“Having already struck gold by developing its Transformers brand into a series of four films, which collectively have grossed $3.8 billion (all figures U.S.) worldwide, Hasbro hasn’t ruled out bringing any of its brands, which include Play-Doh, Stretch Armstrong and My Little Pony, to Broadway.”
Rio Olympics Opening Ceremony As Contemporary Art Piece
“The opening ceremony succeeded in restoring a human face to a country that has been translated into a laundry list of unfixable problems. As populist as it was necessarily prettified, the event was in tune with the global mood that has grown weary of technocrats, elites and all the other self-serving saviors who talk a good game but never seem to improve the status quo.”
How The Guitar Fell Out Of Favor In Popular Music
“At the end of the ’80s, rock accounted for more than 40 percent of U.S. music sales, and guitarists still strutted the stage like kings. Yet by the year 2000, rock had fallen below 25 percent of the market, and rap artists were proving, week after week, that hit songs didn’t need any guitar.”
The Deal With ‘Mask Acting’ Is That It Can Sometimes Help Your Play
“In mask theatre the old can be young again, while the youthful can play the old. Gender, too, is up for grabs. It’s also an economically advantageous art form: a small company can play many characters. There is a strange alchemy about mask theatre. The ancient Greeks recognised its power and contemporary audiences seem increasingly drawn to a form that until recently was dismissed as a wee bit fusty.”
The 10 Million Euro Struggle To Save James Baldwin’s Home In Provence
“For 17 years, the local people adopted the African American author as one of their own. He was often seen chatting in the bar of the local Colombe d’Or hotel, and the affection was reciprocal. Today campaigners are battling to secure the future of his 17th-century house and its grounds, which have been earmarked for development into 18 luxury €1m flats. Two wings of the property on the 10-acre plot have already been demolished, including one in which he wrote.”
Why Was A Key Art Deco Part Of Banksy’s Dismaland Destroyed?
“Built in 1937, the concrete structure was the ‘last fragment’ of the derelict seaside lido used for the street artist’s ‘Bemusement Park’ exhibit last year. Conservationists said they had been told the fountain, in Weston-super-Mare, would be spared from destruction.”
The Jazz Clarinetist Who Acted As New Orleans’ Musical Ambassador To The World
“Unlike other musicians whose lives were marked by marital strife, substance abuse and run-ins with the law, Mr. Fountain lived a blissful existence with Beverly Lang Fountain, his wife of 64 years, and a sizable number of children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.”
When Ballet Springs Up In Soweto
“Traditionally, ballet here was for the white and wealthy. Black South Africans were excluded, leaving a legacy of disinterest. Ballet teacher Muli Mokgele is among those trying to change that.”