The 20-Year Virgin Loses It: Playwright Nicky Silver On His First Broadway Production

“Much was made of the fact that this was my first play on Broadway, after having had plays produced Off Broadway for almost 20 years. … I’ve been asked, now that we’ve closed, if I might reflect on some of these. I shall endeavor to do so. It won’t be easy, as I’d like to retain some sense of dignity, and were I to be completely honest, it would be apparent that I have none.”

The Fearmonger’s Guide To Robot Composers (A Defense Of Software That Writes Its Own Music)

“We already use computers to edit films, process photographs, record and enhance music. Artists actually have a great working relationship with technology. So what’s the hang up with introducing computers into music composition? … [M]usic is different. It’s so rooted in math and science that it seems to make more sense to trust computers with it.”

Russian Weaponmaker Hires Choreographer For Tank Ballet

“In the opening movements, the T-80 and T-90A tanks maneuver to techno music. There is a brief tango interlude. For the classical portion, the Russian arms company enlisted a ballet director from the Bolshoi Theater, Andrei Melanin. … The Russian tanker crews seem to coax their machines into delicate, even coquettish advances on other tanks. … At one point, two tanks twirl in a creaky, diesel-smoke-belching embrace.”

Nora Ephron, Writer And Filmmaker, Dead At 71

“[She] gained a devoted following for her perceptive, deeply personal essays and parlayed that renown into a screenwriting career of wistful romantic comedies such as When Harry Met Sally and You’ve Got Mail, the marital exposé Heartburn and the whistleblower drama Silkwood.” Her final film, as screenwriter and director, was 2010’s Julie and Julia, starring Meryl Streep as Julia Child.