Daily Rehearsal: How are paywalls changing who sees arts coverage?

Daily Rehearsal: How are paywalls changing who sees arts coverage?

WBEZ brings you fact-based news and information. Sign up for our newsletters to stay up to date on the stories that matter.

- Backstage with John Judd, courtesy of the Goodman, who is currently performing in Sweet Bird of Youth. He says he fears he’ll never get to George in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, says every word he has to say in the play before he goes on, and has perhaps invented the new catchphrase for the city of Chicago: “In Chicago we do it from the heart.”

'SPANK! The Fifty Shades Parody' (Courtesy of The Silverman Group)
- Something I’ve been wondering about has apparently bothered others as well; as many papers switch to paywalls, a great deal of arts coverage is being moved behind them. Howard Sherman addresses this problem on his site, writing that newspapers should try the following model: “I’d like to suggest that arts coverage remain free online, unlike the rest of a newspaper’s content.” Chicago Tribune critic Chris Jones and The Globe and Mail‘s Kelly Nestruck took to the comments to let Sherman know that at their publications, anything that’s sent in a Tweet can be accessed outside the paywall.

- Tony Adler wrote a haiku for Metamorphoses that involves towels.

- As if Fifty Shades of Grey had not infiltrated modern culture enough, SPANK! The Fifty Shades Parody “will dominate willing audiences” (their words, not mine) at the Royal George Theatre for three weeks starting at the end of November. Just for Laughs is co-producing it and it was written and directed by Jim Millan. Please note: “This show is not associated with, nor authorized by, author E.L. James or Vintage Press.”

Chicago Children’s Theatre is taking Harold and the Purple Crayon to the Beverly Arts Center November 7 through 11th.

Questions? Tips? Email kdries@wbez.org.