The conditions that made the outbreak possible were thus directly connected to the new social relations flourishing in Europe, Central Asia, and the Far East in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. It was the booming trade in silks and luxury goods, as well as the growth of towns and cities with relatively stable sedentary populations, that laid the ground for the deadly pandemic. – Boston Review
Dorothy Parker’s Ashes: An Odyssey From A File Cabinet To Baltimore To The Bronx
The tale of the author’s cremains, which would likely have amused her as much as irked her, includes appearances by Martin Luther King and the NAACP (to whom she left her estate), Lillian Hellman (more than living down to Mary McCarthy’s opinion of her), activist lawyer and one-time New York City Council President Paul O’Dwyer, and (the hero of the story) a professional tour guide named Kevin Fitzpatrick. – The New Yorker
New Startup To Deliver Movies To Theatres Through The Cloud
In the U.S., current theatrical distribution is about 50/50 between hard drives and satellite delivery, according to Jason Brenek. He believes cloud-based tech offers a more efficient alternative. The service was developed to support all out-of-home venues, including cinemas, pop-up drive-ins or outdoor arenas. – The Hollywood Reporter
Hunter College Laid Off Half Its College Art Assistants. The Other Half Is Threatening Not To Work
With an average enrollment of 125 students, Hunter’s art department is one of the largest in the US. The college assistants are usually given one-year contracts, with benefits, and they are responsible for maintaining and running the department’s facilities, equipment, and supplies, in addition to overseeing the use of studio spaces, tools, and training students. – The Art Newspaper
How Much Difference Does Rotten Tomatoes Really Make In A Movie’s Success?
“As recently as a few years ago, the movie-review aggregator was seen as something of an industry bogeyman. But is there a correlation between box office receipts and a high (or low) score on the Tomatometer? We dug deep into the numbers to determine that.” – The Ringer
This Manuscript Book May Be The Only Surviving Relic Of Thomas Becket
The elaborate shrine to Becket at Canterbury Cathedral, where he was Archbishop and where he was murdered at the altar by King Henry II’s knights in 1170, was smashed to bits by Protestant iconoclasts during the English Reformation. Every remnant and relic of the man was destroyed. Now an illuminated psalter held at one of the Cambridge colleges has been identified as having belonged to Becket. – Apollo
There’s One Place In Times Square That’s Already Presenting Indoor Broadway Concerts
Thank goodness for liquor-law loopholes, because one of them is the reason that Open Jar Studios, a complex normally used for rehearsals, has become the only indoor venue in New York City presenting live performances. The thorough COVID-safety measures that Open Jar has in place could be a good example of what we’ll see elsewhere before long. – Gothamist
Kennedy Center Spent More Than $50 Million To Present ‘Hamilton’
That amount is almost five times what the complex paid producers to put on the next most expensive show, the Broadway tour of The Book of Mormon in 2015. The price is also more than theaters in other American cities paid, even on a per-performance basis, though higher ticket prices in D.C. made up that difference. Yet the Kennedy Center made back almost all of the money on ticket sales alone, and that’s before the extra revenue from ticket-processing fees, snack and gift shop sales, and new subscriptions. – The Washington Post
Philadelphia Museum Of Art COO To Step Down Next Year (Not At All Because Of This Year’s Scandals)
“[Gail] Harrity, 70, who joined the museum in 1997 as chief operating officer and was named president in 2009” — that is, second-in-command after the museum’s director — “has been on top of virtually every building project of note at the museum for the last 15 years. And there have been plenty.” However, “museum officials said Harrity’s departure was unrelated to the turmoil that has afflicted the institution this year.” – The Philadelphia Inquirer
How Creative Workers Are Adapting During Shutdown
The coronavirus pandemic has ravaged all parts of the economy, and culture workers are among the hardest hit. Yet some have managed to keep their jobs — and even thrive — while others are still struggling or have pivoted to new roles. – The New York Times
The First Live Musical On The West End Since Lockdown Will Be —
— Jason Robert Brown’s Songs for a New World, which will get matinee and evening performances (socially distanced, of course) on Sunday, October 11 at the London Palladium, the theatre where Andrew Lloyd Webber presented a trial show in July. – WhatsOnStage (London)