Stories

People Pray For Hot Concert Tickets At This 1,000-Year-Old Tokyo Shrine

For many pop concerts in Japan, “fans enter (a lottery) for the chance to buy tickets and can only purchase them in limited quantities if they are selected. … If praying at Fukutoku is believed to work for winning scratch-off lottery tickets, fans hope it might bring luck with concert tickets, too.” - BBC

The Many Controversies Dogging This Year’s Venice Biennale

The 2026 Venice Biennale has experienced waves of uncertainty that have only grown in strength as the public opening of the world’s most prestigious international art exhibition nears on Saturday morning. - The New York Times

Media Mogul Ted Turner, 87

The media business is full of big-talking executives. But Turner’s outsized public persona — some called him the “Mouth from the South” for his free-wheeling trash talk — actually matched his influence on news, politics, sports and entertainment in the late 20th century. Over and over again, Turner shook up established industries. - Los Angeles Times (MSN)

“The Devil Wears Prada” And The Rise And Fall Of Chick Lit

“Before it was a movie, Lauren Weisberger’s The Devil Wears Prada, published by Broadway Books in 2003, marked the absolute high point of that once-ubiquitous genre. … Soon after the success of the novel, chick lit started to fall apart,” with dedicated imprints long since discontinued. - Publishers Weekly

Can The UK Theatre Touring Model Be Saved?

“It doesn’t feel as though we have recovered any meaningful ground since the pandemic, and the fact that venues and their teams remain under such pressure is evident in terms of morale, energy, staff turnover and sector knowledge.” - The Stage

What Research Tells Us About How Memory Works

The idea of photographic memory is simple and powerful: Experience is captured objectively, stored completely and retrieved perfectly. See it once, keep it forever. There’s just one problem. There’s no scientific evidence it exists. - The Conversation

“Death Of A Salesman” Director Joe Mantello On Working With Disgraced Broadway Producer Scott Rudin

“I would be lying if I said … I didn’t grapple with making that decision. … I will say I do believe in accountability, and I think Scott has spoken about taking responsibility. ... I believe in second chances. I know other people don’t share that belief, and that’s their right.” - Variety

How A Change In SEC Reporting Might Change How Hollywood Studios Behave

The SEC is proposing to change its rules, allowing for public companies to report financials semi-annually rather than quarterly. Will major studios buy in? - The Hollywood Reporter

In An AI Economy, Human-Made Becomes Luxury Good

We don’t value human creations solely for their beauty or their price tag. We also value them because they embody deliberate labour and expertise. - The Conversation

Indianapolis Symphony CEO to Step Down

James Johnson began his tenure with the symphony in 2018 after serving as president and CEO of the Omaha Symphony Association. Since then, Johnson has overseen several changes in the Indianapolis orchestra. - Indianapolis Star

For Her Second Choreography Commission From NY City Ballet, Tiler Peck Is Going Big

It’s George Balanchine’s company, after all, and he had a special gift for coordinating and synchronizing large casts. Peck particularly admires that achievement and was frustrated by how few choreographers today do the same. So, in her new Symphonie Espagnole, she’s deploying 40 dancers. - The New York Times

Big Book Publishers Band Together To Sue Meta Over AI Plundering

Five leading publishers and a best-selling author filed a class-action lawsuit against Meta and its founder, Mark Zuckerberg, on Tuesday, alleging that the tech giant violated copyright law by training its generative artificial intelligence platform on millions of illegally pirated books and articles. - Washington Post

The Met Gala Was A Failed Opportunity To Make The Case For Art

“Fashion is art” was meant to encourage attendees to think about how every human body is a canvas, and about how making an item of clothing—the precision that goes into selecting textiles, creating shapes, and combining colors—requires the same kind of artistry deployed by the painters and sculptors featured throughout the museum. - The Atlantic

What This Year’s Tony Nominations Say About International Theatre

While it’s too early to tell which of the nominated shows will go on to have an international life, we can find some hints of the possibilities with a look at the title pages of their Playbills. - Jaques

At Last, Berlin’s Pergamon Museum Has A (Partial) Reopening Date

“Traditionally one of the German capital’s top tourist attractions, (the Pergamon) will reopen next year after the first part of a painstaking restoration effort. ... The Pergamon Museum has been closed altogether since October 2023. The part of the building containing the Pergamon Altar has been closed for far longer, since 2014.” - AP

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