Latest news with #Playhouse
Otago Daily Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Debt-funded grants wrong, councillor says
Tweaking rules to enable theatre venues not owned by the Dunedin City Council to be developed with council debt might be "clever", but also wrong, a councillor says. Cr Bill Acklin was not impressed with his colleagues when they changed the council's revenue and financing policy to enable a particular type of grant to be funded through borrowing, rather than rates. The change, approved last week, meant debt-funded grants could be provided to community organisations constructing or upgrading a building. This made it easier for the council to signal in its 2025-34 long-term plan (LTP) political will existed for spending $17.1 million on theatre space and it intended such grants to apply to redevelopment of the Playhouse Theatre and Athenaeum building, and potentially a new venue suitable for professional theatre. "To fund professional sectors using debt is not what council's ability to borrow is for," Cr Acklin said. He had stayed out of debates about theatre space because of a perceived conflict of interest but expressed thoughts after voting had occurred. Using debt for grants was "very clever", he said disapprovingly. Later in the meeting he said he believed it to be wrong. However, he was happy to see support for the Playhouse, which has a strong children's programme. Another councillor who did not take part in discussions, Lee Vandervis, said changing council policy "so that we can reclassify even more spending as capital" was shameless. He was absent because of hip surgery. He slammed colleagues for their "election-year splurge" on debt after the council added $96.9m of borrowing to the LTP during four days of discussion. Cr Sophie Barker said the debt-funded grants issue was "a useful exploration of how to support a non-council organisation to deliver a project in a building that isn't council-owned". "Otherwise, it would have gone directly on rates — this way it's able to be funded over a longer period of time as an 'intergenerational asset'. "There's a lot of checks and balances around the Playhouse and Athenaeum resolutions that won't allow any funds to be released by council until stringent conditions are met." Council debt is projected to rise by roughly $500m in the next nine years to $1.2 billion in 2034. Much of it is aimed at replacing or upgrading key Three Waters assets and transport infrastructure. The council included $17.1m in its 2021-31 LTP for development of theatre space, but removal of the allocation from draft budgets for its 2025-34 plan was controversial. Reinstating the money was one call last week that added to projected debt. Inclusion of some transport projects intended to reduce carbon emissions and deciding to replace the Edgar Centre roof were others. The council made one move late in deliberations to avoid adding to debt. It chose to start running balanced budgets from the first year of the LTP — a year earlier than had been envisaged — rather than posting another deficit. The council had looked as if it was headed for a rates increase of 10.1% for 2025-26, but having a balanced budget pushed the rates rise to 10.7%.
BBC News
4 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Cheltenham Playhouse: Fundraiser takes place for threatened venue
Almost 100 people have taken part in a 12-hour monologue event to help save a Grade II-listed theatre from Cheltenham Playhouse announced in May it did not have the "depth of funds" to survive but, in a bid to remain open, has been undergoing a fundraising to raise £50,000 by the end of June, 93 people took part in the continual event on Wood, a theatre trustee, said the "day was full of talent, warmth and hope for the Playhouse". "We had some getting up to perform on our stage for the first time and others who were more seasoned actors but who hadn't graced a stage for years," she said."Many had also created their own work to present and were performing it on stage for the first time."This is what the Playhouse is about, inclusivity and ease of access to the arts," she Wood said the theatre had so far raised £15,000 of their £50,000 target.
