Monster Mash: Ai Weiwei gets support; ‘Spider-Man’ investor sues
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Show of support: Artist Ai Weiwei says thousands of supporters have donated more than $800,000 to help him pay off a tax bill and fine imposed by the Chinese government. (Associated Press via Washington Post)
Legal skirmish: An investor in Broadway’s ‘Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark’ is suing over a theater fee. (Hollywood Reporter)
Repossessed: Authorities have seized a nearly 500-year-old Italian painting that has been on display at a Florida museum, saying it was stolen by the Nazis from a Jewish family during World War II. (Associated Press via ABC News)
Bowing out: James Levine has dropped out of conducting the Metropolitan Opera’s new production of Wagner’s ‘Gotterdammerung’ and is in danger of missing an entire season. (Associated Press via Wall Street Journal)
An American in Moscow: Over the weekend, David Hallberg made his debut as a member of the Bolshoi Ballet. (Russian Press News)
Tall tales: The story of basketball players Larry Bird and Magic Johnson could be coming to Broadway as a musical. (NBC Washington)
High society: Prince Charles and his daughter-in-law, the Duchess of Cambridge, have made a series of visits to the Royal Opera House in London’s Covent Garden to watch ballet and opera productions. (Telegraph)
For sale: The Cleveland Museum of Art is planning to auction off 24 European sculptures this week. (Cleveland Plain Dealer)
Diva: Tyne Daly is set to reprise her Broadway role as Maria Callas in Terrence McNally’s ‘Master Class’ on London’s West End. (Playbill)
Somewhat impractical: Fashion designer Christian Louboutin has created an eight-inch heeled shoe to raise money for the English National Ballet. (Daily Mail)
Also in the L.A. Times: LACMA launched its new annual gala, ‘Art +Film,’ honoring Clint Eastwood and John Baldessari; L.A. Opera held an open house over the weekend; music critic Mark Swed reviews Yuja Wang and James Conlon with the L.A. Philharmonic.
-- David Ng
