“Mel Brooks’ The Producers, which once looked as if it would run forever, suddenly has lost its footing. In the last few weeks, the bottom has fallen out of the box office, and the cast has been playing to half-empty houses. A show that once grossed $1 million a week is now pulling in about $450,000 – not quite enough to cover its running costs.”
Tag: 09.27.06
Itsy Bitsy Bikini Guy: I’m Not Dead!
“The man who co-wrote the song ‘Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini’ had the unsettling experience this week of reading his own obituary — the result of an impostor who went through life claiming to be the author of the 1960s smash hit.”
Cuts Put Canadian Museums At Risk
Canada’s new Conservative government announced this weeks that it would be making major cuts in the Heritage Department, “$4.6-million of which would be coming from the Museums Assistance Program (MAP) over the next two years.” The announcement has rocked the country’s regional museums, which are already underfunded, and will be in danger of closing if new revenue streams can’t be found to replace the federal money.
Didn’t You Just Give Us That Money?
So who’s behind the Canadian culture cuts? That would be finance minister Jim Flaherty, and Martin Knelman says that Flaherty seems to be doubling back on his own word. “In the course of slashing $4.6 million from the Museum Assistance Program of Ottawa’s heritage ministry — not to avoid a deficit but to fluff up a surplus — Flaherty seemed to be grabbing money from one culture-world pocket while only midway through putting money into the other pocket. In effect, he has taken back a large part (close to 25 per cent) of the increased funding he promised to the cultural sector last spring in his first budget — not a dime of which has yet made its way to anyone in the arts.”
German Leader: Beware Of Censorship
“German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned against ‘self-censorship out of fear’ on Wednesday, after a Berlin opera house cancelled a production of Mozart’s Idomeneo over security concerns.”
The Measure Of A Click
As the internet continues to overtake television as the dominant entertainment medium of the era, technology to measure online viewership is becoming ever more sophisticated. “With TV, you know who went in your front door, what they bought and how long they stayed. On the Web, tools that monitor your site can tell you not only who visited and what they bought, but which aisles they visited, what they touched there, how long they lingered, where they came from before the store and where they went after.”
Berlin’s Skyline Enforcer To Retire
Hans Stinmann, the controversial civic planner who some see as Berlin’s post-Wall savior, and others deride as a shortsighted pragmatist, is retiring at age 65 from his post as Berlin’s building director. “The projects he oversaw cover more than 741 acres in the post-Wall center of Berlin… Concerned that uncontrolled development would produce a forest of skyscrapers, Mr. Stimmann set building heights of 72 to 98 feet, or about six to eight stories tall.”
Two UK Galleries Team Up For Big Acquisition
“The Tate in London and the National Galleries of Scotland in Edinburgh announced yesterday that they were jointly trying to acquire some 700 works of contemporary art from Anthony d’Offay, the retired London dealer. If the millions of dollars needed can be raised, the acquisition will represent the largest addition of contemporary art either institution has received.” The two institutions have agreed in principle to share the art, but the details of that arrangement remain to be worked out.
Northwest Curveball
When Amy Schwarz Moretti, the young, talented concertmaster of the Oregon Symphony, announced that she was leaving the ensemble after only two years, it was a stunner, even to her close colleagues in the orchestra. But Moretti explains that her departure, which will see her become director and resident professor at a new music school in Georgia, will allow her more time to develop her career as a soloist and chamber musician. “You never know what life throws at you. This is a curveball I didn’t want to pass up.”
Another Orchestra Dives Into Online Retail
The Royal Scottish National Orchestra has become the latest classical ensemble to embrace the digital age, forming a partnership with online retailer Classical World to offer downloadable versions of almost 60,000 recordings. “Live streaming of concerts and new recordings may also be added soon to the service, which costs around £8 per month. The price includes unlimited streaming of all audio tracks and up to eight downloads per month.”