“New York City Opera, which filed for bankruptcy protection last month after years of management missteps, won court approval to auction some assets, including costumes, wigs, props and about 60 musical instruments.”
Tag: 11.20.13
L.A. MOCA Names Its Lawyer Interim Director
“The board of the Museum of Contemporary Art on Wednesday appointed Maria Seferian, counsel to the museum since 2008, as interim director. In addition, the co-chairs of the board of trustees, TV writer and producer Maria Arena Bell and lawyer-producer David Johnson, will step down at the end of the year.”
Harlem’s National Black Theatre Struggling To Survive
The company, which just opened its 45th season and “catapulted local actors such as Samuel L. Jackson and Michael K. Williams (12 Years a Slave) to Hollywood fame, is facing a real-life drama of its own, from financial struggles, dwindling grants, and constant costs from maintaining its aging building on Fifth Ave.”
The Big Challenge Facing African-American Theater Companies
“Michael Dinwiddie, president of the Black Theatre Network, proclaimed black theater to be in a state of emergency ‘because of the perverse notion we have in this country that people are being reverse racist by creating their own cultural institutions.’ He went on to explain that ‘funders would rather give money to a white theater doing a black play than a black theater doing a multiracial play’.”
Four Lessons To Learn From Spider-Man
“How did a production with so much commercial potential” – a score by rock stars, direction by the genius behind The Lion King, a well-known title character with a ready-made fan base – “fail so spectacularly? … As Broadway buzzards circle, here are lessons learned from the Spider-Man musical.”
Joy Womack Describes Backstage Conditions That Led Her To Quit Bolshoi Ballet
“I felt I was forgotten and unimportant to them. I begged to be put in corps de ballet just to be able to dance on the stage. ‘No’, they would say. ‘You are sticking out, you are too different, you raise your leg too high, you do it way too emotionally.’ … They even forgot to pay my salary on time and would sporadically pay me something in cash when they realized I was there.”
Ousted Bolshoi Theater Director Testifies In Acid Attack Trial
Anatoly Iksanov “told the court he was aware of a ‘difficult relationship’ between [ballet chief and victim Sergei] Filin and [defendant Pavel] Dmitrichenko but never personally witnessed any animosity. … Looking straight at Dmitrichenko, Iksanov dismissed the dancer’s claims that Filin had threatened staff and even extorted $100,000 from the troupe chief.”
Hollywood Leadership Undergoing A Changing Of the Guard
“A rolling realignment has knocked out top executives, broken apart old alliances and shattered assumptions about corporate loyalties and the industry’s pecking order.”
Put The Brakes On Return Of Nazi-Looted Artwork In Munich?
“The president of the World Jewish Congress is criticizing as “irresponsible” demands by German prosecutors to quickly return many artworks that were confiscated from the home of Munich collector Cornelius Gurlitt.”
Multiplexes Are The Cash Cow Of India’s Film Industry
“Multiplexes account for just 8 per cent of India’s 12,000 screens but rake in a third of total box office receipts.”