Tag: 07.20.00

REAL REALITY?

“Though it was never a part of the show’s design, ‘Big Brother’ is broadcasting in prime time many of the unresolved fears that stretch across the nation’s racial divide. The series already is being labeled groundbreaking television, with the raw footage captured by the cameras that film around the clock generating heated discussions in cafes and Internet chat rooms across the country.” – Los Angeles Times 07/20/00

BACK IN HOT WATER

Director Roman Polanski – exiled from the U.S. since a 1978 conviction for statutory rape – is now being sued by Artisan Entertainment which claims he siphoned $1 million in VAT refunds into a private bank account after the release of the film “The Ninth Gate.” – Sydney Morning Herald 07/20/00

BALLET COMPANY SETTLES SUIT WITH DANCER

The National Ballet of Canada and dancer Kimberly Glasco have reached a settlement on her charges of wrongful dismissal. Glasco gets money and won’t return to the company as a judge had ordered. Glasco sued for unlawful dismissal when the National Ballet decided not to renew her contract after it expired in June last year. Glasco claimed she’d been fired illegally for speaking out as a dancer representative on the board of directors against artistic director James Kudelka’s new Swan Lake.” – CBC

THE BOLSHOI BALLET IS BACK –

– in New York after a 10-year absence. “By any cultural standard the return is a major event. The engagement is sold out: the company’s mystique remains intact. It is no secret, however, that the Bolshoi has had its ups and downs. Not only do aesthetics change, but reality intrudes as well. More than 20 years of turmoil within the company, a turnover in directors and an adjustment to a society itself in turmoil will take its toll. – New York Times

A TWINKLE IN YOUR EYE, A TWINKLE IN YOUR TOE

In 1932 the Nicholas brothers were the youngest dancers ever to showcase at the Cotton Club and the first performers allowed to mix with a white audience. They danced with George Balanchine, Gene Kelly, and can count Gregory Hines and Mikhail Baryshnikov as some of their biggest fans.  After a life of tap dancing around racial barriers, chasing women, and approaching life with gusto, Harold Nicholas died this month at age 79. – LA Weekly

USHERING IN THE TRUTH

Want to know the real theatre scoop? Talk to the people who see it all – the ushers. “Indeed, perhaps no one has seen the changes in theatre-and by extension, some of the cultural shifts in the society at large-more vividly than those doughty black-clad ushers who’ve been moving up and down the aisles, flashlights in hand, for the long haul.” – Backstage

MR. LINCOLN HAS OTHER PLANS

Philadelphia has a thriving industry of “historical look-alikes” – people who dress up as Washington or Jefferson or Lincoln for parties or events. With the Republican National Convention coming to town soon, business figured to be booming for the bogus Abes, Toms and Georges. But it seems that Republicans are last-minute partiers, and now many of the portrayers are booked for other gigs. – Philadelphia Inquirer