Monster Mash: Jim Parsons headed for Broadway in ‘Normal Heart’; ‘Spider-Man’ without Julie Taymor?
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New role: Jim Parsons, of the CBS comedy series ‘The Big Bang Theory,’ and Lee Pace will star in the new Broadway production of Larry Kramer’s ‘The Normal Heart,’ which opens in April. (Los Angeles Times)
Up in the air: The future of director Julie Taymor on Broadway’s troubled ‘Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark’ appears under discussion. (New York Times)
Dramatic exit: Soprano Angela Gheorghiu has quit the Metropolitan Opera’s upcoming production of Gounod’s ‘Faust,’ scheduled for November, due to artistic differences. (Associated Press)
Trial: A court hearing is coming for a case involving a Baroque painting looted by Nazis. (Los Angeles Times)
Growing: Pasadena’s Art Center College of Design is unveiling a five-year plan to expand its downtown campus to equal its hilltop campus in Linda Vista. (Pasadena Star-News)
Hang on, ‘David’: Experts in Italy are worried that vibrations from construction of a planned high-speed train in Florence could endanger Michelangelo’s masterpiece. (The Telegraph via ArtInfo)
Rivals: Comedian Kathy Griffin has offered Sarah Palin tickets to her upcoming Broadway show. (CBS News)
Acquisition: The British Museum is buying Assyrian treasures cleaned by novelist Agatha Christie. (The Guardian)
Nosedive: Broadway’s ‘American Idiot’ saw its most recent box-office figures plunge after Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong departed the show. (New York Times)
Artistic synergies: The Pittsburgh Ballet is teaming up with the August Wilson Center for a three-year partnership. (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)
New leader: The Hunter Museum of American Art in Tennessee has named Daniel E. Stetson its new director. (The Chattanoogan)
Also in the L.A. Times: The Segerstrom Center for the Arts announces its 25th anniversary season; music critic Mark Swed reviews the L.A. Master Chorale at Walt Disney Concert Hall.
-- David Ng
