Monster Mash: Art auctions start slow; Christo project in Colorado

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Slow start: Sales were slow and low at Phillips de Pury & Co.’s auction of contemporary art, the first of this week’s big-money art auctions. (New York Times)

It’s a wrap: The federal government approved a $50-million art project by the artist Christo over the Arkansas River in southern Colorado. (New York Times)

Fixing a hole: Center Theatre Group director Michael Ritchie is scouring New York for a replacement production for the postponed revival of ‘Funny Girl.’ (Los Angeles Times)

Statue toppled: Police and politicians were scratching their heads over why someone tried to topple a memorial bronze of Ronald Reagan in a Newport Beach park. (Los Angeles Times)

New frontier: The Cleveland Orchestra is exploring establishing a regular presence in Europe, especially in Paris. (Plain Dealer)

Bye to the Blues: Patrick Willingham, the former COO of the Blue Man Group’s Blue Man Productions, is the new executive director of New York’s Public Theater. (Broadwayworld.com)

Summer vacation: Some West End theatrical productions, including Andrew Lloyd Webber’s, are considering going dark during next summer’s Olympic Games in London. (Guardian)

Expanding horizon: The producers of ‘The Mountaintop,’ Katori Hall’s play about the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., may extend the hit play beyond January. (playbill.com)

Concessions: In the midst of volatile contract negotiations with the struggling New York City Opera, union choristers and orchestra members are offering to work for free. (Wall Street Journal)

Also in the L.A. Times: Mark Swed reviews ‘Romeo and Juliet’ at L.A. Opera and Lang Lang at Disney Hall; Charlotte Stoudt reviews ‘Blues for an Alabama Sky’ at the Pasadena Playhouse.

-- Kelly Scott and Sherry Stern