That fashion statement, writes Chris Jones, was the breathing tube and oxygen device that Terrence McNally wore onstage as he accepted his lifetime achievement Tony, and his speech — as both a major American playwright and a survivor of the worst days of the AIDS epidemic — “was the most beautiful recounting of one of this nation’s most distinguished artistic careers.” – Chicago Tribune
Tag: 06.12.19
Sylvia Miles, Flamboyant And Party-Loving Actress, Dead At 94
“[She] earned two Academy Award nominations (for Midnight Cowboy and Farewell, My Lovely) and decades of glowing reviews for her acting before drawing equal attention for her midlife transition to constant partygoer and garishly flamboyant dresser.” – The New York Times
Ending A Turbulent Few Years, Berlin’s Volksbühne Appoints A New Director
The playwright and director René Pollesch will take the reins at one of Germany’s most important theaters in 2021. He succeeds Chris Dercon, formerly the director of London’s Tate Modern art gallery, who lasted only six months in the job in the face of regular protests over his presence there. “Those included personal attacks — feces were left in front of Mr. Dercon’s office at one point — and an occupation of the theater by left-wing activists.” – The New York Times
World’s Richest Prize For A Novel Goes To First-Time Novelist In Boise
Emily Ruskovich’s Idaho has won the €100,000 International Dublin Literary Award, for which books are nominated by libraries around the world. She said that when she first got news of the prize, she thought she was hallucinating. – The Guardian
New Online Platform For African Writers And Musicians To Reach The Global Market
A Q&A with Chidi and Chika Nwaogu, twin brothers from Nigeria and the creators and chiefs of Publiseer. As Porter Anderson observes,”What’s at issue … is the question of where and how emerging markets are being surfaced in African publishing today. A part of the premise of the program is that ‘digital transformation is allowing these developing publishing markets to leapfrog into the future,’ something that a combination book-and-music platform’s creators surely know something about.” – Publishing Perspectives
We Tried An Entirely Different Model Of Arts Criticism, And Here’s What We Learned
“We laid out some pretty bold premises when The Commons Crit, a collaboration with Carolina Performing Arts’ Commons festival, began. Here’s how they look from the other side.” – Indy Week (Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC)
Bernard Haitink Announces His Retirement
The 90-year-old conductor gives his farewell to his birthplace, Amsterdam, this weekend; following one August concert with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe in Lucerne, he will close out his 65-year career late this summer with the Vienna Philharmonic at the BBC Proms and the Salzburg and Lucerne Festivals. And what will he do after? “Just live.” (in Dutch; Google Translate version here) – De Volkskrant (Netherlands)
Samoa Bans Elton John Biopic For Gay Content; Activists Say To Samoa, “Oh Puh-Leeze, Miss Thing’
“The banning of Rocketman, a biographic film about the life of musician Elton John, in Samoa has prompted criticism by human rights activists of ‘selective morality’ in a country where transgender women are widely accepted.” – The Guardian