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29 Years Ago, Charlotte Had A Freakout Over A Play, And The City’s Arts Scene Still Hasn’t Recovered

The play was Tony Kushner’s Angels in America, produced in 1996 by the Charlotte Repertory Theatre. Here’s the story of the fight about it started by a fundamentalist minister, the legal mechanism used to shut the play down, and the decades-long aftereffects of the debacle. - Charlotte Magazine

Oscars 2025 Live Coverage

Including red carpet coverage, and, eventually, awards as well. If you would prefer something slightly different, here are the Los Angeles Times, Hollywood Reporter (winners only), and host ABC’s updates as well. - The New York Times

How Daniel Blumberg Made The Brutalist’s Disorienting Score

With hammers and screws, of course. Composer Daniel Blumberg, tipped to win tonight, “found himself in the novel position of actually having to write music about architecture.” - The Independent (UK) (MSN)

What Writers Owe To Historical Fiction

Andrea Barrett: Some writers will change facts. “But that makes me queasy. I think my own sketchy, early education made me realize that for some of us, what we read in a historical novel might be all we’ll ever know about a particular period.” - Los Angeles Review of Books

The Oscars Are Actually Streaming This Year

At long last! Hulu is the spot (no shocker, since Disney owns both ABC and Hulu). - Wired

Macron Brings Attention To Plight Of French-Algerian Writer

“French president Emmanuel Macron has said he is concerned about the 'arbitrary detention’ and health of Boualem Sansal, days after the French-Algerian author began a hunger strike over his imprisonment in Algeria.” - The Guardian (UK)

Gene Hackman, 95

“An actor who powerfully embodied ordinary men under stress in dozens of films and twice won Oscars for bringing humanizing depth to corrupt lawmen, ... in The French Connection (and) Unforgiven, (he) was found dead Feb. 26 along with his wife at their home in Santa Fe.” - The Washington Post (MSN)

What’s More Staggering Than “A Heartbreaking Work Of Staggering Genius”? Its Afterlife

“AHWOSG, as everyone called it, launched Dave Eggers’s career, one that’s seen him publish dozens of books, write screenplays, oversee a literary magazine and publishing company, and launch a nonprofit that’s helped hundreds of thousands of children become better writers. All those things happened because the book was a phenomenon.” - Slate (Yahoo!)

The Debut Of The Microphone, 100 Years Ago This Week

“On Feb. 25, 1925, Art Gillham, a musician known as 'the Whispering Pianist' for his gentle croon, entered Columbia Phonograph Company’s studio to test out a newly installed electrical system. Its totem was positioned in front of him, level with his mouth: a microphone.” - The New York Times

The Benin Bronzes Are Returning To Nigeria

The pieces were stolen from Nigeria's Kingdom of Benin by British soldiers in 1897. The British went on to sell their spoils, and the treasures made their way to the Dutch government,” which is now ready to return 119 pieces of art. - NPR

A German High Court Has Ruled That Birkenstocks Are Not Art

German hikers - and much of Eugene, Oregon, for that matter - are a little upset. - CBC

The Moral Crisis In Arts Funding

“This is a grim cautionary tale about complying with authoritarianism in advance, and it's not going to be pretty, but at the end I'll share with you some of the things that can still be done.” - 8th House with Claire Willett

To Write An Opera Based On Moby Dick, First You Must Know The Hearts Of Men

“I just read and reread the book, which I hadn’t done since high school—and back then I probably skipped some chapters. I was also reading criticism about it,” says librettist Gene Scheer. "There’s so much about Moby-Dick that is operatic.” - The Paris Review

What In The Name Of All That Is Far From Holy Are Trump’s National Archives Appointees Doing To The Jimmy Carter Presidential Library?

Sudden cancellations of author events about civil rights, voting, homelessness, and climate change make the authors suspicious. One source said “the Carter Library would now need to seek approval from the National Archives for all programs, even those already scheduled.” - The New York Times

Adobe Architecture May Be The Key To Rebuilding A Fireproof Los Angeles

Since the latest wildfires, interest in natural buildings has spiked, particularly after a widely-shared photo showed a backyard SuperAdobe that emerged from the Eaton fire intact. Well-designed adobes resist earthquakes as well as fires, and they’re quicker and less expensive to build than conventional modern homes. - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)

Salman Rushdie Stabbing Trial: Defense Rests Without Presenting Evidence

“(Hadi Matar,) the New Jersey man on trial (for) the 2022 stabbing of author Salman Rushdie, declined to testify in his defense Thursday as his lawyers rested their case without calling any witnesses. … Earlier Thursday, prosecutors called a forensics expert as their final witness, wrapping up seven days of testimony.” - AP

Amazon Has Been Given Creative Control Over Entire James Bond Franchise

“The Broccoli family’s feud with Amazon MGM Studios over the (property) appears to have reached a resolution. Barbara Broccoli and her stepbrother Michael Wilson, who have long controlled the 007 franchise, (have) reached an agreement to hand over creative control to a joint venture with the studio.” - The Wall Street Journal (MSN)

So Trump Replaced The Kennedy Center’s Board. Now Will He Lead Its Fundraising?

The Center gets only 16% of its budget from Federal money, and that's for maintenance, repairs and operation of the building, which the government owns. The now-fired CEO and board chairman were very successful fundraisers, and the chairman a major donor. Will anyone be making up for that? - The New York Times

Bullied At School, Samuel Marino Can Now Say He Has One Of The Rarest Voices In Opera

Mariño, a sopranist, once begged his mother to take him to the doctor to fix his voice. Now, he says before a residency in Australia, "I like to describe my voice as a light lyric soprano, with a bit of coloratura.” - The Guardian (UK)

The Deeply Human Desire That Makes Social Media A Real Problem

Everyone, deep down, has “a desire for recognition to be seen as human by other humans. This is a driving, animating desire. Attention is like right next to it, and so it tastes enough like it to keep you going for it without ever delivering the thing you want.” - Slate
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