Buckle up, theatre buttercups: "There are several unusual aspects to this season’s Tonys race." Understatement of the year, NYT. - The New York Times
Olivo, an alum of In the Heights, left the Moulin Rouge production over issues including industry silence about Scott Rudin's alleged abuse. She says, "I realized I can actually help my industry in a different way, by caring about the people who are suffering in silence." - Los Angeles Times
Google and Apple opened offices in Russia. Then Putin pressured them to delete his opposition's Smart Voting app - and they caved. "This episode is a powerful reminder that old-fashioned force can decisively tighten a state’s grip on the web." - Wired
Re that Samson and Delilah purchase, National Gallery, er. "IÂ was so shocked. ... We repeated the experiments to be really sure that we were not making a mistake and the result was always the same. Every patch, every single square, came out as fake, with more than 90% probability." - The Observer (UK)
Colorizing film might have gone out the window, but with two new books using the process to add color into black-and-white photographs of the 19th and 20th centuries, ethical questions arise. One writer describes the process as "part of the democratisation of history, a tool to develop empathy and a connection with the past." - Irish Times
Finnish media members say they've made progress, but not enough of it. Producers may complain they can't find actors from diverse backgrounds, and so, says one casting directory, "Where diversity among actors is concerned, 'I think a casting director is a must.'" - Variety
The NYT overlooked Varo (though anyone who's taken a 20th century art history course surely does not understand how) when she died. The Spanish surrealist's "style was reminiscent of Renaissance art in its exquisite precision, but her dreamlike paintings were otherworldly in tone." - The New York Times
"Public art is widely viewed as a tool to tell a more complete and honest narrative of Richmond’s struggles with equality. And how the city decides to uplift people and places with public art has the potential to be a nationwide model, or a litany of pitfalls to avoid." - The Guardian (UK)
Trans and nonbinary actors have recently made a range of claims about the show, including a claim from one actor saying that "multiple higher-ups" pressured the actor to postpone a critical surgery. - Vulture
Mraz's "deft, versatile work anchored the recordings and performances of generations of artists, from Oscar Peterson and Dizzy Gillespie more than 50 years ago to Cyrus Chestnut and Joe Lovano in this century." - The New York Times
Great Gatsby seems to inspire something that isn't exactly critique of the wealthy. "I parted my hair in the middle and put on a fake plummy accent and bought some white button-down shirts and white khaki pants at the thrift store downtown and wore them all the time." - LitHub
"How did a beloved Broadway musical — winner of six Tony Awards, including best musical — provoke one of the most widespread and united hate-ons since Cats? How did a movie marketed as a feel good, come-together story get branded 'manipulative' so many times it's nearly become a tagline?" Ouch. - CBC
And not just the pandemic - all that the protests over George Floyd's death wrought, supposedly, in the world? Hm. One AD wonders, "What is meaningful action, and what is simply pandering to patrons?" - American Theatre
The podcast Aria Code, now in its third season, is a collaboration between the Met and WQXR, and it's hosted by musician Rhiannon Giddens. "Producers aim for a mix of well-known operas and ... more obscure gems," and downloads are booming. - The New York Times
The BSO relocated one concert and canceled two at Strathmore Hall, and not for the first time - this decision was "once again to allow Strathmore and the ticket sellers union an opportunity to resolve their dispute." - Baltimore Sun
