“As representatives from the League of American Theaters and Producers and Local One, the stagehands’ union, continue their contract negotiations, it remains unclear what Broadway will look like this time next week.” A deal could be reached (unlikely,) talks could continue in open-ended fashion (possible,) or the league could move to lock the stagehands out (very possible,) bringing Broadway to a potential standstill.
Tag: 09.26.07
Connecting Two Avant Gardes
Nico Muhly is not your standard issue composer. The New Yorker gained notoriety for helping Icelandic pop star Björk realize some of her unconventional musical ideas, and the experience seems to have informed his entire compositional style. “Muhly moves readily between the classical avant-garde and indie-pop worlds, interacting with the likes of Laurie Anderson and Grizzly Bear. He swoons not just to a Benjamin Britten passacaglia, but also to Final Fantasy. The distinction in his mind comes not so much from the music, but the scenes surrounding each.”
Because That’s Where They Keep The Money
Arts groups across the US are looking to the ever-expanding suburbs surrounding America’s cities for fresh audience, and new ways to bring performances to them, rather than expecting them to regularly trek into the urban core. The St. Paul Chamber Orchestra has even used a series of suburban concerts to revive its flagging season ticket base.
Another Concert Hall Plan For Atlanta
Atlanta’s Woodruff Arts Center is negotiating with the city’s transit commission for the purchase of a 6-acre plot of land which could become the new home of the Atlanta Symphony. The transit commission wants $40m for the parcel, but “whether parts of the original plan for the concert hall could be accommodated by the new site are part of the master planning that both sides are conducting.”
Eddins Reups In Edmonton
The Edmonton Symphony has extended the contract of popular music director William Eddins through the 2009-10 season. Eddins took the helm of the ESO in 2005, and has won critical raves for his programming choices and athletic podium style.
New Strategy For Miami PAC
“Leaders of [Miami’s] Carnival Center for the Performing Arts approved a pay increase for the chief executive and adopted a new business plan Tuesday to raise more private funds, add parking and improve programming.” The center wrapped up its first season $2.5m in the red, “primarily due to flagging ticket sales for Carnival Center-sponsored performances and touring Broadway shows.”
Mass MoCA Decides Not To Show Disputed Art
The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art decided Tuesday to dismantle an uncompleted Christoph Büchel work without opening it to the public. A judge had ruled last week that MassMoCA could show the work, ignoring Büchel’s objections. “Buchel, who has rarely spoken to the press, sent an e-mail to the Globe Tuesday night in response to the museum’s move. Pointedly referencing his dispute with Mass MoCA over the project’s budget, he offered to donate a ‘permanent installation’ that wouldn’t cost anything to pull off. He concluded the email with an image of the plan — a tweak of the museum’s rooftop signage to spell out ‘Mass CoMA’.”
Live From Times Square, The Met Opera
The Metropolitan Opera opens its season, simulcast to giant screens in Times Square. “That the show was simulcast to thousands more on screens in Lincoln Center Plaza and in Times Square just enhanced the sense of event, not to mention the pressure on the performers.”
Why Is It So Hard To Get Wagner’s “Ring” Right?
“Perhaps, in the same way that we have original Coca-Cola and the diet variety, we ought to have original Wagner and diet Wagner, too. Since Bayreuth is horribly oversubscribed, an extra Ring each year that has helmets with horns, breastplates, spears and, of course, real horses, would be a treat.”
Choosing A Maria For Canada
It worked in London, choosing the lead for a West End revival of “Sound of Music” through a TV talent show. So why not in Canada? “A new talent competition announced Tuesday by Mirvish Productions and CBC Television seeks a performer to play the part of Maria von Trapp in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music.”