“1816: Gaslight illuminates Philadelphia’s Chestnut Street Theatre. Theater patrons are living in an age of wonders: lights that burn ‘without wick or oil.'”
Tag: 11.25.08
Dance On TV Is No Danger To Live Performance
“So You Think You Can Dance Canada has to be rated one of the most successful shows ever produced in this country. … Dancers and choreographers struggling to bring audiences into theatres must be a little peeved, or at least a touch envious. But they shouldn’t fume because watching this show, even witnessing a taping of it, has little to compare with the experience of attending a live dance performance.”
Canada Council: No Logrolling In Poetry Prize
“The Canada Council, which administers the Governor General’s Literary Awards, is standing by the decision of its jury to award this year’s poetry prize to Jacob Scheier in the face of complaints by some critics that the decision is tainted by conflict of interest. Scheier, a 28-year-old Toronto poet living in Brooklyn, N.Y., won for his debut, More to Keep Us Warm. In the acknowledgements, Scheier thanks two of the three jury members….”
Tough Guys Don’t Lay Off Dead Guys: Manso Vs. Mailer
Norman Mailer’s death a year ago is no reason for author and former housemate Peter Manso to drop their feud. “With Mailer snugly in the grave, Manso is firing back. His new afterword to the oral biography ‘Alas, Poor Norman’ is a masterpiece of invective, innuendo, and character assassination. Manso sustains the tension and the tone for a good seven pages. Unfortunately the essay is 44 pages long.”
So You Think You Can Scan? Public To Help Pick Laureate.
“The search to find the next poet laureate has been launched, with the British public to have their say for the first time. The reign of Andrew Motion, the first laureate to be appointed for a fixed 10-year term, runs out next year. The government will seek advice on a replacement from academics, poetry specialists and the public.”
A Rash Of New Arts Venues: Vitality Or Overkill?
“In the space of six months, five new arts venues are opening in and around Leicester, Derby and Nottingham – a £90m splurge, largely lottery-funded, that now seems at odds with these frugal times. To build one looks sensible; to build five looks indulgent. After all, how much art does the country need?”
Even Mothballed Newsrooms Feel Pain: Newseum Cuts Staff
“The economic downturn has prompted the Newseum, the sprawling attraction on Pennsylvania Avenue NW that opened in April, to reduce its staff of 250 employees by 10 percent, the institution has announced. … The museum is a private operation financed largely by the Freedom Forum, a foundation with significant stock-market investments.”
Photographer Karl Bissinger Dies At 94
“Karl Bissinger, whose lustrous black and white portraits created a memorable gallery of the leading figures on the postwar American arts scene, died Wednesday at his home in Manhattan. … Mr. Bissinger created indelible images of the new generation of writers, actors, dancers and free spirits who were reshaping American culture after World War II.”
Toyo Ito’s Berkeley Museum Would Be A Beautiful Thing
“I have no idea whether, in this dismal economic climate, the University of California will find the money to build its new art museum here. But if it fails, it will be a blow to those of us who champion provocative architecture in the United States,” Nicolai Ouroussoff writes. “Its contoured galleries, whose honeycomb pattern seems to be straining to contain an untamed world, would make it a magical place to view art.”
Young Frankenstein Folds, & Schadenfreude Strikes B’way
“The last week was one of the grimmest on Broadway. Within eight days four shows announced their closings. Yet the news about ‘The New Mel Brooks Musical Young Frankenstein’ shutting its doors Jan. 4 seemed to spark an unusual guilty glee among theater people.” Its sin, in their view? Arrogance.