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The Sondheim Musical The Tributes Haven’t Been Mentioning

Assassins — "It wasn't exactly a flop, but it's not exactly celebrated, either. … The songs are just as catchy, melodic, and surprising as most Sondheim, … but is there ever a good time to mount a musical in America about assassins?" - Salon

Can Anna Wintour, The Very Avatar Of Old-Style Condé Nast, Remake Its Titles For The 21st Century?

This year she's been focused on turning seven of Condé Nast's biggest publications into global brands, each under one leader. She is also ensuring that there are unlikely to be any more Anna Wintours — imperial editors-in-chief each with their own fiefs. - The New York Times

Justin Peck May Have Been The Perfect Person To Choreograph The Remake Of “West Side Story”

He grew up watching Jerome Robbins's original choreography in the film, and he's danced it himself in the West Side Story Suite Robbins created for New York City Ballet. So both Peck himself and the Robbins estate knew he could retain the original's spirit. - The Seattle Times

Playing A Real Person In A Biopic Is Harder Than Ever

There are four major actresses in contention for an Oscar this year for biopics. While the Academy likes to reward such work, the denizens of social media often don't — especially when the character lived during the TV era and comparison clips can be posted. - The Hollywood Reporter

Finally, African Medical Students Are Getting Textbook Drawings That Depict The Black Bodies They’ll Be Treating

"On November 24, Ibe posted a drawing of a Black fetus in utero on social media, calling for more diversity in medical illustration. The drawing struck a chord with viewers, many of whom had never realized they had never seen a Black figure in medical diagrams." - Artnet

Marjorie Tallchief, Last Of The “Five Moon” Native American Ballerinas, Dead At 95

The younger sister of Maria Tallchief, Marjorie studied under Ernest Belcher and Bronislava Nijinska and was the first American to become an étoile at the Paris Opera Ballet. - The Oklahoman

Perplexed Publishers: Social Media Followings Don’t Translate To Book Sales

Followings can affect who gets a book deal and how big an advance that author is paid, especially when it comes to nonfiction. But despite their importance, they are increasingly seen as unpredictable gauges of how well a book is actually going to sell. - The New York Times

UK Broadcasters Pledge To Go BAME-less

The catch-all description for black, Asian and minority ethnic people will be ditched in favour of the use of more specific terms to describe ethnicity. - BBC

An Irish Plan To Break The Record For Most Nationalities In A Choir

At time of writing, 77 countries have registered. A total of 109 are needed to break the record. But “where better”, asks Brophy, “to break it but Expo?” - Irish Times

New TV Network Seeks To Narrow Definition Of America

Americana. American traditions. Safe storytelling. It’s the coded language the network uses about its content, as much as the content itself, that reveals its underlying message, one echoed across conservative media and politics: The “real” America is suburban or rural, predominantly white, heterosexual and Christian. - Los Angeles Times

Science: Why Doing Nothing Is Essential To Creativity

The default mode network is also known as the imagination network. This is the brain’s resting-state circuitry—the regions that come online when you’re not paying attention to anything in particular. This is what activates during downtime. - Fast Company

Can Virtual Reality Fix Work?

It’s easy to virtually collaborate. The hard part, of course, is convincing people that, when it comes to their regular work, staring through Fresnel lenses at an LCD screen a few inches from their eyes is somehow superior to a normal computer on their normal desk. - The New Yorker

Orwell Estate OKs Retelling Of “1984” From Viewpoint Of Winston Smith’s Lover

"Orwell's estate said it had been 'looking for some time' for an author to tell the story of and that Newman, who has previously been longlisted for the Women's prize and shortlisted for the Guardian first book award, 'proved to be the perfect fit'." - The Guardian

Do Anything But Be A Writer…

The aspiring writers imagine that being an author will bring them happiness, fame and fortune. Szymborska tells them to get a grip. Writing is a ridiculous profession, she argues, persuasively. Failure is inevitable. Success is highly conditional and mostly feels like failure as well. - Literary Review

Artist Sells Eggs From Her Ovaries As NFTs

"Armenian artist Narine Arakelian, 42, says her first NFT will be a painting entitled Live – which will include an embedded contract promising one of her eggs to the buyer. … She fully expects the person who buys the NFT to conceive a child from her egg." - Page Six

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