“Theater buffs often get a secret little thrill as they surf TV’s hour-long drama series: The opening credits frequently include the names of some of America’s best playwrights,” including David Mamet, Jon Robin Baitz and Eric Overmyer. Theater critic Lawson Taitte and media critic Tom Maurstad discuss the reasons for the crossover trend and its implications for both media.
Tag: 11.18.06
Thai Officials Threaten Opera Ban Over Bad Luck
A Thai composer says government officials threatened to ban his opera just before it was due to open. “The composer said officials told him that any misfortunes which befell those in power would be blamed on the opera.”
London Orchestra Gets Salonen
Finnish conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen is joining London’s Philharmonia Orchestra as its principal conductor beginning next year. He will succeed Christoph von Dohnanyi, who has held the post since 1997. Salonen will keep his post as music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Foreign Invasion – Outsiders Take French Book Prizes
This fall, four out of six of France’s top novel prizes went to non-French writers. So what does this mean about the state of French literature?
De Kooning For $137 Million
Hedge fund billionaire Steven Cohen “bought the 1952-53 oil on canvas, ‘Woman III,’ directly from the entertainment magnate and megacollector David Geffen, who in the last two months has emerged as equally prolific in selling his contemporary masterpieces. It is the last painting in de Kooning’s ‘Women’ series still in private hands.”
Questions Mount About Goya Theft
The painting was stolen as it was being driven from Toledo to the Guggenheim in New York. “The likelihood that the thief or thieves knew that a valuable painting was on the truck and were aware of its location led the authorities to conclude that whoever stole the painting had obtained precise information about the contents and route of the truck, even though such details are closely held at the two museums involved — the Toledo Museum of Art and the Guggenheim — and among employees at the art shipper. Law enforcement authorities did not identify the shipper.”
Ruth Brown, 78
The pioneering singer died in Las Vegas of a heart attack. “Feisty, joyful and possessing the perfect balance of sugar and salt, Brown’s voice took African American pop into the rhythmically expressive, emotionally direct rhythm-and-blues era.”