Monster Mash: Cirque founder sues; arts audience declining; more on OCMA art sale; new Mahler blog

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--Controversy continues: Director of Laguna Museum of Art seeks chance to acquire plein air paintings quietly sold by OCMA to a private collector.

--Bad news, good news: Audience for the arts continues to decline, but the Internet offers hope, according to study by the National Endowment for the Arts.

--Unflattering depiction: Cirque du Soleil founder sues to halt bio depicting him as a bed-hopping scoundrel with an inexhaustible appetite for sex, drugs, and a rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle.

--Moving east: Erik Ehn leaving CalArts to head playwriting program at Brown University.

--Angry over job loss: Architect Richard Rogers claims ‘abuse of power’ and ‘unconstitutional’ behavior by Prince Charles in London residential project.

--Honoring composer: Universal Edition launches a Gustav Mahler blog (via The Rest Is Noise)

--Big-name directors: Film director Jonathan Demme and Tony-winner Joe Mantello to stage shows at MCC Theater.

--Flat-out change: Site of architect Norman Foster’s planned 118-floor Russia Tower in Moscow now set to become a parking lot.

--This is a publicity stunt: Edinburgh Fringe announces contest for best publicity stunt.

--At long last: PBS to air ‘Chess’ concert production, featuring Josh Groban and Adam Pascal on Wednesday. (See preview, find time slot here.)

--Looking for laughs: John Leguizamo hits the road with tour of ‘John Leguizamo Live!’

--More on Twitter: The venerable Royal Shakespeare Company starts Twittering. (Shameless plug: Follow us on Twitter: @culturemonster)

-- Lisa Fung

Caption: Bolton Colburn, director of Laguna Museum of Art, in 1998 photo. Credit: Los Angeles Times