2008 in the arts: Apprehension and applause
Rich Copley Herald-Leader Culture Columnist
We've all had it with 2008, a year that could never generate enough good news to overshadow the bad. In Central Kentucky, the arts generated a steady stream of headlines about excellence and innovation. But they were also obscured by the financial cloud that seems to cover everything. So, here are the top Central Kentucky arts stories of 2008, and we'll get the bad news out of the way first.
The price is right
By Amy Wilson awilson1@herald-leader.com
Maestro! Cue the economic and cultural conundrum. It seems that as times go bad, people need art to make them feel better. The worse the times, the more we need it. Why else would President Franklin Roosevelt have put artists to work for the Works Progress Administration during in the 1930s or had Woody Guthrie write songs about its dams?
Harold Pinter: Playwright was happy; his characters weren't
By Paisley Dodds Associated Press
LONDON — British Nobel laureate Harold Pinter — who produced some of his generation's most influential dramas and later became a staunch critic of the U.S.-led war in Iraq — has died, his widow said Thursday. He was 78.
With economy in shambles, this could be curtains for some arts groups
By Rich Copley rcopley@herald-leader.com
Performing and visual arts groups generally run on lean budgets even in good times. The national economic crisis also is doing a number on the box office and fund-raising efforts of these modestly funded groups. Some arts groups might not live to see better days.
In coming home, veteran actor also returns to stage
Rich Copley Herald-Leader Culture Columnist
Stephen Currens is having about as stealthy a stage homecoming as a successful stage veteran can.
- Hot tickets: Carlos Alazraqui, Ryan Adams and the Cardinals, more
- ‘Honky Tonk Angels': Fast-paced Christmas fun
- It's not all sugarplums in 'The Nutcracker'
- 'The Snow Queen': An enchanting overload
- 'The Fantasticks': Actors Guild puts brave new spin on musical standby
- 'If You Take a Mouse to the Movies': A simple holiday pleasure
