“At a time when an anonymous newcomer can turn out theater faster than an institutional battleship can, it’s impossible not to feel grateful for even shaggy efforts to keep the art form alive…. As I learn to approach this new material with a new eye, I’ve slowly realized that as much as the pandemic has changed what it means to be a theater critic, it has also changed what I as a critic want and need from theater.” – The New York Times
Tag: 12.09.20
How Dallas Opera Plans To Resume Live Performances Next Spring
The conductor and director for each production have teamed up to create the abridgments, which contain most of the famous arias, but omit the chorus because of social distancing requirements. One set will be slightly altered between productions, and there will be no intermission. Costumes and makeup will be minimal. – Dallas Morning News
A 2020 Best Theatre List Requires Expanding Your Mind
Peter Marks: “Putting the most positive spin I can muster on the stricken field I cover — identifying the best of what has transpired in the worst of theatrical times — requires a look beyond play X and musical Y.” – Washington Post
Knopf Hires LitHub Editor As Its New Executive Editor
In addition to having edited Lit Hub and Granta, John Freeman is the founder of Freeman’s, a literary annual published in several countries around the world. – Deadline
How Do You Convey Tone Of Voice In A Text? The Kids Are Finding A Way
Tone indicators, formed with a slash and one to three letters (e.g., /j for joking, /hj for half-joking, /srs for serious) and inserted at the end of a comment, developed in various online communities of young people as a way to be inclusive of neurodivergent people, who often have difficulty interpreting subtle clues. But they address a problem most of us have had at some point. – The New York Times
Little-Known Chapel by Louise Nevelson To Be Renovated And Reopened
The Chapel of the Good Shepherd, as the Nevelson Chapel is formally named, dates from 1977 and is part of St. Peter’s Church, a Lutheran parish known for its modernist sanctuary and weekly Jazz Vespers, located in the basement of a midtown Manhattan office tower. – Artnet
Carnegie Hall Board Chairman In Multi-Million Tax Scandal
“[Robert F.] Smith’s admission that he had failed to report [more than $200 million] of income to the I.R.S. made Carnegie Hall the latest in a line of major cultural institutions that have found themselves facing questions about the actions of the benefactors that they rely on for their very survival. Carnegie’s leaders are standing firmly behind Mr. Smith, even as some philanthropy experts question whether he should remain in the position.” – The New York Times
Renovation Of Toronto’s Massey Hall Turns Into Seven-Floor Multiple-Venue Project
When the 125-year-old concert venue closed in 2018 for construction, the plan was only to renovate the lobby, auditorium and stage. Now real estate developer Allied Properties has made a major investment: Massey will become the anchor for an adjacent seven-story building called the Allied Music Centre that will include additional performance stages and workspace for artists. – Ludwig Van
Flemish Old Master Painting Discovered Hanging On Brussels City Hall Wall
While taking a routine inventory of the Belgian capital’s public art, researchers from the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage determined that a work on display at Saint-Gilles City Hall, long believed to be a copy, is actually the oldest known original version of 17th-century artist Jacob Jordaens’s The Holy Family. – Smithsonian Magazine
Venice Floods Again: They Spent €6 Billion On That Barrier But Didn’t Raise It
Just a couple of months ago, after years of delays and heaps of money, the MOSE floodgates in the Venice lagoon passed their first major test, protecting the city from the acqua alta flooding that had been causing ever more damage year after year. But this past Tuesday, as the tide rose ever higher, MOSE wasn’t raised and the city was inundated. Why not? The Venice authorities don’t yet have the decision power to raise it. – CNN