Oluwaseyi Omooba, who had been cast as Celie, a queer character, in the revival by the Curve Theatre in Leicester and the Birmingham Hippodrome in England, wrote on the social media site five years ago, “I do not believe you can be born gay and I do not believe homosexuality is right, though the law of this land has made it legal doesn’t mean it’s right.” – The Guardian
Tag: 03.21.19
Conductor Thomas Wilkins Works To Get Composers Of Color Into Boston Symphony’s Repertoire (And Into The Canon)
Wilkins, the BSO’s conductor for young people’s and family concerts, makes his subscription-season debut this weekend with a program of music by Florence Price, Adolphus Hailstork, Roberto Sierra, and Duke Ellington. Wilkins is aware of the charge of tokenism: “The easy observation would be to say that this is just a night of box-checking so that we can move on. In reality, it is not. It is, in fact, a launch. … And you know what? You gotta start somewhere.” – The Boston Globe
Tate Galleries Will Accept No More Donations From Sacklers
Just a couple of days after the National Portrait Gallery in London announced that it was turning down £1 million from the family whose company makes OxyContin, the Tate announced that, while it would not remove the Sackler name from any existing gifts, “in the present circumstances we do not think it right to seek or accept further donations from the Sacklers.” – The Art Newspaper
Why Universities Shouldn’t Act Like Commercial Art Galleries
Art schools that commit to The MFA Fair by representing recent alumni in their first outing as professional artists are clearly endorsing the idea that “the market” is the dominant way for artists to make a living. This is misleading at best and completely irresponsible at worst. – Hyperallergic
Get Out The Pitchforks! What’s The Difference Between Criticism And Intimidating Work Out Of The Market?
“When it comes to Young Adult literature, what, precisely, is the difference between the marketplace of ideas and a Twitter mob? A group of unpaid readers—one with an undeniable personal investment in the Y.A. community—seems to be doing much of the work of critique that is usually first the task of agents and editors, and then that of booksellers and critics. But, when these particular readers do that work, they are derided as pitchfork-wielding hysterics.” – The New Yorker
North American Movie Box Office Set New Record In 2018 (But Worldwide Box Office Down)
The Motion Picture Assn. of America said Thursday in its newly released annual survey that worldwide box-office ticket sales rose slightly by 1% to $41.1 billion for 2018. – Los Angeles Times
Gigantor Devours The Movies: Disney Buys Fox And Extends Its Dominance
It is estimated that the merger gives Disney control of 40% of all theatrical box office and puts it in a position to take on the digital streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon and Apple. – The Guardian
Big Gods, Little Gods – Do Cultures Get The Gods They Need?
Anthropologists say small societies generally worship Gods who only need to be worshipped. Larger societies’ Gods have many more rules for how followers behave… – The Economist [registration]
How This Dancer With Cerebral Palsy Stays Performance-Ready
As a dancer with hemiplegia cerebral palsy, Jerron Herman has never been far from the physical therapy room — or an occupational therapist or some kind of medical interventionist. ‘I’m almost always in deep conversation with that kind of practitioner,’ says Herman, who performs with Heidi Latsky Dance. It’s part of keeping his body ready to dance — and to move throughout his daily life. Herman shared his routine with [Rachel Rizzuto].” – Dance Magazine
‘King Lear’ with Glenda Jackson and everything else that’s happening now
Great Shakespeare plays take the color of their surroundings – if the production is doing its job – and Broadway’ new King Lear is accomplishing that. But how could any alert, modern Lear production avoid the current parallels with lines such as “‘Tis the time’s plague when madmen lead the blind” and “Get thee glass eyes and, like a scurvy politician, seem to see the things thou dost not.” – David Patrick Stearns