Good question, one that 1948’s biopic about Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart - Words and Music, starring Mickey Rooney as a heterosexual Hart - got very wrong. But: “That the ’40s biopics are so bad on the facts as well as the spirit doesn’t render them entirely worthless.” - The New York Times
"Only the museum will require a paid ticket. Nearly a dozen other spaces — meeting rooms, classrooms, parks, an N.B.A.-size basketball court, even a branch of the Chicago Public Library — will be reserved for visitors or the activities of the foundation.” - The New York Times
“‘To build a building like this, it required public investment, it required private investment, and it required a lot of belief through those dark days of the pandemic,’ said TimeLine’s charismatic artistic director, PJ Powers, during a recent tour of the still shell-like structure.” - WBEZ (Chicago)
Tensions still exist between London and Manchester, and not everyone is pleased. The ENO's artistic director says, "“The way this happened was not something that anyone involved would want, and we were then forced to build the road as we drove the car.” - Manchester Evening News (UK)
Participants in the International Chopin Piano Competition “train as if they were elite athletes, with superhuman focus and skill, preparing hours of music, even though many of them end up performing only a fraction of it.” - The New York Times
The musicians’ local president: “We are thankful that our brothers and sisters in labor at Actors’ Equity have reached an agreement. … Local 802 is still in negotiation for a fair contract, and everything remains on the table, including a strike.” - The New York Times
“(Her) infectious creativity has made Amy O’Neil’s work for The Dallas Opera a must-watch. From her fun, punchy synopses of upcoming productions to her award-nominated series ‘Don’t Look Under the Wig,’ she says her work is aimed at making the opera feel (less intimidating and) more accessible.” - D Magazine (Dallas)
“The new numbers validate efforts to make the Loop a social destination and combat high retail and office vacancy rates that have plagued the area since the pandemic … (and) it’s arts and culture programming that’s ‘driving the bus at the moment,’” said Chicago Loop Alliance CEO Michael Edwards. - WBEZ (Chicago)
The CEO of Simon & Schuster has some thoughts about what will be going on a decade from now: "I fearlessly predict that the average book will be shorter.” - Boston Globe (Archive Today)
“Monuments are supposed to be collective tributes to shared ideals. Like Confederate statues, would function as the opposite — broadcasting a one-way message.” - Aesthetic Insecurity
In Britain, after December 31st, MTV will be no more - for the most part. “The flagship channel, MTV HD, will remain on air, showing reality series including Naked Dating UK and Geordie Shore.” - BBC
As the developer mulls a gubernatorial run, Carolina Miranda has some thoughts. “These places are rigidly controlled simulacra. … Collectively, these cloyingly tantalizing spaces offer an insightful read on his vision for real cities and the political points he likes to make about them.” - New York Review of Architecture
The ubiquity of the flag is down to anime, you see. Specifically, young people waving the flag from Nepal to Madagascar to the Philippines - and even to the U.S. - are referencing the show One Piece. - NPR
