If You Have a Spare $200 Million or So …

… you could buy the rights to what is probably Broadway’s greatest back catalog. The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization, the private company which controls the rights to such shows as Carousel, The King and I, South Pacific and The Sound of Music, is up for auction.

Anthony Hopkins and the DSO

We all know that Anthony Hopkins is a great actor (an Oscar and three other nominations ought to prove that). But what kind of composer is he? You can find out Oct. 17 when he comes to Dallas for the world premiere of his original compositions, played by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. And you can possibly attend for free by e-mailing clayton@landmarktheatres.com with the subject line “Anthony Hopkins” plus your name and mailing address in the body of the message.  Winners will be notified by e-mail on Monday.
And if you do win, please let us know how the performance was.

On a side note, I think I should be commended for not working any cannibal jokes into this post. Just know that it took great restraint.

John McCain’s Arts Policy, At Last

His campaign finally released a statement about government and the arts. Here it is, in its entirety:

John McCain believes that arts education can play a vital role fostering creativity and expression. He is a strong believer in empowering local school districts to establish priorities based on the needs of local schools and school districts. Schools receiving federal funds for education must be held accountable for providing a quality education in basic subjects critical to ensuring students are prepared to compete and succeed in the global economy. Where these local priorities allow, he believes investing in arts education can play a role in nurturing the creativity of expression so vital to the health of our cultural life and providing a means of creative expression for young people.

The statement was released last week to the Salt Lake Tribune. Julie Checkoway’s article, “McCain’s anticipated arts policy comes in at four sentences long,” is here. Lee Rosenbaum’s CultureGrrl blog has more: “I’d call that an education policy, not an arts policy.”

More Free Night of Theater Tickets

If you missed out on last week’s Free Night of Theater ticket-grab, today is your lucky day. At 3 p.m., 150 additional tickets will be made available for Dallas Children’s Theater’s Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse, plus 100 more tickets for One Thirty Productions’ Wedding Belles. To reserve your seats, log on to www.freenightoftheater.net.

To read a little more about what DCT and One Thirty have to say about their productions, check out our roundup.

DIY Making and Materials Part 2

Sandy French (background) hooking away on her bracelet, and my finished product (foreground).

Guest blogger Lydia Regalado is an arts educator, crafter and blogger who writes about people who gather to make things.

My experiement continues…

Second Stop: Beading Dreams

Beading Dreams, another beading boutique in Dallas, offers some of the most interesting classes beyond basic wire wrapping and silk knotting around: Rosary 101, Dream Catcher Earrings, Lovely Lariats, just to name a few. Most classes are $35. This cozy spot is where I found an Introduction to Wire Crochet class. Crocheting with wire is a simple technique that requires few tools with a funky, eye-catching outcome. There is no need to be perfect or pattern-specific, as the jumbled design hides any flaws, making it a very forgiving piece — great for the crochet beginner. Beading Dreams offers a great selection of beads and findings, supplies and classes. Its schedule of classes is packed with several options, but they do offer private lessons in case you can’t attend or want to learn a technique that’s not offered. The staff is patient and helpful, which is a good thing as beading can sometimes string you out. Project photos are available on the store’s Web site, or stop by to see the samples for yourself. Classes and supplies are affordable, and the best part is the 15 percent discount offered to students for the yearly quarter that the class was attended. That means if you take a class now, you can save money on needed supplies for holiday gifts!

DIY Dialogue:
Knitting and crocheting is “knot“ necessarily tied to the past idea of feminine tradition. Contemporary art often incorporates traditional handicraft with non-traditional materials. Local artist Lanie Delay’s interactive installation made of crocheted telephone wire and working phones intrigued me last January at 500x’s EXPO 2008. Artist Oliver Herring is shown knitting mylar sculptures with protective gloves in the “Play” episode from Season 3 of the PBS series Art21, “Art in the Twenty-First Century.” There is a connection between art and craft, but what is the difference? Please share your thoughts by posting a comment.

Next Up: Urban Street Bazaar

If you missed this event in May, Urban Street Bazaar is happening again this Saturday, Oct. 11 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.. Meet and shop with 40 DIY vendors, showcasing and selling their handiwork, fashions and art in Bishop Arts District. More information.

See you there!

The Big Center Hires the Big Voice for a Walk-On

And the answer to Stephen’s question (see below) about who the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts would get to make their opening-day announcement is really quite simple.

