“How is it possible for a musical to be so beautiful and so vulgar, to have such spectacular scenes and be such a mess, to launch such a promising star discovery and give her so little guidance, to produce such full-cry songs and wind up with a humdrum score?” Chicago Tribune
Tag: 12.10.99
MARVELOUS MIDWAY
Ticket sales are up, Thanksgiving broke box office records, and Broadway is booming as the season hits midpoint. Backstage
UNDEREMPLOYED
A new study by the Directors Guild of America says that women and minorities are severely underemployed and the situation is getting worse. Women directors work only 10 percent of the days of a typical Director’s Guild member. Black directors work only 8.4 percent and Hispanics 2.3 percent. NAACP calls the numbers “shameful.” Variety
CLICK-AND-BUY
Not quite. It’s been a good year for selling art. But selling it online hasn’t exactly gotten customers’ pulses racing. Still, that hasn’t stopped the ambitions. Financial Times
A STROLL THROUGH THE SMITHSONIAN
Telling American history through its art is a deeply personal story. So what now should be the role of a museum of American art, asks the director of the Smithsonian Museum of American Art. American Art
MORAL RIGHTS
After years of debate Australia proposes moral rights legislation to protect authors, artists and filmmakers. Sydney Morning Herald
READING CHINA
China has been loosening controls on its publishing industry. More to read and greater variety. – Financial Times
WRITE AGAINST THE MACHINE
A writer/academic is wistful for pen and ink and wonders if we haven’t given up something as writers by being tied to computers. – Chronicle of Higher Education
THE DECADE AHEAD
Chicago’s Lyric Opera has had a major influence on other companies with its commissions of new work. Now an ambitious 10-year plan to help reinvigorate the artform. – Chicago Tribune
TOUGH NUT
The New York City Ballet musicians strike is over, but the issues were legitimate. Says a former board member on the state of the music: “Ugly sound, wrong notes, missing notes have become increasingly familiar. The musical direction has grown slacker and slacker – it’s no secret that the company has been unable to hire a strong new musical director because of the absurd rules and attitudes that have come to govern the orchestra’s performance.” It was time to confront the issue. – New York Observer