“I went to the theatre last Thursday evening to see a touring musical with no real star names, no West End transfer on the cards, and no long-established fanatical following (all right, I admit it: I was seeing Flashdance). Usually with that kind of show a good crowd would be a three-quarters-full auditorium. This place was packed out. … All became clear as I heard one little girl aged about eight say to her grandmother: ‘So will this be like High School Musical?'”
Tag: 10.13.08
On The Election, Broadway Keeps Mum
“Looking for the American theatre to say something about the presidential election? You’ll be lucky. On screen, we have the imminent release of Oliver Stone’s W, while in music Madonna has made it clear that Sarah Palin is not welcome at any of her concerts. But on Broadway there’s barely a squeak.”
Is Genius Really The Province Of The Young?
“Genius, in the popular conception, is inextricably tied up with precocity–doing something truly creative, we’re inclined to think, requires the freshness and exuberance and energy of youth.” But why is youth the important factor?
Is Texting Changing Our Language?
“The texting function of the cell phone ought to have been the special province of the kind of people who figure out how to use the television remote to turn on the toaster: it’s a huge amount of trouble relative to the results. In some respects, texting is a giant leap backward in the science of communication. It’s more efficient than semaphore, maybe, but how much more efficient is it than Morse code?”
London Rail Rejects Art Depicting Commuter Falling On Tracks
“An artwork at St Pancras station that portrayed a commuter falling in front of a train driven by the Grim Reaper has been rejected at the last moment after the head of the company that commissioned it deemed it unsuitable.”
German Lit Critic Stuns Audience, Rejects Award
In front of rolling cameras and a surprised audience, he railed against German television, saying there was nothing on it worth watching. He said that maybe he should have made his opinions known earlier, but explained: “I didn’t know what was waiting for me here.”
Study: Music Pirates Would Quit If Warned
“Almost 75% of music pirates would stop if told to by their ISP, the survey of 1,500 UK consumers found. The research looked at the digital habits of consumers and found that the abundance of online music services was convincing many to go straight.”
Photographer William Claxon, 80
William Claxton, a celebrated photographer who worked with such entertainers as Bob Dylan and Frank Sinatra and who helped establish the organization that runs the Grammy Awards, has died.
Report: Recording Industry Turning The Corner On Piracy?
“Record companies should be able to increase revenues from digital sales amid a crackdown on illegal downloads and file-sharing, according to the report by Entertainment Media Research. Its latest Digital Music Survey, now in its fifth year, suggests that the industry should use growing opportunities to make money out of music online to make up for a long-term decline in CD sales.”
Kansas City’s Nelson-Atkins Museum Looks For Cost Savings
The museum is reduced public hours, “using compact fluorescent lighting where possible, decreasing pump and fan speeds as appropriate, and setting the boilers differently to lower gas usage. The changes were made to reduce operating costs, which the museum hopes to lower by 2 percent.”