Arts and Culture : Buzz

Everyman Theatre's "Fifty Words" gets a stellar review in Broadway World. Reviewer Charles Shubow calls it a "powerful play with an exceptional cast."

The play takes place over the course of one night in a couple's Brooklyn kitchen. "There are many problems in the household which come alive during the 90 minute play under the capable hands of Director Donald Hicken," Shubow writes.

Just in time for Valentine's Day. You can read the rest of the review here. 

It was 2012's first snowfall, but that didn't stop 200 people from trekking to the University of Baltimore for the second annual Create Baltimore. 

"Ideas were spit-balled, the collaborators of tomorrow (perhaps) met each other and an assortment of topics were covered," writes the Baltimore Brew. "People discussed mapping and visualizing, journalism and various ways to shine a light on government data, creating an advocacy organization for city bicyclists, improving food access in urban neighborhoods and a host of other ripe topics."

You can read the rest of the story here. 

Folks in D.C. like to thumb their noses at Baltimore.

Well now the red-headed stepchild is getting some love -- well sort of -- by the folks at Slate. They wrote a piece called "DC: The Anti-Berlin," that noted that artists can live more cheaply in Baltimore compared with D.C.

The story stated that while Washington is thriving in many ways it is has one of the most expensive housing markets while not winning any points on crime.

Meanwhile, our pals at Baltimore Fishbowl jumped on the Slate story and did some number crunching to find out that Baltimore artists earn more than their D.C. counterparts. You can read it here.

For decades, Edgar Allen Poe fans would gather at his grave on the eve of the late writer's birthday to spot a mysterious man. Known as the Toaster, he would leave roses and a half-full bottle of cognac.

Well that tradition appears to have come to an end, according to the Wall Street Journal and other news sources. For three years now, the Toaster has not appeared.

You can read more about the end of the tradition in the Journal story.

While concert sales are slowing down nationally, two Baltimore venues sold more tickets last year compared with 2010, the Baltimore Sun writes.

Rams Head Live saw success with pop singer Sara Bareilles and punk band Rise Against, while First Mariner's U2, Kanye West/Jay-Z and Sade shows propelled ticket sales at First Mariner Arena, the Sun's Erick Maza writes.

"In addition, Rams Head Live and Rams Head on Stage in Annapolis both made a recent list of the top 30 clubs in the country, and the nearly 50-year-old 1st Mariner was named top-selling arena of its size by Billboard Magazine," the Sun writes. You can read the rest of the story here.

If you're an art lover, you are probably used to getting the occasional stern warning from security guards when you step a little too close to the Monet.

Well, at the Walters Art Museum's new exhibit, you can get as close as you want to the art. You can even touch it.

The Huffington Post previews the exhibit, which runs January 21 - April 15, 2012.

"The Walters Art Museum is merging the tactile pleasures of art with the neuroscience of how our brains respond to tactile stimuli," the Huffington Post writes. "The museum is teaming up with the Johns Hopkins University Brain Science Institute to invite viewers to touch works of art and meditate on why this physical contact is so appealing."

You can read the rest of the story here.

Ever wish you could see more public sculptures on display in Greater Baltimore?

Well now you can, if you drive out to Howard County. The Howard County Arts Council has selected 12 sites that will feature public sculptures in 2012, according to Broadway World.

The spots include the George Howard Building in Ellicott City, which will feature "Daddy Longlegs" by Carl Billingsley, and Howard Community College, which will feature Hanna Jubran's "The Cycle."

Read about the other sites and selected artwork.

First Mariner has remained true to its name.

Billboard magazine has named it the top-grossing arena of its size. It grossed nearly $16 million this year, making it No. 1 among arenas that seat between 10,000 and 15,000 people, writes the Baltimore Sun. It's the second year in a row that First Mariner has been first.

Recent acts at the arena include Sade, Kanye West and Jay-Z. You can read the rest of the story here.

Darcie Chan is a 37-year-old attorney who has sold 400,000 copies of her self-published book "The Mill River Recluse," writes the Wall Street Journal.

And Chan got her law degree from the University of Baltimore. Numerous literary agents and publishers rejected the book before Chan decided to publish it herself, she tells the newspaper. You can read more about Chan's literary success here. (Registration is required).

Rapper Common is starring in a new movie that is set in Baltimore.

"LUV" is one of the 110 feature-length films that will screen at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, Jan. 19-29.

It tells the story of an 11-year-old boy who learns the truth about his uncle on the streets of Baltimore, the Wall Street Journal writes. You can see a complete list of films here.

Aerial artist Mara Neimanis will perform her new solo show at the Creative Alliance next year.

"Naomi's Flight" tells the story of the artist's personal experience caring for her elderly parents. "This one-hour aerial performance combines text and choreography on three steel suspended apparatus sculpted by Baltimore sculptor, Tim Scofield," writes Broadway World.

You can learn more about the Feb. 2 performance here.

The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's most recent performance at Carnegie Hall tells the story of French heroine Joan of Arc and gets a nice review in the New York Times.

The newspaper writes that BSO Music Director Marin Alsop led a "tightly wrought performance" of "Jeanne d'Arc au Bucher," or Joan of Arc at the Stake, by Swiss composer Arthur Honegger.

Musicians from the Peabody Children’s Chorus, the Morgan State University Choir, the Peabody-Hopkins Chorus and the Concert Artists of Baltimore also took the stage. You can read the whole review here.

This Baltimore Sun blog reports the latest confirmation of Baltimore County's strong arts teaching base. According to the article, Linda Popp, the county's visual arts coordinator, said state awards are often given to teachers who make strong contributions to their communities as well as their schools. This year's winners mentored colleagues, coordinated exhibits and found other ways to take art into the community. Read the entire post here.

Middle East North Africa Financial Network reports via McClatchy on Lyric Opera Baltimore's budgetary and artistic changes in advance of the season opener La Traviata on November 4. For example, American artists will predominate, with fewer international vocalists and actors taking the stage. From the article: The opening production, Verdi's "La Traviata," is the first of three productions scheduled for the inaugural season. This will provide a showcase for the $13 million of much-needed renovations just completed in the facility, rechristened last year in honor of the patrons who capped the renovation funding: the Patricia & Arthur Modell Performing Arts Center at the Lyric. Read the entire article here.

Work being done at the Walters Museum on "The Archimedes Palimpsest" has drawn the attention of the New York Times.

From the source:

The Archimedes Palimpsest has precisely this history. It really does begin with a 10th-century copy of Archimedes’ third-century B.C. writings. Three centuries later they were scraped off the parchment, which was reused — creating a “palimpsest.” And while there aren’t enough dead bodies or secret cabals to support a full-fledged thriller, there really is a sense of excitement in the account of the book’s history, restoration and meanings, at an exhibition at the Walters Art Museum here: “Lost and Found: The Secrets of Archimedes.”

Almost nothing about the tale is banal or ordinary. In a companion book, “The Archimedes Codex” (Da Capo), William Noel, the museum’s curator of manuscripts, describes how the saga was brought to its conclusion. In 1998, after reading about the Palimpsest’s sale at a Christie’s auction to an anonymous purchaser for $2 million, the museum’s director, Gary Vikan, suggested to Mr. Noel that he discover who bought it and whether it might be exhibited at the Walters.

Read the full story here.