have A ‘Sixth Sense’ – One That’s Actually Smell
“[Research findings] suggest that a second language, spoken in scent, might be passing (as it were) right under our noses. Body odours are in the background of all our interactions. And the clues about relationships and emotions that we sniff out from these odours might be a crucial element of human society.”
Misty Copeland’s Story Of Success Is A Difficult One To Tell
“A young African-American woman from working-class roots knocking down obstacles in an old system, while broadening ballet’s mass appeal, makes for a pretty fantastic, ennobling story. But it’s a complicated story that requires digging deep into uncomfortable questions about ballet’s rigid aesthetic standards and the economics and availability of training.”
Philip Pullman Quits Oxford Literary Festival Because Guest Authors Don’t Get Paid
“The best-selling author of the His Dark Materials trilogy said he had ‘had enough’ of writers being expected to work for nothing. He announced his decision on Twitter and revealed he had long tried to persuade the Oxford festival to change its policy ‘but they won’t. Time to go.'”
Could More American Newspapers Decide To Become Non-Profits?
The tax agency approves nonprofit status for a relatively circumscribed number of organizational aims: Only sports leagues, cruelty-prevention advocacies, public-safety organizations, and groups with a “charitable, religious, educational, scientific, [or] literary” purpose can secure a 501(c)(3) exemption.