Stories

At Edinburgh Fringe, Not One But Three “Heated Rivalry” Musical Parodies

“When a show becomes a meme, the meme becomes the story, eclipsing the show itself. This phenomenon is here to stay. Thankfully, we’ll always have satire.” - The New York Times

Are We Close To Locating Where Consciousness Lives In The Brain?

Most discussions of AI and consciousness ask whether machines can experience anything. But maybe the real mystery is: If consciousness is not fundamentally related to higher cognition, then what kind of phenomenon is it? - Noema

The New Performing Arts Center In Morocco’s Capital Is One Of Zaha Hadid’s Last Projects

The Royal Theatre of Rabat, which includes an 1,800-seat main auditorium, a 520-seat performance space, and a 7,000-seat outdoor amphitheater, was largely completed in 2021 but only opened this year. It’s planned as an international platform for Moroccan, Arabic and African music, dance and theater — and Western pop. - The New York Times

Publishing Industry Sold $32.5 Billion Worth Of Books In 2025

Looking at trends in the trade category, which includes religion books, sale rose 2.7% overall to $21.7 billion. The increase was led by religious presses, whose sales rose 9.3%, to $2.2 billion. Adult fiction sales had the second biggest sales increase, with revenue up 3.9%, to $7.1 billion. - Publishers Weekly

Anthony Hopkins, Composer

The renowned actor has played piano his whole life, and formally written music for at least 30 years, but it might still surprise many to learn that later this month Hopkins will release his debut album, "Life Is a Dream," on Decca Classics. - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo)

Modern Classical Concert Dress Is Evolving

It’s a vital, creative and adaptive evolution, a way of preserving an important cultural heritage in a world of cheap noise where the piano recital might otherwise fade from view or become hopelessly marginalized. - 3 Quarks Daily

Mixing Tap And Irish Step Dance In A Piece For Ballet Performers — Can This Possibly Work? (Yup!)

“(For) this year’s NOW evening of world premieres at Vail Dance Festival, tap dancer/choreographer Michelle Dorrance … is creating a work with … Chelsea Hoy, co-artistic director of Chicago’s Trinity Irish Dance Company, for a cast that includes top New York City Ballet dancers” — who, says Dorrance, “are blowing everyone’s minds.” - Dance Magazine

Do We Lose Our Minds In Big Crowds?

In popular culture and pop psychology, crowds are often associated with strong emotions, excessive emotional expression and the uncritical spread of emotions. Commentators often link that crowd emotion in turn with uncontrolled behaviour and, in some cases, mindless violence. - Psyche

What Makes A Good Movie Adaptation?

If the art of filmmaking is inseparable from that of adaptation, it’s because almost all feature films are made by way of a fundamental form of adaptation: that of a script. - The New Yorker

StubHub And Its Customers’ Battles For Tickets

Complaints about StubHub to the Better Business Bureau rose 47% from 2024 to 2025, and climbed 63% in the eight months leading up to the company’s September 2025 initial public offering. - The Wall Street Journal

Intimacy Coordinator Lizzie Talbot On The Varied Tasks Her Profession Entails

“Choreographing a sea-witch straddling a man’s face until he suffocates (Widow’s Bay) is different from dramatizing the intimate moments of the 1990s’ most recognized celebrity couple (Love Story); both of those differ from creating the physical storytelling for almost every lead character across multiple sex scenes (Your Friends & Neighbors).” - Los Angeles Times (MSN)

Would David Ellison Really Move Paramount Out Of California?

Ellison has most often mentioned Tennessee as a potential new headquarters, the Journal previously reported. That state is already a home to Oracle, the software giant co-founded by Ellison’s father and Paramount stakeholder Larry Ellison. - The Wall Street Journal

How To Fix The Boston Symphony

Increasingly, symphony orchestras define excellence very narrowly. The focus is on the musical quality of the playing. This is crucial, of course. But excellence must also be measured, in part, by community penetration and buy-in. - Nightingale Sonata

Kennedy Center Board Ponders Three Scenarios For The National Symphony

One scenario envisions the renowned 96-year-old orchestra — a fixture at the Kennedy Center — performing at "offsite alternate venues," according to a slide deck of the budget plans obtained by Axios. - Axios

Tower Of Colombia’s Tallest Cathedral Collapses In Earthquake

At the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary, a 1939 building in the city of Manizales and the tallest neo-Gothic church in the Americas, one of the side towers toppled onto the center of the building following the 7.4 magnitude quake which struck Colombia on Monday. - The Art Newspaper

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