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☆ Tony Awards Broadcast Can Proceed After Striking Writers’ Union Agrees
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Michael Paulson | John Koblin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

This year’s Tony Awards ceremony, which had been in doubt ever since Hollywood’s screenwriters went on strike earlier this month, will proceed as scheduled in an altered form after the writers’ union said Monday night that it would not picket the show. “As they have stood by us, we stand with our fellow workers on Broadway who are impacted by our strike,” the Writers Guild of America, which represents screenwriters, said in a statement late Monday. Several nominated shows have been operating at a loss, holding on in the hopes that a Tony win — or even exposure on the broadcast — could boost sales. The union made it clear that the broadcast, which is scheduled to air on CBS on June 11, would be different from past ceremonies. But the union did not detail what those differences would be, and the Tony Awards administrators did not have any immediate comment.

☆ Tony Awards Officials Ask Striking Writers to Reconsider Broadcast
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Michael Paulson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Broadway producers and industry leaders say that the annual awards show is a vital marketing tool for the industry, and particularly important to the financial health of new musicals. members are striking for better compensation and structural changes to the way writers relate to studios, streaming services and networks as the entertainment industry evolves. Conversations between theater industry leaders, union leaders, and CBS are ongoing. The Broadway League and the American Theater Wing, which jointly present the Tony Awards, are hoping to resolve the crisis soon. If a broadcast proves impossible, many industry leaders appear determined to hand out the prizes as scheduled, either at a nontelevised event or simply by announcing the winners.

☆ Striking Writers’ Union Denies Waiver, Imperiling Tony Awards Telecast
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Michael Paulson | John Koblin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The denial by the union, the Writers Guild of America, described by people who were granted anonymity to disclose confidential discussions, is imperiling one of Broadway’s biggest nights — a key marketing opportunity that is even more crucial in the fragile post-shutdown theater economy. Industry leaders say that without the ability to reach the broad audience that tunes into a Tony Awards broadcast, several of the newest musicals are likely to close. Broadway boosters are still hoping that over the weekend the writers’ guild might be persuaded to change its mind. Without a waiver from the writers’ guild, a live broadcast ceremony is essentially impossible because much of Broadway, including nominees and presenters, would refuse to cross a picket line. The management committee of the Tony Awards, which is the group charged with overseeing the broadcast, has scheduled an emergency meeting on Monday at which it will discuss how to proceed.

☆ In ‘Sweeney Todd,’ Annaleigh Ashford Puts It All Together
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Alexis Soloski | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Other roles came, several of them further variations on the dumb blonde: Glinda in “Wicked”; Essie in “You Can’t Take It With You,” her Tony-winning part; Sylvia in “Sylvia,” in which she played a blond dog. Yoked with that mind is a clarity of purpose, tinged with a belief in the divine, which can resemble a kind of innocence. Sarah Paulson, who worked with her on “Impeachment: American Crime Story” and filmed a movie with her last summer, described that clarity as lending Ashford a certain buoyancy. “She can seem like she’s dancing in the ether a little bit,” Paulson said. But Ashford also has a seriousness to her, which Paulson described as “a fierce self-possession, this unassailable confidence that is wild to me.”

☆ 5 Tony-Nominated Broadway Shows, 5 Stagecraft Secrets
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Michael Paulson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The wordless preshow — a big Hollywood star silently spinning — was born of an impulse. An early readthrough in Chastain’s apartment planted the seed of the idea: She did the reading from her armchair, prompting a transfixed Lloyd to suggest she consider performing the play that way. “I wanted it to feel like I’ve been sitting there for years,” she said, “and haven’t fully woken up to the possibilities.”And why does she rotate? Lloyd said that concept was central to the show’s design. “It’s a very political play — that’s why it’s endured — but it’s also very psychological, about someone spiraling out of control,” he said.

☆ As Broadway Rebounds, ‘Some Like It Hot’ Gets 13 Tony Nominations
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Michael Paulson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The nominations for “Ain’t No Mo’” were especially striking given that the show struggled to find an audience and closed early. “I’m just so elated, I can barely find the words,” said Cooper, who was nominated both as writer and actor. He is now 85 years old, and “Leopoldstadt” is his 19th production on Broadway. Stoppard said he was proud of the nomination, but sorry the play had come to seem so timely at a moment of rising concern about antisemitism. “Nobody wants society to be divided,” he said in an interview, “and I like to think ‘Leopoldstadt’ works against a sense of human beings dividing up and confronting each other.”

