Everyone was in on the joke, or at least everyone on stage was. But the audience wasn’t sure what to do or how to react. “The concept, whatever its good intentions, tempts comparisons with the history of African-American performers in blackface, acting out stereotypes of themselves for predominantly white audiences. It also risks feeding the common perception of Asian-Americans as perpetual foreigners.” (Of course, not everyone agrees.) – The New York Times
Tag: 02.15.19
Let’s Just Split The Elgin Marbles Between Britain And Greece
Half and half. Equal. “Of course, there would be disputes about who gets what. But those aren’t disputes that can’t be resolved. The marbles don’t consist of one major piece and a lot of minor pieces. There are almost only major pieces. This is a unique situation – and an opportunity – since in many restitution cases sharing doesn’t work.” – The Guardian (UK)
Andrea Levy, Chronicler Of Britain’s Windrush Generation, Has Died At 62
Levy didn’t start writing until she was in her 30s, but her fourth novel, 2004’s Small Island, won the Orange Prize and made her a household name in Britain and the U.S. – The Washington Post
Amazon Pulls Out Of Plans For Queens – When Company Culture Doesn’t Need Local Grief
Amazon had a deal and could have simply gone ahead. But the company had no allegiance to Queens and no need to be where it wasn’t wanted. “Amazon’s retreat from Queens shows us the dynamics of a new local power game — one in which giant tech companies play on the same field with governments, as equals, with equal influence over our economies and communities.” – Axios
Why Tamara Rojo And Akram Khan Were Brave Enough To Redo ‘Giselle’
Rojo: “I wanted to do a classical ballet from a new point of view, and I wanted the hardest one … I had seen the Björk film Dancer in the Dark, and I kept thinking: This is Giselle, and it is possible to tell this story in a new context.”
Khan: “When Tamara asked me, I did think a bit: Are you mad? I had barely seen a ballet, and knew nothing about Giselle.” – The New York Times
Playback Theatre As Therapy For Traumatized Syrian War Refugees
“The [program] was organized by Fighters for Peace, which was founded in 2014 by former Lebanese militia members who took part in their country’s destructive 1975-90 civil war and are now peace activists. They have been using playback theater for years as part of their campaign to promote peace and try to prevent another breakout of war in Lebanon.” – Yahoo! (AP)
Dolly Parton Expands Her Free-Books-For-Kids Program To A Fifth Country
“Ireland becomes the fifth country to benefit from Parton’s generosity, joining the US, UK, Canada and Australia. It’s another welcome step forward for a charity” — the Imagination Library — “that recently celebrated giving away its 100 millionth book (yep, you read that right: One Hundred Million books).” – Melville House