Arts Orbit

"They use teenage boys for ushers [in Stratford] and I think that this is a far better idea than girls. They are less noisy and giggly. Having 15-20 lovely girls corralled in one place creates a continual problem with not only boyfriends hanging around, but also lookers. I know this is a sacrifice for all red blooded males connected with the theatre, but I know well worth it in orderliness and efficiency."

Oliver Rea, co-founder of the Guthrie Theater, making a recommendation to the company’s board of directors in 1962.

jaygabler:

One of the reasons he chose to adapt Ivan Turgenev’s 1859 novel Home of the Gentry, playwright Crispin Whittell says in a program note, was that the story has “all these wonderful parts for women.” Such as? The part of the shallow and pretentious mother who wants to marry her daughter into high society! The part of the wisecracking single Woman of a Certain Age who’s not afraid to get real! The part of the sex-crazed maid! The part of the vain and manipulative married woman who can’t keep her hands on her own husband! And then of course, the part of the virginal and (natch) “intelligent” young girl who can’t marry the sketchy-but-philosophical older man she loves instead of the cocky young ass her mother would prefer!

Here’s the rest of my Vita.mn review.

jaygabler:

“Previewing the return to Minneapolis of the 2006 Broadway adaptation of Disney’s Mary Poppins, Rohan Preston of the Star Tribune wrote a feature about the enduring myth of the British Supernanny.

“That’s only one of the cultural tropes on display through April 28 at the Orpheum Theatre. Others include the Happy Poor, the Burdened Rich and the Abused Toys. There’s some Sigmund Freud (Mr. Banks was symbolically castrated by his overbearing nanny), some Adam Smith (Mr. Banks holds firmly to the labor theory of value) and some Michel Foucault (I’ll let you conduct your own post-colonial analysis of the Caribbean immigrant who sells - literally sells - the word supercalifragilisticexpialidocious to Mary and her charges).

“With all that theory to chew on, adapter Julian Fellowes seems to have concluded that leaving feminism in the mix would be a bit much. In contrast to the 1964 Disney film, in which Mrs. Banks was a spunky suffragette, this Mrs. Banks spends the entire show trying to convince her distant husband that she’s worthy of his attention. By the end, she decides to abandon her acting career because, she declares without a whiff of irony, she’s found her favorite role: Mrs. Banks. I guess Fellowes decided the Friedan-era movie was just too progressive for a story centered on a magical woman who solves everyone’s problems and refuses any pay.”

my review in Vita.mn

James Sewell Ballet

12th annual American Girl Fashion Show, presented by the Junior League of Minneapolis. Photos by Jay Gabler.

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tcdailyplanet:

On February 16, graduating seniors in the University of Minnesota’s apparel design program showcased their best work in a fashion show. Here are GIFs of six designers’ work.

See collections by Jennifer Voth, Anna Louise Sviben, Misty Karges, Grace Lorig, Jessica Loomis, Issa Mello, and Sherry Lyn Sanden-Will.

-Jay Gabler 

Jennifer Voth: “This line of laidback women’s skateboard apparel utilizes the overlapping depth created by slabs of metal armor combined with stripe accents found on old school team sport jerseys.”

University of Minnesota Senior Fashion Show GIFs

Issa Mello: “The cut of the garments and juxtaposing fabrics are the basis of Issa’s collection and give a cool, edgy, and almost rebellious feeling.”

University of Minnesota Senior Fashion Show GIFs

Grace Lorig: “With her combined passion and respect for the outdoors, being physically active, and design, Grace Lorig traveled to India and created an Eastern-inspired line for those who live a yogic lifestyle.”

University of Minnesota Senior Fashion Show GIFs

Anna Louise Sviben: “Inspired by Depression-era patchwork and utilitarian thrift, the collection pays tribute to hard boundaries and minimal, geometric forms.”

University of Minnesota Senior Fashion Show GIFs

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