“Whenever they’re at a party or a social gathering of some sort and they meet new people, often those people will confide their whole life stories to Rem. Or at least all kinds of personal, intense stuff, like their father recently dying or something. Is it the fame? What is it about Rem that makes people do this?”
The Art Of Bean-counting (Yes, The Art)
“No one publicly celebrates the virtues of balancing one’s books and of audits with great art or gripping characters. Occasionally an accounting hero emerges, bringing a billion-dollar loss to light, but few people appreciate it, as the Dutch did, as a profound moral advance in business and public affairs.”
Daria Klimentová’s Parting Wish: Stop Mucking About With The Classics!
“Classical ballet is already getting smaller and smaller. I hope that it is not going to disappear. But what I see around me is a lot of choreographers who are destroying the classics. I wish that instead of doing Sleeping Beauty in some crazy new way, they would just go and invent their own full-length ballet story.”
Transgender Pianist, Shunned In U.S., Saved By Canada
“Classical pianist Sara Davis Buechner played with some of the most prestigious orchestras in the United States, winning praise from presidents and capturing awards that pointed to a promising career as one of the best in the world. But back then, she was a man named David.”
The 9-11 Museum: Ritualized Grief
“It is a stew of the basic metaphors of Western Civilization, and in the end you realize that this isn’t just a museum trying to be a quasi-sacred space for reflection, it is a new religion, fully articulated and perfectly adapted for our distracted, self-involved, media-saturated world. Sprawling over 110,000-square feet, with vast, cavernous spaces that reach down to the depths of the original footings of the old World Trade Center, this is the great, subterranean cathedral of America Militant, Suffering and Exceptional.”
The Guys Who Turn Terrible Ideas Into Good Movies
“Discerning parents still speak glowingly about the pair’s debut feature, the 2009 film Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. And the predecessor of 22 Jump Street, 21 Jump Street, based on the ’80s TV show, roundly surprised critics for having a heart while being clever. This year, [there was] adulatory chatter around The Lego Movie, which the pair wrote and directed – and made into one of the biggest movie moneymakers of the year.”
Rats Regret The Bad Choices They Make, Just Like We Do
Researchers at the University of Minnesota “found that rats expressed regret through both their behavior and their neural activity. Those signals … were specific to situations the researchers set up to induce regret, which led to specific neural patterns in the brain and in behavior.”
You Always Hurt The Ones You Love – Especially If You Expect Their Music For Free
“With scarcity now gone, songs are in the air, a mist we move through like so much department store perfume. We are no longer collecting music; it is collecting us on various platforms.”
The Many Lives Of ‘The Wizard Of Oz’
“It started out as an adaptation of one of the most beloved American children’s books of the early 20th century; now it’s America’s gay national anthem, as well as a launchpad for entire careers of subversive and oppositional film-makers, from David Lynch to John Waters.”
The Secrets Of Storytelling, According To Zadie Smith
“Did I really almost drift away, down that anaemic, intellectual path where storytelling is considered vulgar and characters a stain on the purity of a sentence? Dear Lord – almost.”
After Recent High-Profile, Abrupt Show Closures, Actors Want More Notice Before The End Comes
“Actors are now calling on Equity to negotiate an increase to this period, prompted in large part by the cancellation of the 50-city US tour of Jesus Christ Superstar starring Ben Forster just days before it was due to open.”
How Do Comic Artists Produce Such Condensed Yet Amazing Cutaways And Maps?
“It’s those detailed visuals that often show the wonderful imaginations of comic book writers.”
Where To See Theatre (Outside Of New York And London)
From a little town in Serbia to Chicago, from Tokyo to Melbourne, here’s a list of a bunch of true theatre towns around the world.
Here’s Who Won Tonys
“The best musical win for “Gentleman’s Guide” was hard to predict, as the show, a sly operetta, was locked in a tight race among Tony voters with the crowd-pleasing “Beautiful” for the one prize that typically lifts the box office.”
Top AJBlogs From 06.08.14
Monday To Bring “Major Grand Bargain” Announcement
AJBlog: Real Clear Arts | Published 2014-06-08
Celebrating Route 66
AJBlog: CultureCrash | Published 2014-06-06
Cutting wages is hard to do
AJBlog: For What it’s Worth | Published 2014-06-08
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The New York Times’ Tony Awards Live Blog
In case you just can’t wait.
Yes, The Tonys Are New York-Focused Insidery Awards – But Here’s Why You Should Care About Them
“Sure, the Golden Globes have drunk celebrities. The Oscars have prestige, glamour. But the Tony Awards have hope on full display. The Tonys have romance! Adventure! Andrew Jackson singing about populism! Because in the theater, as in life, anything is possible.”