Monster Mash: Matthew Fox to star in Neil LaBute play in London; LACMA halts further construction

Starring role: As reported in Culture Monster after the Emmy awards in August, Matthew Fox, formerly of the hit series "Lost," will star in the London production of Neil LaBute's "In a Forest, Dark and Deep." Olivia Williams ("The Ghost Writer," "An Education") has signed to play opposite Fox. (Variety)

Suspended activity: The Los Angeles County Museum of Art has halted further construction on its campus until it has raised an additional $100 million in donations. (Los Angeles Times)

Shut down: Most of Italy's theaters, concert halls and cinemas closed for the day on Monday in protest against culture budget cuts. (Agence France-Presse)

Money trouble: Tax filings show that the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation in New York has been struggling financially. (New York Times)

New role: Pop singer Rufus Wainwright will be taking up a residency at the Royal Opera House. (The Guardian)

Opening: Memorium, a new museum commemorating the Nuremberg trials, opened this week in the German city. (Deutsche Welle)

Abandoned: New York University has dropped its plan to add a 38-story building to I.M. Pei's landmark three-tower plaza in Greenwich Village after receiving a letter from the architect's firm. (The Wall Street Journal)

Adult swim: Israeli archaeologists have discovered an ancient Roman swimming pool at a site in Jerusalem's Old City. (Associated Press)

Guilty: The Montana woman who used a crowbar to damage Enrique Chagoya's "The Misadventures of the Romantic Cannibals" at a Colorado museum has  pleaded guilty to misdemeanor criminal mischief. (Loveland Reporter-Herald)

Cultural treasures: The National Bank of Egypt has returned 200 ancient artifacts to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. (Bloomberg)

Back on stage: Lin-Manuel Miranda will appear in the tour of the Tony-winning musical "In the Heights" for a week in Puerto Rico. (Playbill)

Picket line: Striking Detroit Symphony Orchestra musicians have withdrawn an unfair labor practice charge they filed in September with the National Labor Relations Board. (The Detroit News)

Also in the L.A. Times: Music critic Mark Swed reviews "Lohengrin" at L.A. Opera; art critic Christopher Knight reviews a Jan Gossart exhibition at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art.

-- David Ng

Photo: Neil LaBute, left, with actors Olivia Williams and Matthew Fox. Credit: Gareth Cattermole / Getty Images

Comments

[ArtLover]

It's rather pathetic that with all the billionaires in Los Angeles - and on LACMA's own board - that they can't easily scrape together $100 million. Just ask some of these bozos making tens of millions from syndication rights to "The Simpsons" or "Two and a Half Men," for some money - god knows they don't deserve it. They can earn major kudos for giving back to the community that allowed them to get rich for nothing.