☆ Tony Nominations 2023 Live Updates: How to Watch the Announcement
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Michael Paulson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

ETImage Ariana DeBose will return this year after hosting last year’s Tony Awards ceremony. Credit... Sara Krulwich/The New York TimesNominations for this year’s Tony Awards, which honor plays and musicals performed on Broadway, are being announced on Tuesday morning in New York. There are 26 competitive categories, and the Tonys hand out some noncompetitive awards as well. The Tony Awards ceremony, presented by the Broadway League and the American Theater Wing, will be on June 11. To be eligible for this year’s Tony Awards, shows must have opened between April 29, 2022, and April 27, 2023.

☆ Experts say Disney has strong case against Desantis
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Reuters Editorial | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

PoliticsExperts say Disney has strong case against DesantisPostedNow that the year-long war of words between Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and the Walt Disney Co has landed in the courts, the Republican leader might find his verbal barbs directed at the entertainment giant coming back to bite, say legal experts Ken Paulson and Leslie Kendrick.

☆ ‘Harmony,’ a Manilow Musical Set Under Nazis, Is Broadway-Bound
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Michael Paulson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

“Harmony,” a musical about a German singing group upended by the rise of Nazism, will finally open on Broadway this fall with songs by Barry Manilow and his longtime collaborator, Bruce Sussman. The show, which Manilow and Sussman have been developing for more than 25 years, tells the true story of a sextet that ran afoul of the Nazi regime because the group featured both Jewish and non-Jewish members. The ensemble was called the Comedian Harmonists. “They represent everything I love — they’re a combination of The Manhattan Transfer and the Marx Brothers, with complicated harmonies — and funny as hell,” said Manilow, who wrote the show’s music. “When we dug into it, it just killed me: Why don’t we know about them?”Sussman, who wrote the book and lyrics, said the show was “about the quest for harmony in what turned out to be the most discordant chapter in human history.”

☆ DeSantis' tough words may come back to haunt him in Disney lawsuit, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Tom Hals | Thomson Reuters | Tom Hals Is An Award-Winning Reporter With Years Of Experience Working In Asia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/2] Florida Governor and likely 2024 Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis speaks as part of his Florida Blueprint tour in Pinellas Park, Florida, U.S. March 8, 2023. Disney on Wednesday sued DeSantis to prevent the state from ending the company's virtual autonomy in central Florida where it has its theme parks. Disney said DeSantis' actions amounted to a "targeted campaign of government retaliation." Disney claimed in its lawsuit that the state adopted a "targeted campaign of government retaliation — orchestrated at every step by Governor DeSantis as punishment for Disney’s protected speech." DeSantis' tough talk toward Disney is cited throughout the lawsuit, including 18 quotes referring to some form of "woke Disney."

☆ Meet the 19-Year-Old ‘Kimberly Akimbo’ Actor Who’s Charming Broadway
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Michael Paulson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

He has turned, often, to the show’s star, Victoria Clark, for guidance. She’s a 63-year-old Tony winner (for “The Light in the Piazza”), and he’s a 19-year-old novice, and in the show they both play high school students who are about 16 years old. “How to not stay up late and play video games. It definitely took a step up in maturity for me to be working in the professional world. I’m still figuring out a lot of things.”Tesori remembers a day when she ran into Cooley on his way to Trader Joe’s and he blurted out “Hey, how do you cook?”

☆ ‘The Shark Is Broken,’ a ‘Jaws’ Comedy, Plans Broadway Run
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Michael Paulson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

“The Shark Is Broken,” a comedy about the making of “Jaws” that stars the son of one of the film’s main actors, will open on Broadway this summer. The play is the brainchild of Ian Shaw, whose father, Robert Shaw, played Quint, the psychotic shark hunter, in the film. Its film set was plagued by problems, some exacerbated by Robert Shaw’s drinking, and the play depicts the fraught relationship between him and his co-stars, Richard Dreyfuss and Roy Scheider. In the play, set in 1974, the three men are trapped together on a boat, managing bad weather, (fake) shark troubles and alcohol. The Broadway run is to begin previews on July 25 and to open on Aug. 10 at the Golden Theater.

