“People in the theater are the left. I’m always interested in skewering, examining and implicating the people in the room because they are the ones that showed up for the performance. Once you implicate them, then they actually start thinking about what their position is. I’m doing the monologue and if I’m telling you, ‘You agree with me, don’t you?’ and you say ‘I do,’ and I say ‘I do too, I feel so good about that,’ that’s not useful.”
Tag: 07.07.16
To Prepare For This Play About Gun Violence, The Cast Went To A Gun Range And Learned To Shoot
“It was important we expose them to other points of view, but also the experience of shooting. So we took everyone to a gun range in South Philly,” said Ginger Dayle, author of the play Roseburg. “We had reserved the range in advance, but the day we showed up happened to be the day after the Orlando shootings. It made us realize just how important it is to talk about this issue.”
For The First Time, Two Major American Museums To Stage A Joint, Simultaneous Retrospective
“The 60-year career of Jasper Johns … will be the subject of an unprecedented simultaneous exhibition in the fall of 2020, when the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City jointly present a full retrospective covering every aspect of the 86-year-old artist’s career.”
Steinway’s Super-Skilled Craftspeople, At Work At The Mothership In Queens
“With Steinway’s blessing, [photographer Christopher] Payne spent time in virtually every corner of the large factory, from the foundry where the iron is poured to the mill where the lumber is cut. And though he came to possess a strong technical understanding of how these elements come together to form precision musical instruments, he said, the transformation never ceased to strike him as an act of magic.”
Bolshoi Ballet’s New Bosses Want More Dance, Less Drama – And Fewer Tours Abroad
Says the ballet’s new artistic director, Makhar Vaziev, “We think we are not just any dance company but a state institution that represents Russia.” Adds Bolshoi general director Vladimir Urin, “We often refuse offers to go and dance abroad. We want to dance in Russia, that is our objective, that is what the Russian state pays us to do.”
Veteran Broadway Actor John McMartin Dead At 86
“He was a favorite of some of the most famous creators in modern theatre history, including Stephen Sondheim, Harold Prince and Bob Fosse. Mr. McMartin’s most famous stage role was that of Benjamin Stone, the jaded, regretful titan of business in Stephen Sondheim’s multi-layered masterpiece of show-business melancholy, Follies. … A close second was the original Sweet Charity, in which he plays the meek Oscar Lindquist, with whom Gwen Verdon’s title character almost ends happily ever after. He recreated the role in the film version opposite Shirley MacLaine.”
Top Posts From AJBlogs 07.07.16
Climate-Control Crisis Closes Brooklyn Museum
The Brooklyn Museum dropped this bombshell in my inbox at 5:23 p.m.: … read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrl Published 2016-07-07
His Kingdom for a Horse: Another Bad Brexit Deal?
Please don’t mention hypocrisy or the apparent need of all current politicians to tease the truth just a little in pursuit of power. It was both uplifting and depressing to see Ralph Fiennes play Richard III in Islington while we were still reeling from the Brexit lunacy. … read more
AJBlog: Plain English Published 2016-07-07
So you want to see a show?
Here’s my list of recommended Broadway, off-Broadway, and out-of-town shows, updated weekly. In all cases, I gave these shows favorable reviews (if sometimes qualifiedly so) in The Wall Street Journal when they opened. … read more
AJBlog: About Last Night Published 2016-07-07
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Theatre Historical Society of America Plans Move From Chicago To Pittsburgh (But Members Are Protesting)
At the society’s annual meeting at the Palmer House last week, that decision topped a list of complaints by members who say the organization has been hijacked by its staff, while dedicated volunteers, historically integral to its operation, have been “thrown under the bus,” as one member put it.
Victoria & Albert Museum Named “Museum Of The Year”
“In 2015, the V&A enjoyed a record-breaking year for the establishment, pulling in 3.9 million visitors, and 14.5 million visitors online. This success has been largely due to a major gallery restoration project and sell-out exhibitions such as Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty, in celebration of the innovative designer who died in 2010, which attracted a record-breaking 493,043 visitors from 87 countries.”
Subversive Obscure Opera Choices Taking Berlin By Storm And Reviving A Company
“The openly gay Melbourne native with a Jewish background has turned the opera scene in the German capital — not to mention traditional business acumen — on its head since he took over the Komische Oper four years ago.”