CNET
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- CNET
Thanks to Pee-wee Herman, Gen X Got to Grow Up Weird and His New Documentary Is a Reminder of That
There are a million memes about how Gen X is a tough, often forgotten generation, and a million more about how we're also an apathetic generation (say whatever you want about us, I don't care). The whole "we drank from the hose and biked alone till dark" thing absolutely shaped many kids who grew up fiercely independent and resilient in the 1980s. But we were also one of the first generations to truly be babysat by TV and that also played a huge role in the lives of millions of lawless latchkey kids. It wasn't until I watched Pee-wee as Himself, the new two-part documentary on Max about the life and career of Paul Reubens, (aka Pee-wee Herman), that it hit me just how lucky we were to grow up at a time where a character like Pee-wee existed in the mainstream and the idea that something could be weird -- and embraced for that. Pee-wee's weirdness was obvious and evident in his films and on TV in Pee-wee's Playhouse. Here was this ageless man-child in a gray suit who lived alone, whose prized possession was his bike, who screamed every time a secret word was spoken. My household routinely ran out of Scotch tape as a result of my using it to stretch my face into some grotesque skin mask with an upturned nose, thanks to Pee-wee. The character seemed like someone who got to live out every kid's fantasy life, and that was the initial draw. He was aspirational in his silliness. But what the documentary makes clear is how deliberate Pee-wee's choices were, especially in the creation of his CBS Saturday morning TV show Pee-wee's Playhouse. This was a show that went out of its way to cast actors of color in prominent roles (including Law & Order star S. Epatha Merkerson and Laurence Fishburne, who both appear in the doc), and created an inclusive environment that embraced the unusual and eccentric. Nothing about any of that was by accident. Natasha Lyonne, who appeared on the show as a child, said being on the show "felt like permission to be myself." I'd like to think this permission to embrace what others might not consider "normal" is one reason why our generation identified so much with genres whose names speak volumes: alternative music, indie film, underground comedy. These things already existed but ours was the generation that labeled them. How many other children's television shows cast androgynous disco star Grace Jones in their Christmas special? (The special also featured appearances from Charo, Joan Rivers, k.d. lang, Cher, Oprah Winfrey and Little Richard, an attempt to create multiple levels of entertainment for several generations. The Muppets did this too in a more vaudevillian-inspired way; Pee-wee took it to a much campier level.) Reubens says in the film, "I wanted kids to learn about being a non-conformist and what non-conformity was ... you can do the opposite of things, you can do whatever you want." Warner Bros. Discovery "I just put a lot of stuff in Pee-wee's Playhouse that I thought, 'Why not?'" he adds. This includes things like Pee-wee dancing in high heels and holding a marriage ceremony between himself and a bowl of fruit salad. (What's more fascinating is that while this stuff was considered offbeat at the time, it wasn't censored and didn't spark backlash the way that it potentially might today.) Pee-wee Herman was a performance art creation by an actor who chose not to ever appear as himself in public until much later in his career. It's because Paul Reubens never allowed anyone to get to know him and his creative process (a fact he expresses regret about in the film), and we didn't know at the time just how intentional and subversive he was being with his work. Reubens died in 2023 while still in the process of finishing interviews for the film and he struggled to relinquish creative control of the doc -- it's bittersweet to see him express his triumphs and regrets in these interviews and not get to see the completed product. I was a Pee-wee loving kid but after watching the documentary, I'm grateful that it was finished even in the wake of Reubens' death. It's a necessary bookend to Reubens' career; without it, I don't even know if I would have realized the impact he had on so many of us little weirdos.
Miami Herald
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
The 2025 elections offer a chance to change Miami politics
Rescuing Miami Miami's magic is dimming — not from natural disaster, but from something deeper: a culture of corruption and political favoritism that's taken hold at city hall. A city once defined by its promise now teeters on dysfunction. Trials involving elected officials, whispers of backroom deals, skyrocketing rents and crumbling infrastructure are pushing working families to the brink. We pay higher taxes, yet receive fewer basic services. Public employees are demoralized or pushed out for refusing to play politics. Contracts too often go to the well-connected, not the most qualified. Miamians are paying the price — with their wallets, their safety and their trust. This doesn't have to be our future. As Miami's former city manager, I led a government that worked for residents, not insiders. We hired based on merit, not connections. We empowered public