☆ Todd Haimes, Who Rebuilt Roundabout Theater Company, Dies at 66
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Michael Paulson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Todd Haimes, who rescued New York’s Roundabout Theater Company from bankruptcy and built it into one of the largest nonprofit theaters in America, died on Wednesday at 66. His death, at Memorial Sloan Kettering hospital in Manhattan, was caused by complications of osteosarcoma, according to a spokesman, Matt Polk. Mr. Haimes had lived with the cancer since 2002, when he was diagnosed with sarcoma of the jaw. As the artistic director and chief executive officer at Roundabout, Mr. Haimes had an extraordinarily long and effective tenure. He led the organization for four decades, turning the nonprofit company into a major player on Broadway, where it now runs three of the 41 theaters.

☆ Why MLM Sales 'Huns' Get so Much Hate on Reddit, TikTok
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Aimee Pearcy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

Over the past few years, MLM companies have been under increased scrutiny. MLM companies largely appeal to those who are disconnected and looking for a way to get on solid financial footingAt first, Stimson felt optimistic. And a 2018 AARP survey found that just 25% of MLM participants made a profit. US direct-sales companies, which include MLM companies, earned $42.7 billion in retail sales in 2021, according to the Direct Selling Association — a 21% increase from 2019. And two-thirds of MLM participants said that "knowing what they know now, they would not join the same MLM company again."

☆ Sarah Paulson financially helped Pedro Pascal early in his career
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Issy Ronald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Pedro Pascal and Sarah Paulson are two of Hollywood’s most in-demand actors, often pictured at red carpet events together, but that hasn’t always been the case during their three decades-long friendship. As young actors struggling to navigate the industry, Paulson would help her friend make ends meet. “We would go to see movies all the time in those years, and we would get so lost in them,” Paulson told Esquire. Pedro Pascal hosted SNL in February. “He’s a part of some spectacularly successful things,” Paulson added.

☆ Ariana DeBose to Return as Tony Awards Host This Year
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Michael Paulson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Ariana DeBose, whose exuberant embrace of song and dance enlivened last year’s Tony Awards, will return to host the annual ceremony this spring. Earlier this year, she sang the opening number at the BAFTA Awards, and a rapped section paying tribute to female movie stars was mocked and memed for a hot second. DeBose, who is 32, seems to have taken it in stride — in London earlier this month, she turned the kerfuffle into merch that raised money for charity, and last weekend she performed at Lincoln Center. This year’s awards ceremony will for the first time take place at the United Palace, a large theater in Washington Heights, in Upper Manhattan. The ceremony, which is presented by the Broadway League and the American Theater Wing, honors plays and musicals staged on Broadway; it is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. Eastern on Sunday, June 11, and to be broadcast on CBS and streamed on Paramount+.

☆ Republicans are starting to split over exactly how — and whether — to ban TikTok
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Bryan Metzger | Eliza Relman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Republicans generally support banning TikTok, but they're beginning to disagree on how. Sen. Rand Paul has also come out against a TikTok ban, blocking a bill from Sen. Josh Hawley. But even among Republicans who favor a TikTok ban, there are growing concerns about the RESTRICT Act — arguably the most prominent proposal put forward to deal with the issue. "So, I think we should ban TikTok. "It's worse than banning TikTok, because it can be applied to lots of other companies," said Paul.

☆ A lot of money is on the line for women's pro soccer in the U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Jessica Golden | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Restore faith in women's soccer and grow the business. The league averaged 37 sponsorship deals per team, which is more than any other women's sport, according to sports data and intelligence platform Sponsor United. Women's pro soccer valuations are also soaring. NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman speaks during the 2023 NWSL Draft at the Pennsylvania Convention Center on January 12, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Culture changeOL Reign forward Megan Rapinoe (15) scores on a penalty kick during the second half of the National Womens Soccer League game between NJ/NY Gotham FC and OL Reign on September 21, 2022 at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey.

