Musicals mean far more than we want them to, says David Benedict, who loves Singin’ in the Rain. “It is not that musicals cannot work through narrative, it is that they choose a richer, more expressively full-blooded route consciously abandoning realism for idealistic fantasy.”
Tag: 10.19.11
Who Will Control The Future? The Big Four Start Their (Tech) Engines
Who’s going to win all of our info – Google, Facebook, Amazon or Apple? Farhad Manjoo says, “The four American companies that have come to define 21st-century information technology and entertainment are on the verge of war.”
Among The Intellectuals On A Retreat At Tolstoy’s Estate
“And so, having known my two fellows less than the three minutes it takes to gather outside our barracks, we get straight down to it: Tolstoy versus Dostoyevsky – an analysis of the relative strengths and weaknesses of our two beloved giants with particular reference to a suspected solipsism on the part of Tolstoy’s characters.”
England’s Northern Ballet Tries ‘Sponsor A Dancer” Scheme To Save Jobs
“A Yorkshire ballet company facing the loss of a quarter of its dancers due to funding cuts is appealing for people to sponsor a dancer in a bid to save jobs.”
Creating A Portable, Pop-Up Theatre-In-The-Round
The professional touring company Paines Plough is building an adaptable 100- to 150-seat tiered amphitheatre. “It flat-packs into a lorry and can fit into anywhere, from large theatres to studio spaces, eventually touring to village halls, schools, warehouses and parks.”
Warhol Foundations Ends Authentication Board
“In a statement, the foundation said the move reflects its intent to shift focus toward maximizing “grant making and other charitable activities.” In recent years, the foundation has been involved in legal disputes over its authentication process for works whose owners said they were by Warhol.”
Neuroscience Versus Free Choice
“How could a choice that is caused be free? Wouldn’t that mean that something made it happen? On the other hand, how could a choice that was not caused be free? If a choice has no cause at all, it is simply a random event, something that just occurred out of the blue. Why say that a choice is mine if it doesn’t arise from something occurring in my mind (or brain)? And if a choice isn’t mine, how can we say I made it?”
NPR Opera Host Fired For Her Involvement in “Occupy” Movement
At issue is whether NPR feels her activities on behalf of the overtly partisan group are acceptable in light of her role as host of NPR’s “World of Opera.” NPR insists that it is impartial, but its politics have been much debated the last year.
Theatre And The King James Bible – They Just Go Together
English theatre has hardly been cordial to religion in recent years, but stages all over the country are seeing tributes to the Good Book in its quadracentenary year. Why?
Chicago Symphony Posts First Deficit In Five Years
“Riccardo Muti’s first season as CSO music director saw a record level of fund-raising success. But his two extended absences for illness, and an unpre cedented number of cancellations by solo recitalists and an entire sold-out visit by the Cleveland Orchestra meant lost revenues that resulted in the CSO’s first deficit since 2006.”