employees, prioritized infrastructure, ran transparent operations, and cut taxes — and we got results. What Miami needs now isn't another smooth talker or recycled politician. It needs leadership rooted in integrity, fairness and accountability. It needs someone who doesn't flinch under pressure or owe anything to political machines. We must dismantle the culture of corruption and restore trust in city government. That means tackling affordability, rolling back taxes and making public safety a priority. It means rooting out cronyism and putting residents — not donors — at the center of every decision. The next election is a turning point. We either reclaim our city or watch it sink deeper into dysfunction. We either restore what makes Miami magic, or lose it to those who already abused it. Let's restore the Magic City. Emilio T. González, candidate for mayor, Miami Razing history Hard to take seriously the minority of people who have been misled into believing that tearing down a legendary regional theater and turning it into a measly 200-seat studio theater is the 'new dawn of Coconut Grove.' A regional theater requires a seating capacity larger than 200-300 seats; difficult to achieve when 70% of the property is being turned into retail and restaurants. Demolition of the Playhouse auditorium — where historically significant events happened and historic personages once stood — is (in the absence of a Florida Statute Chapter 267 review) in violation of the lease and state law. If the perpetrators and their supporters advocate breaking the law, then Machiavellian approaches, in which the ends justify the means at any cost, even violating the law and thinking they are above it, rule the future.. This creates a dangerous precedent. If they can get away with demolishing what even the court deemed historically designated, then nothing is sacred. We already are aware of attempts by the state to eliminate razing restrictions on the historic Art Deco District edifices on Ocean Drive. Allowing demolition of the most historic theater performance space is not a 'new dawn;' it is a continuation of the failed practice of destroying historic Coconut Grove in hopes that gentrification and a growing over-abundance of retail will bring different results. Max Pearl, Miami Sit still Our three Republican Congressional representatives literally need do nothing to preserve the legal status of thousands of their constituents. With the razor thin Republican majority in the U.S. House, our representatives merely need to announce they will be staying home until dismantling Temporary Protective Status is off the table. As the work of the House and the tax break for billionaires screeches to a halt, it would be remarkable to watch how quickly minds are changed. Our representatives should do the right thing: do nothing until justice is delivered to thousands of our friends and neighbors. Martin Motes, Redland Honored glory? The Miami Herald's May 11 special section, 'Remembering our Triumph,' was an accurate account capturing the events and feelings of soldiers who stood against tyranny. The photos of men going into battle were not pictures of victorious exaltation, but images telling the story of humbled citizens, facing their responsibility as participants in a democracy. Frightened, knowing the battle before them might cost them their lives, they marched forward anyway, believing their sacrifice affirmed their country's principles. Coming home, those who performed their duty were mostly silent, knowing they were the lucky ones. When victory did come, the cheering was a release of emotions, realizing the burden of facing death was removed by those who were forever silenced. History reflects the principles humanity is willing to die to preserve or advance. If values change and if sacrificing for others is mocked as trifling, those who died believing their sacrifice mattered may have forfeited their lives, according to their progeny, for little. Phil Beasley, Plantation Tally priorities Our Florida Legislature has mustered enough courage to tell firefighters and teachers: thank you for your important service. However, they continue to be shortsighted as to attracting and keeping them and other Florida public servants. In Tallahassee, only lip service about a cost of living adjustment is given. Meanwhile, the reality is that inflation eats up buying power annually. Thank yous are just not enough. Our legislators can't decide on taxes, insurance and the budget, but they passed a bill allowing chaplains for schools, again putting the cart before the horse. The line from the old Wendy's commercial is still true today, 'Where's the beef?' George Ellis, Miami Fault lies elsewhere With all due respect to the author of the May 11 letter, 'Biden's fault,' regarding the 'chaos' in our country, I would remind him that the 'massive problems caused by illegal immigrants' does not come close to the crimes committed in Donald Trump's name on Jan. 6, 2021 and Trump's total disregard for due process and flaunting of constitutional protections afforded to everyone in America. As a liberal Democrat, my heart does in fact bleed for those who have been marginalized, stripped of their legal TPS status and deported illegally. Peter M. Brooke, Doral Florida women Since 1982, the Florida Women's Hall of Fame has