Leaving aside Shakespeare and Christmas plays (which you sort of have to do), the leading character on American stages this season is a foul-mouthed sock puppet.
Tag: 09.21.16
The 20 (Really 21) Most-Produced Playwrights In America 2016-17 (Not Counting Shakespeare Or Sondheim)
“American Theatre started counting the Top 20 playwrights in 2014 and so far, 2016-17 is the most diverse season yet, with 8 playwrights of color and 6 women represented, an increase from last year (with 3 and 5, respectively).”
Suzanne Farrell Ballet To Disband Next Year
“The Suzanne Farrell Ballet, which for the past 15 years has showcased the works of Farrell’s mentor, George Balanchine, and which is bankrolled by the Kennedy Center, will shut down after a final series of performances in December 2017, the center has announced.”
In The Age Of Trump, Can The New African-American Museum Reach The People Who Need To Hear Its Message?
Philip Kennicott: “The basic conservatism of the new museum, its Smithsonian look and feel, and all the trust that name inspires, will help many visitors grapple with the obvious, ugly and manifest truths of racism and its impact on black culture. But … in the years since the museum was authorized by Congress, perhaps the biggest change in American society is how many people have become comfortable with staring at the unpleasant and undeniable and saying, ‘That’s not what I see.'”
When The African-American Museum Presents ‘African-American Music’, What Exactly Will That Mean?, Asks Anne Midgette
“When it comes to musical performance, the Museum’s tacit mandate is to spotlight all of African American music – which is like trying to put a frame around a living person and call it a portrait. It’s tough to pick ‘African American’ music out of the fabric of American musical history, of which it is an essential, even dominant part. Concerts at the Oprah Winfrey Theater could conceivably range from opera to hip-hop, jazz to country, R&B to classical.”
The Long Arguments And Hard Work Behind An American Girl’s First Black Doll
“In 1993, the doll company set out to introduce its first black character. All she had to do was represent the entire history of black America.”
Top Posts From AJBlogs 09.21.16
Four Forms of Inquiry
In my last post, I shared four forms of speech that define a richer and clearer palette of conversation in meetings (or in life). The two I find most absent or abused … in purposeful conversation are inquiring and framing. So I wanted to dig into each of them in turn. read more
AJBlog: The Artful Manager Published 2016-09-21
As it is? Pinter’s at his best in No Man’s Land
If you’ve ever doubted that Harold Pinter deserved his 2005 Nobel Prize, take yourself to see Sean Mathias’ production of No Man’s Land with the duo of theatrical knights, Sir Ian McKellen (as Spooner) and Sir Patrick Stewart (as Hirst) at Wyndham’s Theatre. … read more
AJBlog: Plain English Published 2016-09-21
“Polemical History Lesson”: Illustrated Companion to my WSJ Piece on Brooklyn’s American Rehang
There’s a difference between displaying political art and politicizing art. As I argue in “A Polemical History Lesson”, my piece in today’s Wall Street Journal, the Brooklyn Museum’s rehang and reinterpretation of its American art collection crosses that line. … read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrl Published 2016-09-21
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Best-Selling Historian David McCullough Wins First-Ever Lenfest Spirit Of The American Revolution Award
The author of Truman, John Adams, and 1776 has received two Pulitzers, two National Book Awards, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The new $25,000 prize “will be given to those who contribute to the public’s understanding of the Revolution.”