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A.R.T.'s Paulus: Savior? Carpetbagger? Pageview generator?

Geoff Edgers' Globe article about the American Repertory Theater sure stirred the pot with its depiction of the schism between past and present ART regimes. If you think we don't have an involved theater community in town, go read the pages of heated comments. Some patrons say they were tired of what they saw as self-involved elitism and professional entitlement at the ART and praise Diane Paulus for bringing fresh artistic approaches, younger audiences and financial stability. Others damn Paulus as an artistic empty suit, a climber whose real focus is New York, and a profiteer. Amanda Palmer in "Cabaret," "The Donkey Show" and just about everything else under Paulus' tenure gets a vigorous going over. Many seem to agree that the ART was great under Robert Brustein and that "Sleep No More" was fascinating, but after that it's a knife fight.

Although all three are very different cases, I'm surprised no one has made much mention of Paulus parallels to the arrival of Malcolm Rogers at the MFA (angry ousted employees, criticism of lightweight, commercial crowd-pleasers) and James Levine (one foot in New York, hard on musicians, rich contract). Although Levine's' health issues have cast a shadow over his Boston presence, both men changed their institutions and survived, despite ongoing debates about artistic vision. The response to "Cabaret," opening soon with Palmer as the Emcee, will provide a clue to whether Paulus will do the same.

Pic: Amanda Palmer promo shot for Cabaret by Kyle Cassidy from ART.

BSO tix on sale: Put your money where your Levine is

Tickets to the Boston Symphony Orchestra's 2010-2011 go on sale this morning at 888-266-1200, www.bso.org or at the box office. Planned James Levine programs include the continuation of the Mahler cycle with Symphonies 2, 5 and 9 as well as the start of a new, two-year Harbison cycle and an opening-night all-Wagner performance with Bryn Terfel on Oct. 2. But of course the real question hanging over everyone opening their wallets for tickets is whether Levine will be on the podium for all those shows. There hasn't been much news about Levine since the initial news that he was skipping Tanglewood this summer to continue recuperation from surgery and resulting questions about his future.

One would like to think that if there was any doubt about his return in the fall, the orchestra would share that with us before opening the cash register. It would only anger fans further to plunk down big bucks for tickets to discover that in fact Levine's recovery would still not allow him to ascend the podium, and I think the BSO knows better than to let that happen. On the other hand, if I were the orchestra, I would have included a sentence in the release stating explicitly that Levine's recovery is proceeding at a pace that assures his return to the podium in October. It's not there. Read the complete release after the jump, along with a night-by-night schedule.

Opera Con 2011 to be held in Boston

Jeez, write one little opera review and the press releases start rolling in ... Actually it's called Opera America's Opera Conference 2011, and it will be held here May 7-11.  Boston Lyric Opera and Opera Boston will serve as lead hosts, joined by 25 other local groups. Opera Conference 2010, held last month in Los Angeles, was the group's most successful ever, they say, with more than 500 attendees from opera companies large and small and related business as well as individual artists.

Planned events for the shindig here include "performances of Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Boston Lyric Opera, Donizetti’s Maria Padilla by Opera Boston, a tour of the M.I.T. Media Lab, the Robert L.B. Tobin Director-Designer Showcase, the New Works Sampler in the American Repertory Theater Underground Cabaret and Co-Production Speed Dating." More information is here. Registration opens in the fall.

Previous Opera Conference keynoters include Alex Ross of the New Yorker, local composer Osvaldo Golijov and Peter Gelb of the Met. I'd post the video here, but it's just guys at a podium talking.

Morning reading: Globe's latest on the Rose Museum and more

Geoff has a good piece in the Globe this morning on artist James Rosenquist pulling out of his planned fall show at the Rose Art Museum at Brandeis. Rosenquist said he is just too busy with the fallout from a fire at his home and studio last year to make the show, and that his decision had nothing to do with the controversy over the future of the Rose. But then there's this about his covnersation with (Brandeis president Jehuda Reinharz): "He said, ‘Would you show with us in the future?’ ’’ recounted Rosenquist, who acknowledged that the Rose controversy was also weighing on his mind. “I said, ‘If things get resolved, I would.’ But I don’t want to deal with it, really. It’s a big mess.’’ Sounds to me like he doesn't want to make waves, but isn't going to bat for the administration, either. ... You'll also want to read my opera review - that's right - in the Globe this morning, "Taste of opera works in short, sweet servings."

Gov. Patrick signs bill creating cultural districts, but there's no money

It was ever thus. The Mass. Cultural Council announced that Gov. Deval Patrick yesterday signed the legislation authorizing the creation of state-sponsored cultural districts in Mass. cities and towns, which we told you about a couple of weeks back. The goal is to “attract artists and cultural enterprises to a community, encourage business and job development, establish tourist destinations, preserve and reuse historic buildings, enhance property values and foster local cultural development.” But at this point, there's no funding, and MCC will spend the next few months looking for ways to make the program effective with existing resources. This could be a great thing for places like Fort Point, Rocky Neck and my house. But the odds of it having an impact without $$$ diminish considerably. Stay tuned. The complete release is after the jump.

Life is good wants you (if you're a local band)

Two local bands will be picked to join Ziggy Marley,  Ozomatli, Corrine Bailey Rae and Ben Harper in the lineup for the Life is good Festival, Sept. 11-12 at Prowse Farm in Canton. Of course, you''l also be sharing the stage with Jason Mraz, but that's between you and your god. The festival, which will also feature Dan Zanes and Friends and They Might Be Giants on the “Good Kids” Stage, is intended to raise $1 million for the Life is good Kids Foundation, helping children overcome life-threatening challenges such as violence, poverty and serious illness. Life is good is working with Sonicbids, a web-based company that helps bands from around the world discover and book gigs, to find two local acts who look to spread optimism through their music. To nominate an act, go here. The $10 fee goes to the charity. Tickets for the 2010 Life is good Festival at Blue Hills are available here.  Adult single-day tickets are $50, two-day tickets $9. Tickets for children ages 6-12 are $10; children 5 and under get in free.