commemorated women's history by honoring and remembering those women whose lives and contributions have improved the quality of life for Florida and the nation. They are pioneers who have broken down barriers, created new opportunities and championed issues to create better paths for women and girls. Annually, the Florida Commission on the Status of Women facilitates the nomination and selection process and the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. The Commission receives and reviews all nominations and recommends 10 outstanding women to the governor, from whom up to three will be chosen for induction. Inductees will be recognized and honored at a special ceremony in the Fall and memorialized in the State Capitol. Who do you know that deserves this recognition? Nominations are now open on the Florida Women's Hall of Fame website: Mackenzie Rawlin, Tallahassee Staring at us In total disbelief and basically void of words, we try to comprehend, to digest, what's happening to our democracy! Yet all we seem to hear is: 'I never said that!' 'I don't know.' 'It's all his fault.' Meanwhile, by glancing in the mirror, there just might be some solutions. Diane Goodman Dolcourt, Pinecrest You shouldn't have! If the nation of Qatar were 'nice' enough to offer me a Rolls Royce (a poor man's 747 jet) with no strings attached, today, I would certainly accept it. Naturally, when a Qatari comes to me, tomorrow, with a 'small' request that challenges United States policy and best interests, I might just remember their generous gift and consider their wish. Of course, it also helps that my Justice Department said virtually anything I chose to do was legal and aboveboard. Bruce Shpiner, Miami
Los Angeles Times
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Parents, rejoice! Pasadena Playhouse provides childcare during a show: L.A. arts and culture this week
I was unreasonably elated to discover that the Pasadena Playhouse is test-driving a program that offers Saturday childcare during the May 24 matinee of 'A Dolls House, Part 2,' starring Jason Butler Harner and Elizabeth Reaser. The program is open to kids 5 to 12 and offers theater-based activities inspired by the play and led by Playhouse teaching artists. The cost is $20 per child — far less than what a parent would pay for a sitter for the afternoon — and the group fun takes place on site while parents watch the show. Here's hoping more theaters develop similar programs. For so many parents, childcare is the No. 1 barrier to attending live shows and cultural events. A good sitter will set you back $15 to $25 per hour, plus tip. Add the cost of tickets, parking and even a modest dinner out, and a night on the town easily soars past $300. Pasadena Playhouse is suited to hold such a program since it already runs youth theater classes and has a wonderful group of artists who regularly teach children. (Full disclosure: My daughter attends these classes.) But I can imagine a world in which other theaters, classical music groups and dance troupes begin offering similar programs. They would pay dividends in ticket sales and patron loyalty. There is no more grateful a human than a parent given a much-needed break. I'm arts and culture writer Jessica Gelt. I came for the childcare and stayed for the show. Here's this week's roundup of arts news. With opening-weekend crowds behind us, now is an excellent time to experience Jeffrey Gibson's show at the Broad museum, which Times contributor David Pagel noted in his recent profile has the Gibson artworks that wowed visitors at the 2024 Venice Biennale: 'a giant, stylized bird, festooned with thousands of glistening beads; a laser-sharp painting, composed of up to 290 supersaturated colors; an array of lavishly patterned flags, from places no one has ever visited; or an evocative phrase, lifted from a novel, a pop song, a poem or a document, such as the U.S. Constitution.' Note that the museum, usually free, is staging this as a special exhibition with admission of $15. Through Sept. 28, closed Mondays. The Broad, 221 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. Writer Susan King started a 2019 L.A. Times article with this great lede: Robert Townsend, the acclaimed director of such films as 1987's 'Hollywood Shuffle' and 1991's 'The Five Heartbeats,' got his start in the biz as a teenager with a one-line role in the 1975 African American teen dramedy 'Cooley High.' 'The movie changed my life,' recalled Townsend in a recent interview. 'I remember after I made the movie and it finally premiered in the theater in downtown Chicago, I started to cry. It was like this is my life. ... [Director] Michael Schultz really changed the landscape of cinema for people of color. He was the first one to paint with that brush of truly being human. We had never seen a movie where there was a young Black man talking about that he wanted to be a writer.' On Monday, you'll have the chance to see 'Cooley High' on the big screen. The event at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood includes a Q&A with Schultz and actors Glynn Turman and Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, moderated by Townsend. 