Richard Linklater’s new long-term project is a silm adaptation of Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along, which traces, in reverse, the gradual, bitter estrangement of three longtime friends. Starring are Blake Jenner, Ben Platt, and Beanie Feldstein, the latter two themselves close friends since high school. – Los Angeles Times
Tag: 08.30.19
Actor Valerie Harper, 80
“[She] amassed four Emmys during her time as Rhoda [Morgenstern] — three for her sidekick role on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, which aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977, and one as the lead character in the spinoff Rhoda, which ran from 1974 to 1978 on the same network. She continued to act on television and in the theater for more than three decades, her stage roles ranging from the flamboyant actress Tallulah Bankhead to former Israeli prime minister Golda Meir. But she was forever known as Rhoda — a reflection of the preservative power of reruns, and the enduring appeal of her signature character.” – The Washington Post
Art Dealer Who Kicked, Choked, And Banged Head Of His Girlfriend Sentenced To 20 Days In Rehab
London dealer Joseph Nahmad, 31 and part of a powerful multibillion-dollar family network of art dealers, got a suspended sentence of 14 weeks along with the rehab order from Judge Jeffrey Pegden, who told Nahmad, “There are mitigating factors. You are of good character and have taken steps to address your offending behaviour.” As compensation for her injuries, Pegden also ordered Nahmad to pay his victim £750 ($906). – The Daily Mail (UK)
What Does The Kennedy Center’s New “Reach” Want To Be?
Phil Kennicott: “When the Kennedy Center was built, it was designed to fulfill a specific sets of needs and functions. Now it is has been expanded to enfold an unknown number of new functions and needs, in spaces that are flexible and multipurpose. On any given evening, the old building hums with activity, despite its dated interiors and problematic furnishings. In five years, let’s put the new building to the same test. If the majority of its new spaces are active and throwing off sparks, it will be a success. If not, the problem will almost certainly be a lack of institutional foresight rather than architectural planning.” – Washington Post
The New Urban Crisis And How US Cities Rank
The original urban crisis of the 1960s and 1970s was a crisis of economic failure, spurred on by the movement of people, jobs, and industry to the suburbs; the hollowing out of city economics; and the concentration of poverty and economic disadvantage in urban centers. The New Urban Crisis is a crisis of success, brought on by the movement of affluent and educated people, and of knowledge and tech jobs, back to the urban center. – CityLab
How Stage Actors Make Their (Now-Mandatory) Audition Videos
The days of the in-person first audition (and maybe even second) are over, writes Melissa Errico: even well-established performers like herself and Raúl Esparza have to send in videos of themselves reading any part they’re trying out for. “How does an actor knock on the door when there is no door anymore?” – The New York Times
Soprano Slams Critic Who Body-Shamed Her. Critic Makes Snotty Reply. Bad Idea.
Kathryn Lewek just finished a run as Eurydice in Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld at the Salzburg Festival, one of her first performances since giving birth earlier this year. After a few German and Austrian critics, as she puts it, “[wrote about] postpartum mom-bod instead of reviewing the show,” Lewek took to Twitter to call them out (not by name). Manuel Brug of Die Welt (who had described Lewek and her colleagues as “fat women in tight corsets spreading their legs”) responded to Lewek’s complaint by writing, “If she is so sensitive why is she showing herself the whole time in this corset?” And the just wrath of the Twitterverse rained down upon him. – BBC