My 5 Friday Finds: Learning from the Masters (and you won’t believe what they say).
Hello folks! Another Friday is upon us, which means 5 more finds from the theater and beyond you may have missed or that I think you should check out.
Here are my faves:
- Did you see that proposal on The Emmys?
Everyone was talking/tweeting about Glenn Weiss’s surprise proposal to his girlfriend Jan Svendsen on this year’s Emmys. You may know that Glenn is the Producer of the Tony Awards. What you may not know is that Jan was the Marketing Director at The Broadway League for years. The industry gave them a huge standing ovation.
- David Mamet is teaching me how to write.
Online education is blowing up. In fact, there’s a theory that the cost of a college education may come DOWN in 20 years (!) when more and more people decide they don’t need to pay $130k a year when they can get so much info online. (That $130k is the real expected cost of Harvard in 2036, by the way – can you tell I have a newborn?)
In the meantime, there’s a ton of stuff out there for theater lovers. I’m loving MasterClass.com. I’ve taken the Aaron Sorkin class, and am currently on David Mamet’s. And get this, not only does David school you on the rules of Drama and how not to @#$% them up, but in episode 2 he comments on the Mike Pence/Hamilton controversy! It was worth it for that.
- Dim ’em all for Marin.
If you didn’t hear the tragic news, Marin Mazzie passed away this past week at the tender age of 57.
I worked with Marin on the original company of Ragtime and with her husband-to-be (at the time) on Candide, and let out an audible gasp when I heard the news while at an ad meeting.
They were going to dim just the lights of the marquees at the theaters where Marin worked, but after a social media revolt, all the lights went off yesterday to honor this incredible talent and incredible person.
- My New Flowers
If you’re like me, you’re always looking for unique “congrats” gifts to send folks instead of the usual flowers or chocolates.
SendABall is a great one. But if you’re looking for food, a neighbor turned me on to the best cookies I’ve binged on in a long time. Check these bad boys out (go for the almond shortcake).
- One of our last theaters goes bye-bye.
I was working for Garth Drabinsky when he announced he was buying the Times Square Theater. And then he went bankrupt. And went to jail.
Now, one of our last theaters that could be renovated is going to be a retail space. Boo.
Where’s Garth when we need him?!?
Next week? 5 More Finds. And if you like these, or have an idea for one (a show, a life hack, an app or whatever), please share ’em.
Podcasting
Ken created one of the first Broadway podcasts, recording over 250 episodes over 7 years. It features interviews with A-listers in the theater about how they “made it”, including 2 Pulitzer Prize Winners, 7 Academy Award Winners and 76 Tony Award winners. Notable guests include Pasek & Paul, Kenny Leon, Lynn Ahrens and more.