Creative districts for Mass. cities and towns?

The creation of state-sponsored cultural districts is included in bills designed to advance economic development in Massachusetts that have been passed by both houses of the state legislature. But we're a ways from seeing them become law - the House and Senate have to iron out a compromise bill, and it has to be sufficiently palatable for Gov. Deval Patrick to sign it. Even if he does, it's not yet clear what the actual criteria and benefits of such a designation will be. Still, there's a lot of promise here. And it's a rare bit of good news amid draconian budget cuts.

According to text passed along by the Mass. Cultural Council, the House bill puts it thusly: "A cultural and creative district shall be a well recognized, labeled, mixed-use, compact area of a city or town in which a high concentration of cultural and creative facilities serves as an anchor. The goals of a cultural and creative district shall include attracting artists and creative enterprises to a community, encouraging business and job development, establishing tourist destinations, preserving and reusing historic buildings, enhancing property values and fostering local cultural and economic development. A city or town may create and designate a cultural and creative district subject to certification by the Council. The Council shall develop a certification program to prepare a city or town to become home to a state designated cultural and creative district by creating an application process and developing qualifying criteria and guidelines."

Seems like a noble goal. I'm all for building the creative economy, which tends to get knocked as piffle by fiscal conservatives who don't want to acknowledge its huge economic impact. But what exactly does a certified creative district get? Even if this bill passes by end of session July 31, the answer for now is, uh, respect. The House text: The Council shall in cooperation with the executive branch, constitutional offices, quasi governmental agencies and the Joint Committee on Tourism, Arts and Cultural development identify additional and existing state incentives and resources that will enhance state designated cultural and creative districts and shall report their findings together with drafts of legislation as may be necessary to carry its recommendations into effect..." That report is to be made by Dec. 1.

Incentives and resources that could be used include tax breaks, historic tax credits, grants and incorporation into current cultural grant programs. It will also be a really nice thing to put on signs and hang around the 'hood.

Have to say I'm less convinced of the need for another provision the cultural community is backing in the same bill, which would also establish a commission (OH BOY ANOTHER COMMISSION!) to study how schools foster student creativity. The commission would develop the Creative Challenge Index to “rate every public school in the Commonwealth on teaching, encouraging, and fostering creativity in students.” I'm sensing a big fat target for Howie Carr, no?

We'll keep you posted.

Cheap tickets to Berkshire arts return

The ½ TIX discount ticket booths in the Berkshires open for their ninth season on June 17. The booths offer offering same-day, half-price tickets to Berkshire attractions including Barrington Stage Company, Berkshire Choral Festival, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Jacob’s Pillow Dance, Shakespeare & Company, Tanglewood, Williamstown Theatre Festival and many more. The per-ticket handling charge rises to $3.00 (from $2.50) this year to support the program. Transactions are cash only, and the booths are open six days a week, noon to 4:30 p.m., through Sept. 5. The booths are closed Mondays. The program is a partnership of  Barrington Stage Company and the Berkshire Visitors Bureau.

There will be a fifth booth at the new Lenox Visitor’s Center located in the Lenox Town Hall (6 Walker St., Lenox). The Pittsfield Visitor’s Center and the Pittsfield ½ TIX Booth have a new home in the Ben & Jerry’s located at 179 South Street in Downtown Pittsfield. The other booths are in the Adams Visitors Center (3 Hoosac St., Adams), the Southern Berkshire Visitors Booth (362 Main St., Great Barrington) and the Chatham Bookstore (27 Main St., Chatham, NY).

For information, including daily availability, call the ½ TIX Hotline at 413-743-1339. (Pictured: "The Whipping Man" at Barrington Stage.)

Tasty breakfast links!

The Rose Art Museum at Brandeis is becoming a rent-a-center, according to a fascinating Edgers p1 piece in the Globe today. ... Louise dug Actors' Shakespeare Project's production of the rarely seen "Timon of Athens," which I wrote about last week. ... JC Lockwood is worth reading on Kristen Miller's new album, "Walk." ... A fascinating, um, real estate brief. Really. ... And oh, yeah, my Friday theater column, about the Stoneham Theatre. ... In Maine, they're hoping the movie about the Wyeth family (Andrew et al) will be made there. ... Big gallery expansion at the New Bedford Whaling Museum. ... phew, enuf.

North Shore Music Theatre gets Glee-ful

Shades of "Glee" and "High School Musical" at the revived North Shore Music Theatre this summer, as it hosts "Camp Broadway" for three different age groups. There are musical theater programs for ages 6-9, 10-13 and 14-17 in July and August, and rather than try to sort out the somewhat confusing schedule, I'll just send you here for details. Of course, kids theater and theater education were always part of the NSMT program before it finally shut down last year. It's good that new owner Bill Hanney is bringing them back. Ironically enough, a production of "High School Musical 2" in 2008 is sometimes cited as one of the last straws for the old NSMT.

There are some familiar faces involved in the 15-year-old Camp Broadway's programs here here. Camp Broadway’s Artistic Director, Tony Parise, has worked at North Shore Music Theatre many times; North Shore resident Karen Pisani will serve as Camp Broadway’s Associate Director. Parents will have to click through to the .pdf application - and on to the second page - before they find out how much the five-day program costs: $350 for the little kids and $550 for 10 and up. It does seem to get get reviews, though, at least the ones posted on the website.