Just get the Greatest Voice for Announcing Anything in the World.

James Earl Jones

– who promptly gave the dignitaries and million-dollar arts patrons assembled at the Belo Mansion a little sampler (Jacques’ Seven Ages of Man speech from As You Like It, some reminiscences of playing Of Mice and Men at SMU, Fences on Broadway and The Great White Hope on stage and film — funny, there was nothing about this guy, though). And then Jones didn’t even announce the one (the only) new fact. The official opening date of the DCPA. That was left for John Eagle, head of the opening ceremony committee.

October 12, 2009.

DIY Making and Materials Part 1

Fashion knitwear designer Wenlan Chia at The Woolie Ewe in Plano.

Guest blogger Lydia Regalado is an arts educator and blogger who writes for Art&Seek about people who gather to make things.

Inspired by the ReadyMade lecture at the Dallas Museum of Art a couple of weeks ago, I decided to explore the use of materials in one craft, specifically needle arts: knitting and crochet. There are many shops and classes that support this kind of exploration in our community, and for this experiment I took advantage of two one-of-a-kind boutiques here in North Texas: The Woolie Ewe in Plano and Beading Dreams in Dallas.

First Stop: The Woolie Ewe

Family owned and operated in Plano since 1989, The Woolie Ewe is North Texas’ central supplier of yarn and supplies for the needle arts. A candy store for the yarn enthusiast, the selection of colors and textures is extensive and tough to wrap your head around. There are yarns from all over the world, wool, cotton, silk, tons of patterns and books. Walking into the store can be mind boggling, but the staff is there to help with “purls” of wisdom and patience for everyone no matter their level of experience. Additionally, The Woolie Ewe carries the yarns and patterns of international knitwear designers and suppliers such as Debbie Bliss, Sally Melville and Wenlan Chia to name a few. But, The Woolie Ewe is doing more than stocking these designer’s products, it is bringing these designers in for workshops and events for 2008 – 2009.

[Read more →]

Memo to Mine Owner: Most of the Canaries Are Gasping

A quick roundup of news items about the economic meltdown and the arts:

• The Telegraph (London): Bad for British theater

• Hollywood Reporter: Bad for media companies

• Bloomberg: Bad for art auction houses

• Bloomberg: Bad for art galleries

• Bloomberg: Bad for the whole entire art market

• Washington Post: Bad for high fashion

• The New York Times: Bad for New York theaters

• Boston Globe: Bad for Masschusetts art groups

• Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Bad (maybe) for Seattle Art Museum

• Orlando Sentinel: Bad for Central Florida art groups

• The Independent (UK): Great for an online satiric series

• Bloomberg: Great for a French comic book

• Bloomberg: Great for movies — if you like Depression-Era Hollywood

The Chicago Tribune Sizes Up van Zweden

He’s coming in as a replacement for guest conductor Riccardo Chailly to perform Bruckner’s Fifth:

Little known outside the Netherlands until last year when he was named music director of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, the Juilliard-trained violinist turned conductor has been stirring up a remarkable degree of buzz in the symphonic world. And the buzz is only getting louder. . .

Question: What have been your initial impressions as music director of the Dallas Symphony? Are the conditions in place for you to achieve the level of musicmaking you hope to achieve?

Answer: Absolutely. I have already observed a big difference from the music we made the first time I conducted them and the music we are making now. The difference is in how they react to me. You know, making music is nothing more than developing a relationship [with the musicians] onstage. This relationship has already blossomed so beautifully in Dallas. To be honest, it is [succeeding] well beyond my expectations!

You can read the whole Q&A here.

DCPA Big Announcement

The Dallas Center for the Performing Arts will announce its Grand Opening dates Tuesday morning at a press gathering at the Belo Mansion in downtown. Normally, that’s a piece of information that could be handled with an e-mail blast. But this nugget from the press release about the announcement caught our attention:

“A world-renowned Tony and Emmy Award-winning actor will make a brief appearance, as an example of the caliber of performers who will take part in the Grand Opening.”

So, the question is: who will that be? It’s a very short list of performers who have won a Tony, Emmy, Grammy and Oscar, but the list gets pretty lengthy when considering Tony/Emmy winners.

Any guesses out there?

I’ll throw one out there: John Lithgow. Why him? Because he’s the first person I could think of who had won those two awards and not won an Oscar. My other guess? David Hyde Pierce. Why him? Because he was the next person I could think of who fit the bill.