Theater
The caricature of the theater critic as spoilsport still pops up, pushed by rescuers of the “injured” who enjoy delivering self-congratulatory whippings. No naysayers are allowed –- it hurts business. For once, how about looking at the ways that yeasayers do a disservice to theater and the craft of criticism? By Bill Marx Are theater…
Yesterday, a Boston Globe editorial asked that Josiah Spaulding, Jr., president of the Citi Performing Arts Center (CPAC) be replaced. Of course he should go, but that will not solve the CPAC’s problems. Yesterday, a Boston Globe editorial asked that Josiah Spaulding, Jr., president of the Citi Performing Arts Center (CPAC) be replaced. The suggestion…
A growing number of sites and e-zines are bringing wit, intelligence, high standards, and editorial independence to critical coverage of the arts online.
Let me get this straight. President and CEO of the Citi Performing Arts Center (CPAC), Josiah Spaulding Jr., presides over five straight years of budget deficits and arts programming cuts, including slashing the budget of this summer’s Shakespeare on the Common production, and he earns a $1.265 million bonus. This is shameful, especially given that…
Bill Marx speaks with award-winning American playwright Suzan-Lori Parks. Also, dancing away at the video arcade. Download Part I and Part II of this interview with Suzan-Lori Parks.
Not every critic is inspired by British playwright Tom Stoppard’s epic, Tony award-winning trilogy about the trials and tribulations of the 19th century Russian radical Alexander Herzen. Download the podcast By Bill Marx I had high expectations for Tom Stoppard’s labor of love, but walked away from his bloated homage to the great Russian journalist…
A real life collision of legends of stage and screen that took place almost 50 years ago is a seductive, but dangerous, idea for a play.
Increasingly, artistic directors are expected to be super-successful fundraisers, an unstable hybrid of peddler and visionary that throttles artistic independence. By Bill Marx The failure to renew the contract of Robert Woodruff as artistic director of one of America’s major regional theaters, the American Repertory Theatre at Harvard University, is symptomatic of a new…
In her latest project, Pulitzer prize-winning dramatist Suzan-Lori Parks covers the country. By Jared Craig Four years ago, Suzan-Lori Parks set out to do what no dramatist, no matter how prolific, has ever done before. The Pulitzer prize-winning playwright decided to write a play for each day of the year. Her mission completed, the scripts…
Arts Commentary: The Virtual Arts Center
By Bill Marx On June 21, the Boston Foundation announced that the Citi Performing Arts Center (CPAC, formerly the Wang Center for the Performing Arts) would be receiving $225,000. This is not only the largest single grant given to any institution for the quarter; it is the most money (by a long shot) the Wang/CPAC…
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