In Broadway Previews, A Two-Act To Become A One-Act

“‘Impressionism,’ a new Broadway play about the healing power of Art, is in desperate need of the healing power of Cutting.” With opening night of the Jeremy Irons-Joan Allen vehicle pushed back two weeks, lead producer Bill Haber has told “investors that ‘Impressionism’ will be whacked to one act without an intermission (that’s one way of eliminating the mass exodus!), and that confusing sections created by what he calls ‘flashback moments’ will be trimmed and clarified.”

Looking Within, Sundance Finds Its New Director

“The Sundance Film Festival on Wednesday named veteran John Cooper as its new director, signaling the top U.S. gathering for independent movies remains on a even keel in choppy economic waters. … He had previously been the festival’s director of film programming as well as director of creative development for the Sundance Institute, which he joined in 1989.”

Broadway’s Vital Signs Are Good — In The Short Term

“No major new Broadway production has been canceled because of economic or budget concerns so far this spring. … Over all, Broadway is on track to have 43 productions open during the 2008-9 season, an unusually high number at any time, but especially during a recession.” On the other hand, it’s “far from clear whether Broadway marquees will be bright or dark through this summer and into the fall.”

That Guy On The Stage? He May Also Be Your Scalper.

“Less than a minute after tickets for last August’s Neil Diamond concerts at New York’s Madison Square Garden went on sale, more than 100 seats were available for hundreds of dollars more than their normal face value on premium-ticket site TicketExchange.com. The seller? Neil Diamond. … Selling premium-priced tickets on TicketExchange, priced and presented as resales by fans, is a practice used by many other top performers, according to people in the industry.”

Sotheby’s Deems $10.3M Pay Too High For Its Chief Exec

“Sotheby’s cut the pay of Chief Executive William F. Ruprecht for 2008 after he earned $10.3 million the year before as the art market peaked. The New York-based auction house indicated in a filing last month that Ruprecht’s pay, while reduced, was at least $2.1 million. … Sotheby’s 2008 profit of $28.3 million was the smallest since a $20.7 million loss in 2003. More than 200 staffers will lose their jobs this year amid $100 million in cost cutting.”

China’s Recently-Booming Art Market Suffers (Like Everywhere Else’s)

“Globally, the recent rise in Chinese artists’ fortunes was unparalleled… by 2007, 5 of the 10 best-selling living artists at auction were Chinese-born, led by Zhang Xiaogang, who trailed only Gerhard Richter and Damien Hirst.” But with the world financial crisis having wiped out many a fortune, “galleries are laying off staff members, and the collectors who patronized them now worry that their art investments may prove a colossal folly.”