7:30 p.m. Monday, Egyptian, 6712 Hollywood Blvd., L.A. The nonprofit Printed Matter returns with the eighth installment of its fair, which has drawn tens of thousands of fans with booths selling limited-edition prints, handcrafted artist books and obscure titles by small presses. (For a visual sampler, check out Carolina A. Miranda's amusing photo tour from years ago.) The celebration, formerly held at the Museum of Contemporary Art's Geffen Contemporary, this year moves to ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena. Although the location is different, much of the programming will be the same, including live music performances and the discussion series 'The Classroom.' 6-9 p.m. Thursday, 1-7 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday (first two hours Sunday is a mask-required period). ArtCenter South Campus, 870 and 950 S. Raymond Ave., Pasadena. The only two surviving buildings from Terminal Island's days as a thriving Japanese American fishing village in the early 1900s have been placed on the National Trust for Historic Preservation's 2025 list of America's 11 most endangered historic places. The buildings are in danger of being razed by the Port of Los Angeles, and the hope is that the visibility afforded by the list will help preservation efforts. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Terminal Island was the first place from which Japanese Americans were uprooted and sent to government camps such as Manzanar in the Owens Valley. The Trump administration is attempting to eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts in its latest budget proposal, and the NEA recently sent a wave of letters to arts organizations across the country canceling grants. Center for the Art of Performance at UCLA, South Coast Repertory, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, the Industry and L.A. Theatre Works are just some of SoCal nonprofits that got the bad news last week. The loss of this longstanding funding has left many organizations scrambling. Features columnist Todd Martens participated in the fourth Immersive Invitational, an interactive theater experience that gives participating companies 48 hours to create a 10-minute production and perform it multiple times on the event's final day. 'With the limited time frame, participating theater crews have to quickly establish a place and a sense of purpose, lending the audience, which must immediately contort to their role as actors, a call to action,' writes Martens of the fast-paced and joyful proceedings. The latest show at Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, is from an artist who has long been compelled by the visible and invisible labor of immigrant communities. Times contributor Tara Anne Dalbow notes how Castillo's work draws attention to the workers responsible for building construction, maintenance and repair. 'Beneath the facade of every home, school, business and community center lie layers of material meaning and memory that bear forth records of the minds and hands that envisioned and assembled them,' Dalbow writes. Wednesdays-Sundays through Aug. 31. ICA LA, 1717 E. 7th St., L.A. South Coast Repertory announced a 2025-26 season lineup that includes Edward Albee's 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf' and Yasmina's Reza's 'God of Carnage,' running from late January to March in rotating repertory. The season opens this September with the jukebox musical 'Million Dollar Quartet,' featuring the music of Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins. That's followed by the Lloyd Suh play 'The Heart Sellers,' about the chance connection between two immigrant women, one Filipino and one Korean, preparing a Thanksgiving meal. Also on the schedule: SCR's 'A Christmas Carol' tradition, carried on for the 45th year; the Karen Zacarias musical 'Cinderella: A Salsa Fairy Tale,' part of the Theatre for Young Audiences and Families programming; two world premieres opening in April, 'Fremont Ave.' by Reggie D. White and a second title to be announced later; and 'Hershey Felder, Beethoven,' in June 2026, and the one-night-only 'Hershey Felder's Great American Songbook Sing-Along,' on June 14, 2026. More details and production dates are at Los Angeles Youth Orchestra is holding auditions for new members on Saturday and Sunday at First Presbyterian Church, 4963 Balboa Blvd., Encino. Applicants must have had at least two years of private instruction on their instrument. LAYO has more than 100 student musicians from more 50 schools in the region. The National Children's Chorus under Artistic Director Luke McEndarfer has partnered with Compton Unified School District in establishing scholarship-funded vocal training classes at Compton High School. The classes, which began this semester, take place three times per week and include ensemble singing, vocal technique, music theory, sight-singing and performance practice. Leave it to Baltimore to stage the absurdly fun Kinetic Sculpture Race, hosted by the American Visionary Art Museum. This year's 25th anniversary event featured a massive pink dog sculpture, 'Fifi,' that was part of a group of wild creations to be pushed, biked and otherwise maneuvered on a 15-mile long race track. — Jessica Gelt The president and director of the Art Institute of Chicago is taking time off while the museum investigates a news report that he began stripping off his clothes on a flight from Chicago to Munich after drinking alcohol and taking prescription meds.
