“For years, as an opioid crisis ravaged America, the Sackler family, which founded Purdue Pharma, the company that made OxyContin, remained largely out of the public eye, free to accumulate billions of dollars of wealth in tranquility. But in recent years, the walls began to close in, as the press and regulators and lawyers and state attorneys general began to investigate Purdue’s role in the epidemic. And as pressure rose, to whom did the Sacklers turn to vouch for them? The museums that had taken their philanthropy.” – The.Ink
Tag: 12.19.20
Dances With Death: In Russia, Ballet Continues, Pandemic Be Damned
As colleagues and fans in other countries look on with either envy or incredulity, ballet dancers in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and other cities keep coming to the theater, rehearsing, and performing. Outbreaks happen regularly within companies and dancers have to quarantine, but onward they go. – Gramilano (Milan)
Sick Of ‘Nutcracker’ Streams?
Try the contemporary dance version of A Christmas Carol. Yes, Ebeneezer can dance. – Dance Magazine
Pantos Are Off, But A Christmas Carol Is Saving Some British Theatres
Sure, the U.S. is Christmas Carol‘d out – but the longtime American theatre Christmas standby is also serving its home country. In Bury St. Edmunds, the play is outside, in the center of town. Says the director, who is no doubt right about the ghosts of Christmas, “Certain effects really suit a winter evening.” – BBC
The Creative Team Of ‘Ma Rainey’ Used Horsehair To Reflect Actual Hairstyles Of The 1920s
Honestly, the head of the hair department deserves several medals. “In my mind, it was close to human hair, and when I got that box, it was nothing like human hair at all. They tie thread from the top to the bottom of the tail, and they chop it off and mail it to you. And you know where that tail lies, there was manure and lice eggs. Nothing was alive and active, but it was crusty, wiry and coarse. … I ended up building that wig, strand by strand. And every time I pulled those little hairs through, I had to scrape off the manure.” – Variety
Seattle Theatre Leaders Help The Arts World Understand How To Go Far Beyond Lip Service To Anti-Racist Changes
Theatre leaders met in May to hash out a response to the Black Lives Matter protests and the extrajudicial killings of George Floyd and other unarmed Black people. “They were beginning a process to overhaul the entire ecology of their field, at every level — casting, staffing, fundraising, boards, tech crews, audiences, everything — and inject anti-racism into its DNA. … If this broad coalition of theater makers effectively transforms one part of the arts world in one city, it might just set a standard that can be exported — not simply to other arts disciplines, but to other sectors in America that are struggling with the deep, pervasive and seemingly intractable problem of institutional racism.” – Seattle Times
As Britain Goes Under A New Lockdown, Insurance Extended For Actors And Crew Members
And independent cinemas are getting support as well, or at least some support. Actors are into it. Gemma Arterton, perhaps also over the streaming discussions: ““We have to support our local cinemas to make sure those special moments can be experienced by generations of children and adults alike, for years to come. Watching a film at home just isn’t the same.” – Variety
Philadelphia Orchestra’s New Principal Guest Conductor Says It’s A Good Time For Women On The Podium
Nathalie Stultzmann: “It’s very clear that things have improved. … What is incredibly difficult still is for a woman to get a position. We see great orchestras always having women coming for a week to guest conduct. It’s very important to see in the next years more women in the crucial positions of music director and principal guest conductor at the head of important orchestras.” – Philadelphia Inquirer