The 91-year-old acting legend, who has age-related macular degeneration, stopped performing because she can’t see her way around a set or read a script anymore. And she says, “I can’t remember what I’m doing tomorrow, I swear to you,” but can still remember quite a lot of Shakespeare. - The Guardian
Since 2020, well over a dozen novels have taken classical music as their setting. Of course, novels about classical music are nothing new. But what is notable about this recent surge in classical music fiction is that many of these texts center on a scathing critique of the industry itself. - Public Books
Well, because that person, Ian Potter, was extraordinarily generous, as his widow and his foundation continue to be. But when your sister gets angry because she was waiting for you at one Ian Potter Museum while you waited for her at another, you realize there must be a better way. - ABC (Australia)
Pittsburgh’s production has evolved its own traditions and superstitions. During some performances, performers pass a Heinz ketchup packet while onstage, like a hot potato. Whoever has it at the end loses. Another tradition: Dancers owe a dollar for every mistake. - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The White House has explained the East Wing’s demolition as “renovation,” and the necessary prelude to a multimillion-dollar ballroom. This is the architectural equivalent of a celebrity-style makeover: a redo to admire as a luxury commodity, an old building rejuvenated, history erased. - The New York Times
The CPB is set to shut down after Congress approved President Trump’s request to rescind its funding. The Center for American Rights said the CPB shutdown should be used as an opportunity to reassign spectrum used by NPR and PBS stations to other entities. - Ars Technica
Verse was used as a political tool going back all the way to the Revolutionary War. Walt Whitman considered poetry to democracy, which “waits the coming of its bards … in the twilight of dawn.” And the connection of poetry to politics continues today with Joy Harjo and Amanda Gorman. - JSTOR Daily
Classical music’s survival instincts proved reliable. New leaders of L.A.’s arts institutions are bringing vitality to the region, empowering musicians and giving fans hope and optimism. - Los Angeles Times
After the Santa Monica Police Department responded to a call about an assault at a house around 9:20 p.m., officers found Sykes, 71, with critical injuries consistent with a stabbing, the authorities said in a news release. He was pronounced dead at the scene. - The New York Times
The National Ballet of Canada’s costumes, designed by Broadway mainstay Santo Loquasto, have absorbed a lot of wear, tear, and sweat over three decades. Here wardrobe chief Stacy Dimitropoulos, resident cutter Chris Read, and several company dancers talk about costume care and maintenance. - Toronto Life
For this set of compulsive users, AI has become a primary interface through which they interact with the world. The emails they write, the life decisions they make, and the questions that consume their mind all filter through AI first. “It’s like a real addiction.” - The Atlantic
In Hollywood, concern about whether Warner Bros. will remain a theatre-centered business is haunted by historical echoes of earlier seismic shifts in the movie business. It seems existential, perhaps portending the end of mainstream moviegoing. - The New Yorker
Every detail of the ceremony appeared to have been plucked from Trump’s mood board, an indelible blend of revanchist impulses and eighties camp. - The New Yorker
“The three-year licensing deal will let users generate videos using Sora, OpenAI’s short-form AI video platform, of more than 200 Disney, Marvel, Star Wars and Pixar characters. ... ChatGPT will also be able to generate images of Disney’s multibrand licensed characters.” - The Wall Street Journal (MSN)
“According to data released ... on Wednesday, less than 13% of admissions in (2024-25) came from the surrounding New York suburbs, which was the lowest percentage on Broadway in 30 years. The demographic, which once made up 20% of the audience, has been trending down over the past few years.” - The Hollywood Reporter
