“The Pasadena Playhouse’s leadership aims to choose a script within three weeks – not for a play to mount on the stage that went dark Feb. 7 because of financial woes, but for a legal scenario the company can follow as it tries to settle about $2 million in debt and eventually return to the boards.”
Tag: 03.17.10
Edinburgh Int’l Festival 2010 To Explore The New World(s)
“The theme running throughout the three-week festival is … drawing attention to those cultures that naturally look to the Pacific rather than the Atlantic, whether that be a dance company from Auckland or orchestras specialising in the music of 15th-century [sic] Bolivia and Mexico.” There will be top modern theatre companies from North and South America, Australian composer Brett Dean’s new opera, an 18th-century German take on Moctezuma, and Porgy and Bess in French.
Parents, Do Not Bring The Kiddies To This ‘Little Mermaid’
John Neumeier on his ballet version of the Hans Christian Andersen tale: “[The] violence in the story is quite strong. The mermaid allows herself to be literally torn apart to get to her goal. And she meets an ambiguous ending – it certainly isn’t happy. She refuses to kill the prince, and attempts suicide instead.”
Orange Prize Judge To Woman Novelists: Lighten Up Already!
“‘There’s not been much wit and not much joy, there’s a lot of grimness out there,’ Daisy Goodwin, the author and TV producer, told the Guardian. ‘There are a lot of books about Asian sisters. There are a lot of books that start with a rape. Pleasure seems to have become a rather neglected element in publishing.'”
Mantel Makes Orange Longlist (Who Could Have Predicted?)
Nominated for her multi-prize-winning “Wolf Hall,” Hilary Mantel “is joined on the 20-strong list by fellow Booker nominee Sarah Waters, previous Orange Prize winner Andrea Levy, and seven first-time novelists. Now in its 15th year, the Orange Prize celebrates excellence, originality and accessibility in women’s writing.”
Mass. Governor Gives Father’s Jazz Collection To Berklee
“Pat Patrick,” the father of Governor Deval Patrick, “was best known for his 40-year association with band leader and composer Sun Ra, whom he accompanied on overseas tours and collaborated with on albums. Patrick also played with jazz greats such as Duke Ellington, John Coltrane, and Thelonious Monk.”
In Bid For Survival, Borders Welcomes Local Book Clubs
“Borders quietly unveiled a program late last month that invites book club groups to convene at its cafe spaces instead of in club members’ homes. The step is geared toward helping the money-losing bookstore chain drum up sales and reshape itself into a local gathering place instead of a faceless superstore.”
Celebrating Sondheim’s 80th (One Week Early)
“In recent years the tributes to Mr. Sondheim have come so thick and fast that they have begun to blur. While such celebrations tend to be messy affairs, ‘Sondheim: The Birthday Concert’ (directed by Lonny Price), was a model of organization, with a suave host (David Hyde Pierce) and witty leitmotifs woven into its structure.”
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Subtitled
“[W]ith the hit Swedish film version opening March 19 in the U.S., a question looms: Will fans be as willing to squint at subtitles as they were to read a translated book?”
Michigan State Breaks Ground On Modern Art Museum
“Designed by Zaha Hadid, the Baghdad, Iraq-born architect who ranks among the world’s foremost designers, the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum features a sharply angular, glass and pleated stainless steel skin that boldly goes where no Michigan building has gone before.”