He was creative director of an ad agency when the boss complained that his sons could remember rock lyrics but not multiplication tables and asked Newall to have the tables set to music. Newall gathered a songwriting team, the agency's art director made cartoons, and the rest is TV history. - Deadline
For four decades, the consensus has been that — despite some excellent songs, and despite repeated adjustments during revivals — there's just no way to make Merrily We Roll Along into a good piece of musical theater. Then the director Maria Friedman, who's uniquely qualified, had a go. - The New York Times
Indeed, Phantom is ending its long Broadway run this spring, but the Blue Man Group (granted, in a smaller house) just keeps on — not only in New York, but in touring shows on at least three continents. Peter Marks considers the secrets of their success. - MSN (The Washington Post)
Director general Tim Davie: "Imagine a world that is internet-only, where broadcast TV and radio are being switched off and choice is infinite. A switch-off of broadcast will and should happen over time, and we should be active in planning for it." - The Guardian
Arts Council England head Darren Henley told a parliamentary committee, "We are saying we would like to see an organisation with a base outside of London, but we absolutely recognise, with its business plan going forward, that the Coliseum is an important part of that." - The Stage
This was also his first trip to Venezuela in six years. Inciting the wrath of President Nicolás Maduro, Dudamel had become politically persona non grata after speaking out about the violence and repression he felt was not being addressed by the government. - Los Angeles Times
The CRTC's moves toward greater flexibility for radio include introducing new criteria to determine whether a song is Canadian, including refining content categories to widen the eligible songs stations can play to meet Canadian content requirements. - Inside Radio
The application of game design principles like leaderboards, progress bars, points, badges, levels, challenges, and activity streaks to nongame ends has seeped into just about every domain of modern life, from sleeping and exercising to studying and social credit systems. - The New Republic
Nearby business owners said the Comcast Service Center has been playing loud music from a surveillance system with a speaker for about a month now. The loud music is described as classical or elevator music. - KOMO TV
NBCUniversal, Paramount Global and Walt Disney together own dozens of underperforming cable networks that are quickly losing relevance in the age of streaming. - Variety
Roxana Silbert has quit as the north London theatre’s artistic director because of the financial constraints it is facing after Arts Council England’s decision not to renew its £766,455 annual grant. - The Guardian
Nadhi Thekkek and her San Francisco company, Nava Dance Theatre, use the style and vocabulary of bharatanatyam to tell contemporary stories taken from the lives of real people, bringing them to the level of the Hindu mythological tales typically retold in traditional Indian dance. - San Francisco Chronicle
“It was our belief that cord-cutting losses would be offset by gains in streaming. This has not been the case. We are primarily a content company and the mechanisms for the monetization of content are in disarray.” - The Hollywood Reporter
"As well as offering workshops in ballet, contemporary dance, hip-hop and singing, she explains, the Paris Opera will also launch an apprenticeship programme for production skills, such as make-up and set design" in the South American territory, over 4,000 miles from mainland France. - Radio France International
Qatar spent a reported $220 billion preparing for the tournament, conjuring new buildings, new neighborhoods and even an entirely new city. To be here now is to exist in a bubble of high unreality. - The New York Times
