“Or as Atkinson put it when his power was under attack in 1947: “What the theater needs is not the suppression of opinion but a sharp and drastic deflation in the cost of tickets and a sharp and drastic improvement in the quality of plays.” —
Funny how nothing has changed 63 years later …
Whines around the block - NYPOST.com -
Michael Riedel does a great, though snarky, job of explaining why so many Broadway shows are closing: because they suck.
I have been behind in reviewing the shows I’ve seen recently, but two of them - “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson” and “Scottsboro Boys” are both referenced in the article as shows that should have stayed off Broadway. I said the exact same thing after seeing both of them ….
Broadway IS commercial theatre at its finest. If you don’t make a good, popular, commercial show, it won’t work. Sorry theatre snobs, but it’s true. No matter how good the art, if the people don’t like it, it won’t sell.
“We all understand how illegal it is to reveal state secrets, even those that are classified secret for no good reason. We also know that over the years, governments have lied to the American people in the name of national security, whether about preparations for war or dealings with our allies and enemies.
Journalists take comfort in the saying about sunlight being the best disinfectant, and usually that is true. Abraham Lincoln expressed the same sentiment this way: “Let the people know the facts and the country will be safe.”
— Real danger of WikiLeaks dump: curtailed rights - CNN.com
Theater review: 'Next to Normal' at the Ahmanson Theatre | Culture Monster | Los Angeles Times -
If you’re in LA … or NYC for that matter … go see this show.
Beautiful day in Atlanta with the sis…
Paying college players is an inherently bad idea - latimes.com -
I don’t even know why anyone bothered to write this article. Of course you can’t pay college players … are people really actually talking about this?
The 'Israelification' of airports: High security, little bother -
Having done a lot of flying in the Middle East, I must say that their system is much better than that of America — but nothing like what they have in Israel.
This makes complete sense to me.
Very interesting read to see how another culture views and handles airport security.
“It’s starting to feel like the old days in Tallahassee. Armed with a nation’s best 10 prospects from the ESPNU 150 after landing four-star defensive end Aaron Lynch and four-star offensive tackle Jordan Prestwood earlier in the week, the Seminoles jump into the top three in the class rankings and might just be the hottest team in the country right now on the recruiting front.” — Jimbo Fisher, Florida State Seminoles make it seem like old times - ESPN
“The Beatles have been held up as one of the last great holdouts in terms of selling digital music. The announcement of the deal with iTunes simply indicates that longstanding royalty negotiations finally came to an end. There was no moral album-only stance, or any aversion to the digital world. In fact, the Beatles camp has long talked about wanting the deal to happen. If it had happened in 2002 or 2003, then maybe it could have been held up as a dramatic shift for the music industry. Yet there’s no underlying importance to this story, as it simply marks the conclusion of a complex business relationship among three parties with separate agendas.” — The Beatles on iTunes: Five reasons it’s not all that exciting | Pop & Hiss | Los Angeles Times
I have a variety of cultural activities coming up in the next few days that I’m very excited about …
Tonight: Cosi fan Tutti at the Met
Saturday: FSU vs Maryland — at Maryland (going to a live Football game is culture)
Sunday: Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson (PS you can get $50 tickets through their website up until T-giving - tip for you fellow New Yorkers)