“Cats has always been a ballroom: Distinct personalities enter the floor, presenting their style and story, and a community watches to see who commands the room. This new production doesn’t impose anything foreign onto the musical. For me, it illuminates what was always there.” - The New York Times
After some very challenging years, the Walker Art Center, Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis Institute of Art, and Minnesota Opera have all posted budget surpluses; while the Minnesota Orchestra’s deficit has grown, earned income and attendance are both up. - The Minnesota Star Tribune (MSN)
“There are a lot of maybes involved in The Hand & The Eye, the 36,000-square-foot magic-themed entertainment and dining complex set to open this month inside the distinctively eccentric McCormick Mansion on the corner of Ontario and Rush Streets alongside the struggling Magnificent Mile.” - Chicago Tribune (Yahoo!)
“Unlike his posture toward the Smithsonian, Trump has not publicly commented on the USHMM’s content. … But two former museum employees who left amid the changes told POLITICO they believed the museum was altering its content preemptively, so as to not draw unwanted negative attention from the Trump administration.” - Politico
“Students will sit in on Opera Philadelphia rehearsals and attend master classes by opera artists, and emerging vocalists will have the opportunity to audition as cover artists (understudies) for small or non-singing roles in Opera Philadelphia productions.” - The Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)
“In a motion filed on Friday, US National Park Service lawyers say that the federal judge’s order to suspend construction of the new facility is ‘threatening grave national-security harms to the White House, the president and his family, and the president’s staff.’” - The Guardian
Es Devlin is calling order on a group of artists, AI researchers, spiritual leaders, academics and experts from global tech gathered at the kilns to discuss AI and make pots at the AI and Earth conference organised by the artist and stage designer. - The Guardian
Keir Starmer joined criticism of the festival at the weekend, saying it was “deeply concerning” that West had been booked to perform “despite his previous antisemitic remarks and celebration of Nazism”. - The Guardian
Even if you spend very little time online, there’s little you can do outside the logic of the internet. It is a force that warps our reality, a cosmic background noise that is everywhere and nowhere — something inhuman that’s subtly reshaping our language, our politics, even our minds. - The New York Times
Book scientists are working tirelessly with an array of technologies — including microscopes, multispectral imaging and artificial intelligence — to recover, understand and preserve many valuable ancient texts. - The Conversation
The WPA provided for culture workers through Federal One, encompassing the Federal Art, Music, Theatre, and Writers’ Projects. But the social benefits of painting a mural were less obvious than those of planting a tree. - ARTnews
Leading figures from the world of comedy have met the government to make the case for comedy, including that it be recognised as an art form in its own right to improve funding access and policy development. - BBC
Per the outlet, the corporation is seeking signed equity commitments of close to $24 billion, for which Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has agreed to contribute approximately $10 billion. - Deadline
