A hundred years ago mad King Ludwig II of Bavaria built an insanely expensive castle whose opulence was so frivolous, his ministers murdered him and dumped him into a lake. “Eleven decades later, another “madness” as great as Ludwig’s has been built. Rising up from the shores of the Starnberger lake, beside Neuschwanstein castle, an entire theatre has been constructed for the sole purpose of staging ‘Ludwig II, The Musical.’ At a cost of £26 million, it is the most expensive musical in the world. – Sunday Times (UK)
Tag: 04.23.00
THEATRE OF THE NEW
As the saying goes, the theater is always perfect before the curtain goes up. This spring, three visionary producers take a look at reinventing San Francisco theater. – San Francisco Chronicle
THEATRE UTILITY
For most of us, watching live performers act and sing is an infrequent luxury. Theater, like many of the other performing arts, long ago broke with its proletarian roots and assumed the gilded mantle of “culture.” In an era of instant entertainment on the TV and the Internet, attending a play or a musical has become a special event, identified (unfairly, some might argue) with formality, cultural literacy, seriousness and, above all, disposable income. But theater, by its very nature, is about emotional outreach. – Orange County Register
POST-MODERNIST ABSTRACTION
Choreographer Mark Dendy is one of the dance world’s most idiosyncratic and experimental spirits. Yet being in the experimental lane doesn’t offer much security. Even his most successful projects take their toll. “After, I was ready to quit because I had spent my life savings to stage it. Once again it’s the plight of the artist. It’s hard to be almost 40 and not have a little extra in the bank in case something happens.” – New York Times
CREATIVE RIP-OFF
Artists appropriate other artists’ work all the time. But Elton John’s new “Aida” is “interested in only the story of the opera’s libretto and turns it into a typical Broadway spectacle. John contributes generic pop songs about generic emotions, not music crafted to unique character and theatrical situations.” Ditto John Corigliano’s reworking of Bob Dylan. ” ‘Tambourine Man’ and ‘Aida’ are not reinterpretations so much as impoverished appropriations. They are less creative borrowings than desperate theft.” – Los Angeles Times
ALONE AT HOME
Chicago’s Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians has won honor all over the world and given the jazz world some important musicians. But at home the organization has been pretty much ignored. “You have to come to the conclusion that Chicago jazz institutions and presenters have a lack of respect for Chicago jazz artists, and especially the AACM. Whether you’re talking about radio stations or downtown concert halls, they don’t understand the importance of the AACM, and they don’t support it.” – Chicago Tribune
LOST IN SPACE
How come it’s always the engineers that get to go up in space? Well, obviously there are some good reasons. But designer and choreographer Richard Seabra wants to “send artists and performers into space to work in a special art module that he wants to become part of the International Space Station (ISS). Seabra wants to see to it that the arts and humanities are given a permanent place in space, that science moves aside to make room for the bounty of other cultural pursuits humans value. – Space.com
HOW ‘BOUT SOME LIP SERVICE?
The heart of London’s new success and prosperity is in its creative community. The arts are the driver that makes the city dynamic. So why, then, are the candidates for mayor avoiding talking about the arts at all? Nada. Zip. Hey, don’t vote for someone who doesn’t tell you their policies on the arts. – The Observer (UK)
ONE IRELAND?
Maybe it’s more than just a war, just the endless “troubles” and politics. Is there a cultural difference between north and south? “Is there a Northern Ireland culture? My first annoyed reaction is that only a stranger could ask. From that one can deduce that Northern Irish culture is tribal: two tribes within a larger people who are still locked within the northern equivalent of Heartbreak House.” – The Sunday Times (UK)
STANDING UP TO BE COUNTED
Salman Rushie’s surprise visit home to India last week was an enormous moment foe the author. But it was also an important moment for India. “By granting a visa to Mr. Salman Rushdie to visit India and according him a warm welcome, the government has proved that it is prepared to stand up and be counted in defence of democratic values and the individual’s right to express himself.” – The Telegraph (UK)