For all that composers like Jerome Kern hated jazz and pop interpretations of their work — work generally created, after all, for specific scenes and characters in specific musical plays — Rob Kapilow notes that “it is precisely the freedom to take these canonical works — these ‘standards’ — and continually reinterpret them in the multiplicity of musical languages that have evolved over time that has kept the repertoire alive.” – The New York Times
Tag: 11.17.19
When Contemporary Theatre Struggles To Keep Up With The News
When a play lands can be as crucial as the quality of the writing and the rigour of the dramaturgy. In a ‘new play culture’, always seeking ever newer writers, a play whose timing is just a bit off and fails to chime with the zeitgeist is unlikely to get a second chance. – The Stage
Iran Shuts Down The Internet Inside The Country
The government is apparently seeing to silence protestors and quell unrest. So how does a country like Iran switch off internet to a population of more than 80 million? It’s not an easy thing to do. – Wired
How Women In The Director’s Chair Can Benefit The Women Starring In The Movies
Both Constance Wu and Mindi Kaling say their most recent films – Hustlers for Wu and Late Night for Kaling – benefited from having women as directors. Kaling about Wu’s Hustlers: “Nothing felt exploitative. … As [a] woman, I love seeing beautiful women dance, but the way that [‘Hustlers’] was shot, there was nothing prurient, which I thought was really refreshing.” – Variety
Figurative Painting Is Dead, Right?
Not when it’s in the hands of artists of color, especially Black women. The chief curator at Whitechapel Gallery says that, for many artists, “painting minority ethnic subjects was a way to redress the lack of diversity in major institutions and to experiment with the limits of the form.” – The Guardian (UK)
Terry O’Neill, British Photographer Of The Beatles And A Lot More Celebrities, Has Died At 81
O’Neill photographed everyone from the Beatles to Brigitte Bardot, but, he said, the Queen was the only person who ever made him nervous. “I researched some horse-racing jokes to break the ice and, thank God, she laughed,” he said. – The Guardian (UK)
Post-Moonves CBS Is Doing Better, Right? Uh, Two Writers Just Quit Over A Sexual Harassment Complaint
Right after two writers on Carol’s Second Act spoke with HR about inappropriate behavior from executive producer David Hunt (who is married to the star of the show), “they were told that going forward, only the credited writer on each episode would get to pitch new versions of jokes that flopped during taping. Haskins and Halpern say that they had been planning to streamline production in this manner since before Gupta spoke up. But Gupta, Magee, and two other people who worked on the show got the distinct impression the production changes were designed to keep Gupta and Hunt away from each other.” – Slate
The Artist Who ‘Kidnapped’ A Banksy Statue Says Sotheby’s Is Selling A Stolen Banksy
Did Banksy or Banksy’s associates re-steal the ‘kidnapped” statue? Why aren’t the police interested? And how did those who are selling it at Sotheby’s get into the artist’s garden? – The Observer (UK)
Indie Hit ‘The Farewell’ Should Totally Win Oscars, Right? But Which Oscars?
The writer/director of the hit indie, which played to surprisingly robust crowds this summer, says that it was a difficult process to get her film made – no one could figure out where to categorize it. For the Academy Awards, suddenly there’s the same issue: “Should the movie be categorized as a comedy or drama? And with its mixture of Mandarin and English, should it be defined as a foreign-language film or an American indie?” And can the actor who played the grandmother please get nominated? – The New York Times