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This Year’s Tony Nominations: Boldness And Backsliding

The spirit of boldness that marked Broadway’s reopening in the wake of a once-in-a-century pandemic and widespread societal reckonings on equity, diversity and inclusion was still apparent, though bottom-line realities aggressively reasserted themselves. - Los Angeles Times

Can Members Of The Actors’, Directors’, And Tech Crew Unions Refuse To Cross The Writers’ Picket Lines?

Contracts generally prevent unions themselves from joining in, but individual members may choose to honor the picket line — though not necessarily without consequences. Here's what various unions are advising members to do. - The Hollywood Reporter

Disney Sued Florida Gov. DeSantis And His Hand-Picked Board. Now That Board Is Countersuing Disney.

"The board overseeing Disney's special taxing district" – the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board of supervisors – "voted on Monday to sue the company days after the entertainment giant filed its own lawsuit against the board." - CNN

Hollywood Writers’ Strike Immediately Shuts Down Late-Night TV Shows

The work stoppage by the Writers Guild of America has led to the temporary closure of the weekday late-night shows on NBC, ABC, CBS, HOB (Bill Maher) and Comedy Central. Saturday Night Live and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver have also halted production. - The Hollywood Reporter

Vice Media Is About To Declare Bankruptcy: Report

"Vice, the brash digital-media disrupter that charmed giants like Disney and Fox into investing before a stunning crash-landing, is preparing to file for bankruptcy, according to two people with knowledge of its operations." - The New York Times

The Streisand Effect Applies To Censored Books, Too

"The best sales pitch is the threat of censorship. It draws attention to books that might otherwise have gone under the radar." What's more, "we tend to believe that when books are censored, they are obliterated or withdrawn from view. But more often they are edited to increase sales." - The Guardian

Here’s Why San Francisco Ballet’s Executive Director Resigned So Suddenly

Two weeks ago, Danielle St.Germain stepped down from the dance troupe without explanation. Now the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco have announced that she will be their chief philanthropic officer. (The bulk of her career has been as a fundraising executive outside the dance world.) - San Francisco Chronicle

La Scala Just Finished Its Second Renovation In 20 Years. Here’s A Q&A With The Architect

Mario Botta: "We've added a 17-story structure (six floors are underground) on the Via Verdi. At the base of this tower is an orchestra practice room, and on top is an airy dance studio. In between is needed functional space like offices, storage and rehearsal space." - The New York Times

Three Years After His Death, Philosopher Roger Scruton Is More Influential Than Ever

Conferences on Scruton’s work are springing up like mushrooms across the continent. Budapest boasts a chain of Scruton cafes that hold regular discussions of his work. The flagship of the chain displays various bits of Scrutonia — books, records, an old-fashioned gramophone and even a teapot. - Bloomberg

Book Banning: Et Tu, Canada?

A push that began last summer to remove a few children's sexual education books from the southern Manitoba library system has since bubbled up into accusations its staff are pedophiles, as well as a campaign to defund the library — leaving some of its exhausted librarians considering quitting, the library's director says. - CBC

Regina Symphony Ponders Its Place Post-COVID As Audiences Are Slow To Rebound

"But in many places, the idea of the regularity and the consistency of attendance and participation in orchestral activities has been broken." - CBC

La Scala To The World: Let The Streaming Begin

The platform is part of a wider effort to modernize La Scala’s infrastructure, including an extensive educational outreach program using the technology and plans for subtitles on seat backs. - The New York Times

Grantmaking In The Arts Must Change

Artists know best what they need to advance their art and to thrive — hire artists as grantmakers and advisors. Support organizations that are founded and led by creatives. - Hyperallergic

The Case For Being Able To See Inside AI Algorithms

If you want to trust a prediction, you need to understand how all the computations work. For example, in health care, you need to know if the model even applies to your patient. And it’s really hard to troubleshoot models if you don’t know what’s in them. - Quanta

Reckoning With George Balanchine, For Good And Ill

"It's possible to see Balanchine as both a god and a bogeyman, responsible for everything that's wonderful or wrong about ballet. Of course, that's far too simplistic. … No one's calling for Balanchine to be cancelled, but we should carefully consider what has been passed on." - The Guardian

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