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Andrew Leynse, Artistic Director of New York’s Primary Stages, Is Dead At 53

For 21 years he led Primary Stages, one of New York's most prominent Off-Broadway companies, producing works by such playwrights as Theresa Rebeck, Terrence McNally, Charles Busch, Horton Foote, Danai Gurira, A.R. Gurney, Billy Porter, and Kate Hamill. - Deadline

On Not Reading

It's not the flex some celebrities seem to think it is. - The Atlantic

Amsterdam Museum Finds Out Presenting ‘Nuance’ About WWII Isn’t Such A Great Plan

The effort to provide profiles of everyone from Resistance heroes to those wowed by Nazi propaganda "has touched a sensitive nerve among many Dutch people, ... argue that it fails to adequately distinguish between good and bad behavior." - The New York Times

Texas Library Board Chair Says She Was Removed Because Of Anti-LGBTQIA Bullies

"Cat Serna-Horn says council members offered her 'political favors' to quietly resign from the board ... was told the board's compromise to keep LGBTQ sections in the library forced her removal." - KERA (Dallas)

Take A Look At Frank Lloyd Wright’s Unbuilt Mile-High Chicago Skyscraper

"The new renderings include the Gordon Strong Automobile Objective, a planetarium proposed in 1925, as well as the National Life Insurance building, the floating cabins of Summer Colony on Lake Tahoe, and his most famous unrealized structure ... in Chicago."  - Artnet

Florida Governor’s Desire To Whitewash History Is Sparking Pushback

"The latest controversy in Florida education policies began this month, when the DeSantis administration said a pilot Advanced Placement course on Black history would not be approved by the state Department of Education because it violated state law and 'lacks educational value.'" - Washington Post

Broadway Is Really Into Drag, But Why?

A new Some Like It Hot musical tries to balance painful depictions "and the rich reality of drag as art, self-expression, and everything in between. But can a revision of an old story featuring harmful stereotypes ever truly be a vehicle for authentic representation?" - The Takeaway

On That Viral Video Brawl Starring The Michelle Yeoh Of Waffle House

"It's a miracle how she dispenses with the chair. 'Dispenses' isn't even the right word: She repels it. She parries it like an anime character deflecting a beam of supernatural power, like Neo dodging bullets in The Matrix, like King Kong swatting away a helicopter." - The New York Times Magazine

A Chinese Musician Is Working To Revive The Gehu

The gehu, an instrument which was introduced into Chinese orchestras in the 20th century and then replaced by the cello, "has four strings, a fingerboard and a horizontal cylinder." One Berklee student wants it to make a comeback. - The World

How Edith Wharton Foresaw 21st-Century America

"Undine Spragg of The Custom of the Country ... can be conceived of as (a) social media influencer conscious of her brand. For Undine and her creator know that 'the future belonged to the showy and the promiscuous' and that the turn-of-the-century 'world where conspicuousness passed for distinction' foreshadows our own." - Literary Hub

Arts Groups Must Innovate If They Want An Audience

The pandemic accelerated a generational shift: "Past program choices are not adequately energizing younger audiences. They want the experience to be new and different, on their feet, immersed in the experience and socially connected." - Seattle Times

Fighting The Good Fight Against Focal Dystonia

At USC in Los Angeles, faculty at the Thornton School of Music are working with neurologists, otolaryngologists, psychologists, physical therapists, and other health care professionals on ways to treat, and to prevent, the repetitive-motion neuromuscular disorder that can end musicians' careers. - San Francisco Classical Voice

It’s Not Just The Oscars Failing Black Women – It’s The Whole Ecosystem

"What does it say that the Black women who did everything the institution asks of them — luxury dinners, private academy screenings, meet-and-greets, splashy television spots and magazine profiles — are ignored when someone who did everything outside of the system is rewarded?" - Los Angeles Times

Complete Roman-Era City Unearthed At Luxor, Ancient Egypt’s Capital

"On Tuesday, Egyptian archaeologists announced that they had uncovered a complete 1,800-year-old residential Roman city. … Most archaeological work in Luxor, a city that has regularly turned up all kinds of ancient material, has focused on temples and tombs, so the city is a somewhat unusual find." - ARTnews

After A Long Campaign, The UK’s Royal Opera House Cuts Ties With British Petroleum

That long campaign was by climate activists, one of whom said, "What we are witnessing is a seismic shift, a near wholesale rejection across the arts of BP's brand and the climate-wrecking business it represents." - BBC

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