Douglas McLennan
Doug is the editor of ArtsJournal
Principal Bans Students From Seeing “Oliver” Over Concerns About “Violence, Alcohol Use and Thievery.”
The Children's Musical Theatreworks show, which opened to general audiences on Dec. 2, wasn’t some new, explicit, souped-up version of the classic Broadway musical....
The History Of Books In Defining The World
Since all reading at that time occurred out loud rather than inside one’s head, the study rooms were a modern librarian’s nightmare: no one...
Rise Of The Virtual AI Girl Bands
In fact, there's mainly one big difference between them and any other pop group you might know - all 11 members are virtual characters....
Crappy Pay Is Pushing Writers Out Of Publishing
The report shows a drop in the proportion of full-time authors from 40% of those surveyed in 2006 to just 19% today. This shows...
Some Fears About The Future Of Choreography
Difficult conversations about intention, taste, and editing are vital for the sake of developing successful new work. With focused training, and subsequent appropriate delivery...
Have We Reached The End Of Our Love Affair With Celebrity Memoirs?
According to industry magazine the Bookseller, hardback sales of celebrity autobiographies are down compared to last year, when titles by Billy Connolly, Bob Mortimer and Dave...
This Year’s Turner Prize Winner Is Older. Makes Sense.
There is something universally cheery and comforting about the phrase “oldest ever winner” – designed to put a glint in the middle-aged eye and...
Has Spotify Actually Cracked The Code To Your Musical Taste?
“People often think about taste as being really individual,. But in the social sciences we say: ‘Ah, that’s not really true.’ Your tastes are...
Has TikTok Killed The Pop Music Bridge?
If you have listened to pop music at all in the past few years, you may have noticed that something is missing. The bridge...
How The Greatest Generation Of Physicists Upended The World
The era upended the world as these men and women knew it, both scientifically and socially, and they heatedly debated how to reconceptualize their...
Just Who Is Victoria Ryan, This Year’s Turner Prize Winner?
The Caribbean-English artist Ryan, who is 66 years old, is the second Black woman and the oldest artist to ever win the prize, which...
A Century On, Looking Back At Three Classics That Were Deliberately Difficult
These books are deliberately, self-consciously challenging, in content and in form. They are also hard, beautiful, powerful, and brilliant. That account of their greatness...
Selfies Are Robbing Museum-Goers Of Experience
I can’t help but think that the artwork people are photographing in museums is falling on myopic eyes. Museumgoers are increasingly regarding the work...
Social Media Influencers Are Crashing Right Now
What does content creation look like during a cost-of-living crisis, when more and more people are shut out of the lifestyle that luxury influencers...
Maybe Not This Art, But Some Art Should Be Attacked By Vandals?
Every art lover, Blake Gopnik included, is aghast at the potential damage to cultural treasures. But he's also aghast at the damage being wreaked...
Audience Member Yells Racial Slur During Detroit Symphony Performance
The incident took place during a performance of “A Charlie Brown Christmas: Cyrus Chestnut & Friends,” a one-night-only event. - Detroit 4
KPOP Producers Talk About Why Their Show Failed On Broadway
"The immersive experience was fun because it had the audience moving through different rooms. But in my mind, and also in the minds of...
The Canadian Opera Company Reports Almost Selling Out Its Season, Budget Surplus, And Thriving...
Another highlight was the news that the organization reported a surplus for the season, despite the uncertainties and difficulties. Net revenues (after expenses) amounted to $7,782,000. -...
What If Generosity Is A Brain Disorder?
We normally think of generosity as pure and noble—evidence of the soul, not evidence of brain damage. But what if giving is largely a...
What To Make Of NFTs In The Artworld? Revolution Or Scam?
This polarization means that the real potential of NFTs, as well as their flaws, which are also very real, tend to be overshadowed by...
The Live Nation-Ticketmaster Monopoly Is Terrible For Artists
As Live Nation leverages its power across the concert ecosystem to increase its profits, concertgoers see higher prices, and artists experience challenging touring dynamics....
BBC Medical Drama Ditches Scripts To Improvise Chaos Of The Medical System
Casualty is the world's longest running medical drama, and it is the first time in its 36-year history that scripts have been ditched and...
Whooping it Up At The Opera (And Making It Fun)
Opera Revue is part of a growing cadre of Toronto arts organizations looking to make opera more accessible and challenge the art form’s stuffy...
The Parasite Companies Killing Creative Artists
Books on Amazon are cheap and arrive quickly. Spotify offers tens of millions of songs and podcasts for less per month than what we...
This Year’s Top Pop Culture Moments
The pandemic was over in 2022, phew! Well, of course it wasn’t. But live entertainment pushed forward, with mask mandates dropping, and people rushing...