Yearly Archives: 2021
Inside The Phantom’s Return To Broadway
So much celebration ensued - and, well, perhaps for good reason. "The show, which opened on Broadway in 1988 and has never closed, takes...
The Race Against Time To Save Australia’s Archives
Glass plate negatives, nitrite negatives, lantern slides, paper - all can disintegrate and decay. What will the digital records of these tangible archives tell...
There Are So Many Trump Books
Virginia Heffernan read them for us. "Loathsome characters bring out zestful writing, and authors who represent Trump as perilous to democracy ... could find...
Five Seasons Of Issa Rae’s ‘Insecure’ Helped Open Doors For Black Creatives In Hollywood
And, if one can remember when Rae was working on the show, one might say "That's exactly as Issa Rae intended." - Time
Actor Sues Musical, Saying He Was Fired Because He Is Christian
One of Come from Away's former leads, Chad Kimball, "claimed he was terminated 'wholly or partly' because of his religious beliefs." - The New...
Sure, Humanity Would *Totally* Unite Against Aliens
That's sarcastic. It's a bad movie and book trope. We can't even unite against a virus. - Slate
Painting Is Back In Britain, Baby
The Young British Artists are well established institutions, but now so-called Young British Painters, including several who are Black women, "are grabbing the attention and...
Diane Weyermann, Producer Of RBG And An Inconvenient Truth, 66
Weyermann (the NYT obit is here) is remembered by Ai Weiwei: "Her passing a huge loss to like-minded people; like a bridge of...
The Set Of ‘Rust’ Had Multiple Gun Problems Before Halyna Hutchins Was Shot
Two accidental discharges on Oct. 16 led to multiple crew members walking off the set. A veteran professional armorer said "that the chain of...
What It Means To Lose, And Regain, A Language
Ask the grandchildren of immigrants - they know all too well. But one thing is clear: Shaming younger generations doesn't work. "If the end...
Memorials Can Make A Shift In How California – And The US – Sees...
As L.A.'s Chinese American Museum makes plans with full city support to commemorate the massacre of 1871, it's a good time to consider which...
Cambodia Asserts That The Met Has Dozens Of Looted Antiquities
This isn't idle speculation. "Cambodian officials said they have developed a spreadsheet of 45 'highly significant' items at the Met that the evidence suggests...
Halyna Hutchins, 42, A Cinematographer Who Was On The Edge Of A Breakthrough
Hutchins, killed by a prop gun, was finally on her way up. One director wrote, "She worked tirelessly for eleven years, and her career...
Netflix Still Isn’t Any Viewer’s Friend
Look ... its social media accounts, including one touting LGBTQI+ content, may have a personal feel, but Netflix is about profits. "What is surprising...
Jerry Pinkney, Beloved And Prolific Illustrator, Has Died At 81
Pinkney, "a legend in the world of children's publishing," won the Caldecott Medal, numerous Coretta Scott King Awards, and the recognition of millions of...
Interlochen Has Been Following A Master Plan For Decades
And the results for arts education are, according to Philip Kennicott, correctly focused. "It feels a bit like a small city in Scandinavia, modest...
Did The Harry Potter Movies Show The Way To Keeping Child Actors Safe?
Maybe. "The Harry Potter kids were lucky to be working in the UK industry, which could never compete in scale or ferocity" with Hollywood....
Broadway Shows, With The Advantage Of Time Off And Protests, Have Quietly Made Changes
Many changes came about because actors requested some rethinking of words, lyrics, or choreography. Sally Hemings, for instance, no longer flirt-dances with Jefferson in...
As The Royal Ballet’s Edward Watson Retires, He Has Hope For Boys In Dance
Watson says, "We all grew up with this thing of saying ‘don’t look like a sissy’, ‘don’t dance like a woman, dance like a...
Visual Humor Might Be Helping Ease The Stresses Of Pandemic Life
That's right, to deal with the constant dread and worry about what's next with a constantly evolving virus, we all need ... memes. -...
Did Judy Chicago Troll A Crowd At The De Young Museum?
No, but yikes. "When that initial plume dispersed a bit the first things I could see were dozens of people running in the opposite...
You Thought COVID Was Bad For Music Festivals
But the long-term impact of climate change - and festivals' impact on the climate - is yet to come. For large festivals, "They’re basically...
A Different Kind Of Gold Torso
These aren't from ancient Greece or Rome. Instead, they're modern casts artist Ellen Downes makes to help women heal from trauma. - BBC
Peter Scolari, Who Found Fame With Tom Hanks On Bosom Buddies, Has Died At...
Scolari also played Bob Newhart's producer on Newhart and Lena Dunham's character's father on Girls. - The New York Times
Moments Before Fatal Shooting, Baldwin Was Told Gun Was Safe
An assistant director, Dave Halls, handed actor Alec Baldwin a prop gun during rehearsal. "'Cold gun,' Halls yelled. But it was not." - The...