Don’t be too hard on Alex Ross and his one-line comments on singers - us opera nerds are enjoying them. I’d like to read more detail about the singing, and the technique, but he’d lose the rest of his audience.
Agreed Helen Shaw's shark piece was great, although for me it's hard to say it's a pick of the week when it's that short. One thing the piece arguably missed is this isn't even the first Jaws-based stage adaptation of the 2020s. There's this whole other musical about the production: https://variety.com/2022/legit/reviews/bruce-review-musical-making-of-jaws-1235294038/
Maybe I'd have a different opinion if I had read a lot of other coverage of monster trucks, but I really enjoyed Helfand's article in this issue. It was my clear pick of the week. It was a classic example of taking a topic I hadn't thought very deeply about and highlighting the odd particulars I'd never really consider (how the hell do you get all the good dirt you need to these venues) against a bigger-picture backdrop of the consolidation of the live events industry. I could have mainly done without the part on Helfand training to be a driver but I guess if the New Yorker expense account is going to comp it, you might as well give some perspective on it.
Don’t be too hard on Alex Ross and his one-line comments on singers - us opera nerds are enjoying them. I’d like to read more detail about the singing, and the technique, but he’d lose the rest of his audience.
Agreed Helen Shaw's shark piece was great, although for me it's hard to say it's a pick of the week when it's that short. One thing the piece arguably missed is this isn't even the first Jaws-based stage adaptation of the 2020s. There's this whole other musical about the production: https://variety.com/2022/legit/reviews/bruce-review-musical-making-of-jaws-1235294038/
Maybe I'd have a different opinion if I had read a lot of other coverage of monster trucks, but I really enjoyed Helfand's article in this issue. It was my clear pick of the week. It was a classic example of taking a topic I hadn't thought very deeply about and highlighting the odd particulars I'd never really consider (how the hell do you get all the good dirt you need to these venues) against a bigger-picture backdrop of the consolidation of the live events industry. I could have mainly done without the part on Helfand training to be a driver but I guess if the New Yorker expense account is going to comp it, you might as well give some perspective on it.
The stuff on dirt kept making me think about this piece on sand from a few years back https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/05/29/the-world-is-running-out-of-sand
Yeah that was a classic. Never knew sand was a non-renewable resource.