“Whenever anyone tries to argue that theatre shouldn’t ‘be political,’ I like to tell them the story of A Game at Chess. Thomas Middleton’s last play, which premiered in 1624, is mostly unknown outside of academia today; in the seventeenth century, however, it made quite a splash and resulted in the closure of the Globe theatre.”
Tag: 08.10.17
What Music Did Alexander Hamilton Listen To?
“While rap aficionados and theater nerds have exhaustively cataloged the rich referential web of Mr. Miranda’s “Hamilton” score, little attention has been paid to the show’s engagement with the music that Alexander Hamilton would have known in his lifetime.”
Are Social Justice Warriors Making The World An Uglier Place?
“From declaring that one should interrogate one’s musical tastes for classism to fretting about yellow face in opera to musing as to whether a man can write a novel about rape culture, in the hands of the social justice warriors, artistic and cultural criticism is increasingly less about aesthetics and more about virtue signaling by the critic. Like all other fundamentalists, these secular descendants of the Puritans are so preoccupied with enforcing their rigid morality that they’ve forgotten the importance of beauty and creativity.”
Facebook Watch Is Not A Threat To YouTube
It is, argues Will Oremus, a threat to Twitter.
The Chopin Paradox
“The Polish composer and pianist Frédéric Chopin was no doubt regarded as a one-of-a-kind virtuoso. Which is peculiar, in a way, since he also stole freely and transparently from other artists. [Sara Fishko traces] the various influences that went into Chopin’s signature style.” (audio)
Why English Is So Rich In (Or Afflicted With) Puns
Big vocabulary, flexible syntax, lots of homophones – perhaps only Chinese is better suited for wordplay. Indeed, in the U.S. an entire circuit of punning tournaments has arisen. Says one frequent competitor, “I sometimes get embarrassed by how seriously I take this.”
If You’re All About Creative Placemaking, Best Consider The Place – And Now It Seems To Be Rural
As for this year’s finalists for ArtPlace grants, 34 percent hailed from rural areas. ArtPlace says it’s noticed an “increase in regional projects; many working collaboratively across adjacent rural communities.” It also said that proposed projects reflected a “sustained interest in water projects that, this year, focused on its use and preservation,” and requests for improving or introducing broadband access to rural communities to “increase economic opportunity.”
Met Museum Website Has A Digital Hit
“The Met’s website has seen a 64 percent increase in image downloads since Open Access was implemented, as well as a 17 percent bump in traffic to the online collection. Users who download photographs are now spending five times as long on the site.”
Talking To The Folks Who Do One Of The Hardest Jobs On Broadway: Understudy
Peter Marks meets Donna Migliaccio, Patti LuPone’s understudy in War Paint, and the subs from Come From Away, who each have to have five roles committed to memory.
Venice’s Rebellion Against Tourists Is Spreading Across Europe
“With the continent sweltering under a heatwave nicknamed Lucifer, tempers have been boiling over, too, as a wave of anti-tourism protests take place in some of Europe’s most popular destinations.” Demonstrations have taken place from Dubrovnik to Barcelona and beyond, with cruise ships and Airbnb being particular targets of anger.