The Tony nominations are in, and it would be difficult to come up with a season that presented a clearer portrait of where Broadway is headed and where it has been.
Whether it?s the prospect of dying at sea or being shot by a drug kingpin or losing family members in a war, Nam Le?s people are individuals trapped in the cross hairs of fate.
As fiercely as the rock counterculture rejected its parents? tastes in music, all three women in Sheila Weller's ?Girls Like Us" are revealed as heavily indebted to traditional pop and its quasi-religious faith in romantic love.
The 30th-anniversary revival of Sam Shepard?s ?Curse of the Starving Class,? at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, is respectable but timid.
Ben Silverman, the co-chairman of NBC Entertainment, acknowledged that the changing late-night landscape at the network would probably mean that Jay Leno would leave it.
A new production of the rarely staged work,?David et Jonathas,? directed by Timothy Nelson, the 28-year-old founder of the American Opera Theater, brought David and Jonathan out of the closet, interpreting their relationship as a modern audience would.
The St. Paul Chamber Orchestra's fortunes have risen and fallen several times, but judging from its concert at Zankel Hall on Sunday, it is on the upswing.
?Mike?s World: Michael Smith & Joshua White (and other collaborators)? is a terrifically entertaining and philosophically compelling survey, at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Philadelphia, of Mr. Smith?s 30-year career.
Over the last two decades Kim Brandstrup has created pieces for many of the major classical and contemporary companies in Britain, and his most recent commission is from none other than the Royal Ballet.
First Talking Heads; now a singing building. That was the prospect for the former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne on Monday, when state officials disclosed plans for him to transform a landmark Lower Manhattan building into a huge musical instrument, The Associated Press reported. The officials said Mr. Byrne?s ?Playing the Building? installation, in the Battery Maritime Building, would use devices attached to ceiling beams, plumbing, electrical conduits and other structural elements to produce sound through vibration. The temporary installation and a new waiting room for ferry passengers are to open this month in the 1909 Beaux Arts structure. Mr. Byrne, 55, (above, in situ) is now a solo musician and visual artist.
The father of David Archuleta, one of the three finalists remaining in the competition on ?American Idol,? has been banned from attending rehearsals for the show after disputes with the program?s production staff. A person close to the program, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak about the matter, confirmed the account, first reported Friday by the celebrity gossip site TMZ.com. A spokeswoman for Fox, which broadcasts ?American Idol,? declined to comment. Jeff Archuleta, above left, the father of David ? who at 17 is the youngest current ?Idol? contestant ? has been the subject of reports in recent months about his active role in his son?s performances and song choices. Last month Naomi Judd, during an appearance on the ?Today? program, said that when she was a judge on ?Star Search? in 2003, Mr. Archuleta was ?the worst stage dad,? a characterization Mr. Archuleta disputed in a subsequent interview with Us magazine. The latest dispute arose after David Archuleta, at his father?s urging, disregarded warnings from the producers against including lyrics from a song by Sean Kingston into his performance of the Ben E. King hit ?Stand By Me.? The change required additional rights clearances and royalty payments by the producers.
Salman Rushdie was the bookies? favorite to win the Best of the Booker award when his 1981 novel, ?Midnight?s Children,? was chosen Monday for the six-book shortlist, a competition to be named the best of the 41 winners in the history of the Booker Prize, The Associated Press reported. The bookmakers William Hill fixed the odds on Mr. Rushdie?s novel at 5-1. Other nominees for the award, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the prize, which was established in 1969 (it was shared in 1974 and 1992) were: ?Disgrace? by the Nobel laureate J. M. Coetzee (10-1); ?The Ghost Road? by Pat Barker (20-1); ?Oscar and Lucinda? by Peter Carey (25-1); ?The Conservationist? by Nadine Gordimer (40-1); ?The Siege of Krishnapur? by J. G. Farrell (80-1). The short list was chosen by a panel of judges. The winner of the Best of the Booker prize will be chosen by a vote of the public and will be announced in London on July 10. The award, now called the Man Booker Prize goes annually to the best work of fiction by an author from the British Commonwealth or the Republic of Ireland.
Neil Young, below left, already a singer and songwriter, is now spider man. No, not Peter Parker of comic book fame, but the man whose name has been bestowed on a new species of spider. The tribute was rendered to the 62-year-old musician by Jason E. Bond, a biologist at East Carolina University in Greenville, N.C., who discovered a new trapdoor spider and chose to call it Myrmekiaphila neilyoungi, above. In a statement Dr. Bond said: ?There are rather strict rules about how you name new species. As long as these rules are followed, you can give a new species just about any name you please. With regards to Neil Young, I really enjoy his music and have a great appreciation of him as an activist for peace and justice.?.
?Survivor: Micronesia,? the 16th edition of the CBS franchise, ended on Sunday, drawing the lowest ratings ever for a season finale of the eight-year-old series. Nielsen estimated it averaged 12.9 million viewers from 8 to 10 p.m., just short of the previous low record, last May?s conclusion of ?Survivor: Fiji? (13.6 million). In December the final episode of ?Survivor: China? fared better than either edition, attracting 15.2 million viewers. Still, the show managed to lead the 8 p.m. hour for CBS against ABC?s ?Extreme Makeover: Home Edition? (11.9 million), helping make CBS the most watched network on the night by the slimmest of margins. But CBS trailed ABC later in the evening as ABC?s ?Desperate Housewives? remained dominant at 9 (15.2 million) and ?Brothers & Sisters? (11 million) eked out a victory over CBS?s customary ?Survivor? reunion special in the 10 p.m. hour (10.8 million). ABC retained a slight edge for the night ahead of CBS in the important demographic of adults 18 to 49. Fox finished a distant third overall, followed by NBC in fourth.
Free folk music will return to Governors Island this summer, beginning with a performance by Janis Ian on July 5. The second annual Folks on the Island: A Folk Music Festival on Governors Island will run for five Saturdays, ending Aug. 2. Other performers include Slaid Cleaves (July 12), Bearfoot (July 19), Eric Bibb (July 26) and Ronny Cox. Free ferry service to the island will leave from the Battery Maritime Building every hour on the hour beginning at 10 a.m. The concerts, at Colonel?s Row, begin at 1:30 p.m. Information: folksontheisland.com. ... Free performances of Shakespeare?s ?Cymbeline? will be offered by New York Classic Theater at 7 p.m. Thursday through Sunday from May 29 to June 22 inside Central Park at West 103rd Street. Scenes in these ?Shakespeare on the Run? performances, using footbridges, trees, rocks and benches as scenery, move from place to place in the park. Information: (212) 252-4531 or newyorkclassical.org.
