The Monty Python-inspired musical is a smash on Broadway. It’s a smash in London. The national US tour is a hit as well. So what in the name of Arthur went wrong in Australia?
Tag: 04.05.08
Did Oscar Wilde Beget Paris Hilton?
“Oscar Wilde, it seems, is our contemporary. He died in Paris 108 years ago, a near-friendless exile, impoverished, shunned, disgraced. Today, he is world-famous and universally admired… He would not have quarrelled with the attention: he was a pioneer of celebrity culture.”
Beijing’s Remarkable (And Rapid) Transformation
“This is the new dawn chorus of Beijing – the peal of hit steel, the crump of the piston hammer, the high song of the drill… Right now, Beijing is probably the biggest building site on earth, with the possible exceptions of Shanghai and Dubai. Urban re-engineering has taken place on a greater scale, perhaps – Haussmann’s Paris, Lutyens’s New Delhi – but never so rapidly.”
Novelist Of The People (Not The Critics)
If you’re in the habit of skimming the bestseller lists, you’ve probably heard of Jodi Picoult. If you’re someone who shops for novels in the displays at the very front of bookstores, you’ve almost certainly read one of her books. And if you’re a book critic, you likely despise her. And she’s really perfectly fine with all of that.
Are eBooks Finally Starting To Catch On?
The eBook revolution has been an excruciatingly slow-developing matter, but Amazon’s Kindle reader is helping more readers dip a toe in the new technology. “Publishing officials are reluctant to discuss sales figures, but say that they have seen double digit increases in ebook sales since the Kindle’s release, and renewed interest in downloads for the Sony Reader.”
Look, An Intra-Province Culture War!
The far northern city of Edmonton, Alberta has long been seen as the province’s cultural capital. True, its neighbo(u)r to the south, Calgary, has been looking to strip the title in recent years, but Edmonton’s arts leaders don’t really buy the effort. “In Edmonton, culture is very much a part of the fabric of life for everyone… and I think in Calgary, it’s being driven in fact by money rather than community.”
Time, Priority Shifts Combine To Fell Hartford Arts Center
Hartford’s performing arts center, constructed in the 1980s to bring several of the city’s top cultural groups together in a single home, now stands dilapidated and abandoned by nearly all of its onetime tenants. The building is up for sale, and for the most, part, Hartford’s arts scene has moved on without it. “Let us note for the record that it was fun while it lasted.”
Classical Radio Gets A Rebirth In KC
Eight years ago, Kansas City’s powerful all-classical FM station was unceremoniously dispatched the AM band and the plug was pulled on local programming. Now, the station is moving in the other direction, dumping its satellite-fed schedule for a completely local sound, and a push for greater listenership and more diverse programming.
Could Calgary Become An Arts Hub For The West?
“With money flowing from oil-rich companies, and employees flowing into the city, Calgary could finally break out from under Edmonton’s shadow as a cultural hub for the West… There exists a tremendous spirit of collaboration among arts organizations, which are fighting, en masse, the Cowtown reputation that does little for the city’s cultural cachet.”
TV Will Look Different Post-Strike
Only one US TV network has unveiled its plans for the fall schedule, and in the wake of the writers’ strike, there are plenty of whispers concerning the changes that could be coming to traditional Hollywood ideas about television. “What is certain is that next fall there will be fewer new dramas and comedies premiering across the networks.”