How A Memoir About Homosexuality And Suicide Was Sold (Very Successfully) As A Family-Friendly Musical

“Tom Greenwald recalled the main goal for marketing the show: ‘Make sure that it’s never ever associated specifically with the ‘plot or subject matter,” he said, ‘And make sure that people realize that it’s a beautiful, universal, family story of self-identification, reflection, and ultimately, hope.'”

Top Posts From AJBlogs 04.25.16

This Week In Audience 04.21.16
We’re Not Doing This Anymore: So we love libraries but we’re going to them less. Perhaps it’s because we have “library anxiety” (yes, that’s a thing)? When finding things online is as easy as … read more
AJBlog: AJ Arts Audience Published 2016-04-24

Trading Places: The Met Museum and–Not MoMA
The news late last week twinned the Metropolitan Museum of Art* and the Museum of Modern Art,* making them a study in contrasts: The Met had just announced programming cutbacks, buyouts and other financial woes, … read more
AJBlog: Real Clear Arts Published 2016-04-24

My Q&A with President Daniel Weiss–Part I: How Did Metropolitan Museum Fall Into Financial Hole? How Will It Climb Out?
Last week’s revelations about the Metropolitan Museum’s disturbing financial reality check left a lot of unanswered questions, raising concerns about how prudently the museum has been managed under the seven-year leadership of its director and … read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrl Published 2016-04-25

‘The Private Papers of Henry Ryecroft’
I’ve discovered that my recent blogpost, An Experiment in Reading, doesn’t work on mobile devices. The gizmo that embeds the book (to let you turn the pages) gets hung up. So here’s a static presentation … read more
AJBlog: Straight|Up Published 2016-04-25

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A Decade Of Dances Gone Viral

“Thanks to social media, short videos of these dances – sometimes incidentally – spread quickly and inspire a rash of copycats. At once silly and profound, these dance phenomena demonstrate the speed at which something can unexpectedly go from being an inside joke among friends (often teen-agers in cities) to a universal dog whistle for joy.” (video)

When All Music Is Just Music You Get… Big Ears

“Many attendees had the happily disoriented look of people who are accustomed to being considered freaks and suddenly find themselves part of the gang. None were more blissed-out than the contemporary-composition types, who endure scornful dismissal within the classical field and outside it. At Big Ears, composers serve as a center of gravity, a point of reference.”