☆ Warren Buffett might help rescue the banks again - but he'll probably make less money this time around
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Theron Mohamed | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Warren Buffett has spoken to the White House about investing in US regional banks, reports say. The famed investor and Berkshire Hathaway CEO has reportedly spoken to senior White House officials about potentially investing in US regional lenders. The billionaire's backing might help to quell fears of more bank failures, and shore up faith in the financial system. Buffett might seek to reach similar deals with struggling regional banks today. In other words, Buffett might not be the only savior available, limiting his ability to extract the best terms possible for Berkshire.

☆ Credit Suisse was losing the faith of investors long before the SVB debacle. Here's why the situation came to a head this week.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Theron Mohamed | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Credit Suisse shares tumbled more than 25% on Wednesday as fears grew of a banking crisis. Here's a closer look at why Credit Suisse is worrying investors. The latest slump in Credit Suisse stock can partly be explained by recent events in the US banking industry. Credit Suisse CEO Ulrich Koerner has also faced questions about his plans to cut costs, staunch losses, and turn around his company. There's no clear reason to believe Credit Suisse is at risk of failure.

☆ Since David Solomon became Goldman Sachs CEO, more than 80 partners have left. See the running list here.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Carter Johnson | Dakin Campbell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

David Solomon has been Goldman Sachs' CEO for more than four years since succeeding Lloyd Blankfein. There's been a lot of talk about the morale at Goldman Sachs. In reality, Solomon said, there were fewer "partner transitions at Goldman Sachs" in 2022 than any year "going back to 2014." "At the moment, year-to-date, our turnover is at a 5-year low, not just for partners, in the whole firm," Solomon added. Here is a running list of Goldman's partners that have retired from the firm — or moved on to roles at other companies — since Solomon became CEO.

☆ Some Goldman Sachs partners want to tell the board about their concerns over CEO David Solomon
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Dakin Campbell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

A decline in morale at the Wall Street firm concerns some Goldman partners. Here are their concerns about CEO David Solomon, who addressed the partners in Miami. CEO David Solomon addressed Goldman Sachs' partners today at the firm's annual partners meeting in Miami. There's little history for Goldman partners taking their concerns directly to the board. Since then, according to someone who has spoken to investors, more shareholders have questioned how long Solomon can last as Goldman's CEO.

☆ Citadel's $16 billion haul smashes hedge fund records
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

London CNN —Citadel is now the most successful hedge fund ever after it made $16 billion last year — the biggest annual windfall on record. The Miami-based fund, founded and run by Ken Griffin, topped the 2022 ranking of the world’s best-performing hedge funds based on estimates from LCH Investments NV. Citadel’s record-breaking performance last year took total gains for the fund since its inception to nearly $66 billion. Dalio’s fund made $6.2 billion last year, bringing total assets under management to $81 billion. LCH was launched in 1969 and is the world’s oldest fund of hedge funds.

☆ NWSL bans four coaches, fines teams after misconduct inquiry
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 9 (Reuters) - The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) has handed lifetime bans to four former coaches and fined the Chicago Red Stars and Portland Thorns $1.5 million and $1 million respectively, part of sweeping sanctions from a misconduct inquiry. An independent investigator brought in by U.S. Soccer found last year that abuse and misconduct "had become systemic" in the NWSL. Former North Carolina Courage coach Paul Riley, Racing Louisville coach Christy Holly, Chicago Red Stars coach Rory Dames and Washington Spirit coach Richie Burke will each be subject to "permanent exclusion" from the league. Arnim Whisler, who owns the Red Stars, and Thorns owner Merritt Paulson have agreed to sell their teams. The NWSL is compelling the owners of both teams to hire sporting staff that is "completely distinct" from their respective men's teams.

☆ 5 of the wildest experiments tardigrades have survived in the name of science
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Paola Rosa-Aquino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Water bears can go years without food or water and endure extreme radiation and temperatures. When the water bears returned to Earth, the scientists discovered that 68% survived. A thawed tardigrade survived being frozen for 3 decadesIn 2016, scientists at Japan's National Institute of Polar Research examined tardigrades retrieved from a frozen moss sample collected in Antarctica in 1983. Still, in a 2020 study, researchers found that long-term exposure to high temperatures, even in their hibernated state, can kill tardigrades in only a day. Tardigrades survived being shot out of a high-speed gunSome scientists believe that tardigrades may be capable of spreading life to different planets.

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