This week, the Iowa City Community School District released a list of 68 books that it removed from schools to comply with the law. Among the titles: “Ulysses” by James Joyce, “Nineteen Minutes” by Jodi Picoult, “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood and “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison. - Washington Post
The production, an adaptation of Shakespeare's play set in the days of Oswald Mosley's Union of British Fascists, stars Tracy-Ann Oberman as a single-mother Shylock. She says audiences and critics have been very supportive, but since the Gaza War broke out, antisemites have made verbal attacks and threats. - Variety
There’s a volitional component to situational boredom—it inspires a pivot, a consideration of what one deems valuable. To be bored in this way is to desire change. - Van
The highest-profile recent examples have been the Metropolitan Opera productions of Terence Blanchard's Champion and Fire Shut Up in My Bones, but there are more: Rhiannon Giddens's Pulitzer-winning Omar, Anthony Davis's X and The Central Park Five, Tazewell Thompson and Jeanine Tesori's Blue, Jake Heggie's Intelligence, … - MSN (San Francisco Chronicle)
"By the end of this, more than a quarter of our galleries will have changed,” said CEO Max Hollein. “It’s open-heart surgery and the patient is awake." Here's a look at what's planned — and whom the Met has hired to oversee it all. - The New York Times
After surveying more than 8,000 audience members, who expressed desires for more time for post-show dinner, discussion, and/or catching the last train home, the NT will start a pilot scheme this winter of 6:30 pm start times for some Tuesday and Thursday performances. - The Guardian
"The museum has filed suit against Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg over the August seizure of “Draped Male Figure,” which has been part of the museum’s collection since 1986 and is valued at more than $20 million. The ancient bronze remains in Cleveland, seized in place and off-view." - Ideastream Public Media (Cleveland)
"The son of a Bronx pool-hall owner and numbers runner, Mr. Patrick was raised in a milieu sprinkled with the grifters, hustlers and mobsters who would eventually become characters in his novels, which also included Family Business (1985) and Smoke Screen (1999)." - The New York Times
The heart of the offer, also backed by Scarlett Johannson, Ben Affleck, Tyler Perry and others, is to remove the cap on actors' pay subject to union dues, thus bringing more income to SAG-AFTRA. Generous, sure, but it has nothing to do with the issues underlying the strike. - Variety
"In its arrangement of spaces, carefully judged details and tactile material qualities, (the John Morden Centre) is a model for how to create a sociable setting for life in older age – a beacon of optimism after a decade of swingeing cuts to social care." - The Guardian
“It was part of our promise with creators. At the time we started creating original programming, our creators felt like they were pretty trapped in this kind of overnight ratings world and weekend box office world defining their success and failures." - Variety
In 2021, New Rep paused its operations due to financial losses incurred during the pandemic. It reopened nine months later on a smaller scale with a renewed focus on new work and diverse voices. - WBUR
And from its formation in 1976, the Emerson Quartet sounded pretty. It became famous for its rich vitality and easy power in a vast repertory that it recorded prolifically and toured tirelessly. - The New York Times
At a time when audiences are dwindling, and dancers are known more for their TikToks than their technique, it may be unwise to anoint as the art form’s future a choreographer so thoroughly steeped in ballet history. - The New Republic
