“She imagined herself a woman of stern integrity: a playwright who would speak truth to audiences who would pay attention because the magic of the theatre would draw them in. But to attract audiences, she resorted to the kinds of tactics that could make critics shudder.” Alice Kessler-Harris looks at where Hellman pulled the balancing act off and where (and why) she failed.
Tag: 02.03.17
Simon McBurney Suggested Adapting This Novel For The Stage, And The Artistic Director Said ‘Eeeuwww … Putrid’
But he did it anyway. The visionary theatre artist and director of the company Complicité writes about why, and how, he staged Stefan Zweig’s Beware of Pity.
Why Are There So Many Words Of The Year?
“Started in 1990 by a small group of linguists, Word of the Year has spread like a video of an anarchist punching a Nazi that’s been set to music.” Stefan Fatsis explains how it happened.
After Three-Year Search, Vancouver Symphony Finds Its Next Music Director
When Bramwell Tovey steps down after 18 years at the end of next season, stepping up will be Dutch conductor Otto Tausk.
One Of Bolshoi Ballet’s Biggest Stars Is Retiring
After 20 years at the theater, including 13 as a principal, Maria Alexandrova has resigned. Bolshoi management says “This was Ms. Alexandrova’s personal decision,” and that they asked her several times to stay on. She herself posted on her Instagram page, “I’ve made a decision and I’m turning this page.”
Cultural Center At The Site Of The Bamiyan Buddhas Finally Underway
“Formed by a ‘system of negative spaces’ carved into the ground, the complex will house two galleries dedicated to Afghan archaeology, a performance hall and a tea-house. … UNESCO experts are still debating the controversial plan to rebuild the pair of rock-cut Buddha statues demolished by the Taliban in 2001.”
Budweiser Superbowl Ad Sparks Debate On The American Dream
“While Budweiser’s ad represents a glowing representation of the American dream, the truth is more complicated and, in fact, reflects a history of immigration that reverberates today.”
Toronto’s Live Music Crisis
“Most of the venue closures that have lately bedevilled the local music scene stem from similar circumstances, highlighting the downside to Toronto’s cultural communities of the city’s ongoing growth and economic prosperity. In North America’s third-largest music market, venue proprietors — who, in most cases, don’t own their buildings — are suddenly hit with 300-per-cent rent increases or browbeaten out of existence by complaints of noise, congestion and insufficient parking as condos spring up on all sides.”
Canada’s Shaw Festival Posts A $780K Deficit
Attendance for last year’s varied playbill – which included admired productions of Engaged and “Master Harold”… and the Boys on the festival’s secondary stages – was 237,471. That was up almost 5,000 from the year before, but still the second-lowest ticket sales in Jackie Maxwell’s 14-year tenure as artistic director.
Great Artist Friendships/Rivalries And How They Worked Psychologically
“When one of them enjoys a coup or some kind of breakthrough, you feel the other man brood and take stock: how did he do that? It is not about admiration expressed through gritted teeth – there seems a genuine urge to absorb the other’s example, and then adapt it.”