Michael Billington: “[O]ne reason for the attacks is the entrenched American view that visual pyrotechnics and razzle-dazzle are the special province of the musical. … It’s permissible for Wicked or Legally Blonde to deploy expressionist techniques but, on Broadway at least, plays are expected to conform to the realist rules.”
Tag: 05.05.10
Ten Thoughts On Picasso’s Record-Smashing Nude
Peter Plagens: “7. Money stories in the art world translate something that most people don’t understand (e.g., why is Picasso considered all that good?) into something they do understand–a sum of money. The bigger the sum of money, the ‘sexier’ the story in the bargain.”
Brits Thrive On B’way As Americans Falter In West End
Although La Cage aux Folles, from London’s Menier Chocolate Factory, “could even beat last year’s [Tony Awards] triumph, when Billy Elliot waltzed off with ten awards, the most intriguing underlying trend is the continuing success of British plays going to New York — and the relative failure of the traffic in the opposite direction.”
Google To Start Selling E-Books This Summer
“The company is hoping to distinguish Google Editions in the marketplace by allowing users to access books through a broad range of websites using an array of devices, unlike rivals that are focused on proprietary devices and software. … It will also allow book retailers–even independent shops–to partner with Google Editions on their own sites, sharing the revenue.”
Movie Ticket Prices Rise Steeply, And 3-D Is To Blame
“The National Assn. of Theatre Owners reported Tuesday that the average ticket price in the first quarter was $7.95, up 8% from $7.35 in the same period last year. That’s the largest year-over-year increase since the association started tracking quarterly ticket price data in 2001.”
Angry Strikes At Italy’s Opera Houses Over Partial Privatization Plan
“Opera houses across Italy are canceling performances because of sputtering strikes over efforts by the government to reorganize their administration. Musicians, fearful that a result will be cuts in pay, are organizing free concerts in support of themselves and other opera house workers.” Among the casualties is La Scala’s Simon Boccanegra with Domingo and Barenboim.
Jane Siberry’s Worldwide Living-Room Tour
That headline is not figurative: the Canadian singer-songwriter is spending this spring and summer playing dozens of concerts to crowds in the dozens in individual fans’ homes (and the occasional café-bar) in Great Britain and Europe. “If you miss me,” she e-mailed to a fan in an out-of-the-way place, “invite me to your living room and find, say, 30 people at 30 dollars.”
Art Snubs Mammon In The Tony Nominations
“On Tuesday, though, the 2010 Tony Award nominations drew a sharp distinction between commercial interests and artistic success, with recognition going to several shows with few, if any, stars and small audiences.”