Poor reviews, philosophical disagreements, and controversies over preferred seating have plagued the New York Public Theater’s famous Shakespeare In The Park series in recent years, and the troupe may be rethinking its strategy. Free performances may soon be a thing of the past, for one thing. Still, Public Theater is debt-free for the first time in years, and the company appears to have plenty of options.
Tag: 07.11.04
All Those Museums In Search Of An Identity
“Just as New York is shaking off its sorrows and crawling out of debt, making new claims on the world stage with a bid for the Olympics, our museums seem to be going through weird convulsions, falling apart, abandoning their collections, being hijacked by trustees or suffering delusions of grandeur. This is their most precarious moment in many years.” From the “perennially insecure” Whitney to the dumbed-down Brooklyn Museum to the cash-strapped Guggenheim, it seems that none of the city’s venerable art institutions are safe from the new malaise.
A Good Year In Philly, Mostly
It was a good season for classical music in Philadelphia, but there are more than a few storm clouds on the horizon. The city’s music critics go over the good (“Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia music director Ignat Solzhenitsyn went several extra miles with Shostakovich’s darker-than-dark Symphony No. 14”), the bad (“the elimination of the city’s arts and culture office by Mayor [John] Street”), and the profoundly worrisome (“Now that most listeners have tired of talking about the acoustics of the Kimmel… let’s not forget that the city spent $265 million to build a great orchestra hall and didn’t get one.”)
Gehry’s New Chicago Landmark
“It’s hard to say which part of Frank Gehry’s Jay Pritzker Pavilion, opening Friday as the $50 million centerpiece of Chicago’s new Millennium Park, is the most striking. Is it the bandshell itself, with its 50-foot steel-and-glass doors that roll in and out from the sides? Is it the almost baroque proscenium… that frames the stage with a 120-foot-tall fantasia of billowing shapes clad in brushed stainless steel? Or is it the metal trellis that crisscrosses like a vast spider-web above the heads of the potentially 11,000-member audience? Whatever the answer, it’s clear that many people are happy with the combined result.”
Got The Picture?
“The number of illustrated books for older children and adults seems mysteriously to have dwindled in recent years. Publishers argue, very reasonably, that it makes books more expensive. Readers of fantasy fiction have their imagery packaged for them in the all-powerful special effects of the big screen. But there are signs now that the illustrated novel, which aims to elicit a more leisurely, intimate response, is due for a comeback.”
Barnes-Lovers Gear Up For Battle
In September a judge will hear further arguments about whether the Barnes Collection ought to be allowed to move to downtown Philadelphia. “On the face of it, opponents of the move appear overmatched by the trustees, the deep-pocketed foundations subsidizing the plan, the Philadelphia tourist industry, and many cultural leaders. But they have begun to mobilize for what might be the Barnes loyalists’ last chance to keep the foundation’s collection in Merion and its school intact. The mobilization has taken two forms, fund-raising and public relations.”
The Incredible Shrinking Band
Band breakups are often spectacularly dirty. But “the music world — full of notoriously volatile and dysfunctional types who have long preferred to rock it out, not talk it out — has become more receptive to therapists and their ministrations. Though the notion of seeking help remains one of rock’s dirty little secrets, some of these therapists have become a regular part of band retinues.”
Morris: Musicians Have Lousy Rhythm!
Mark Morris is known as a particularly musical choreographer. And he has some Particularly strong opinions about musicians. At Tanglewood this summer he has musicians up dancing. “This experience makes musicians better. Way better! The thing is, I’m the enemy of the conservatory, because it kills music. Nobody gives a damn about intonation. It’s not about that. Imagination has been wrung out of these people, and it’s tragic. Really, musicians have lousy rhythm.”