1. As Mark Lowry reports on Theater Jones, the Dallas Summer Musicals 2011 season lineup was not supposed to be released until next week, but an ad in the Shrek Playbill (that was supposed to be pulled) inadvertently let the cat out of the bag early. The gaffe burns all the more because the DSM season looks like a bore:
If this lineup says anything, it’s that the touring product is seriously lacking right now. . . . There is hope: An insider at DSM confirms that there’s still one more show to be announced for the 2011 season. Considering this mostly dull lineup below, we’re not holding out hope for anything terribly interesting.
2. The ribbon cutting for Annette Strauss Square takes place today at the old venue’s new location, tucked behind the west side of the Winspear Opera House. The Dallas Morning News looks back at the legacy of the outdoor venue’s namesake, the former mayor with a passion for arts. And KERA reports on the challenges of designing the venue for a location that abuts a highway.
3. Last week the Facebook-centric movie Catfish opened locally, and tomorrow the Facebook founding drama The Social Network comes out, both films drawing attention to the influence the social media site has had on society. But has its impact been as fundamental as some like to profess? Not really, writes Malcolm Gladwell in The New Yorker. Culling examples from the Civil Rights movement and the Italian Red Brigades, Gladwell argues that the networking and personal associations that helped form these activist movements is alien to the way Facebook connects:
The kind of activism associated with social media isn’t like this at all. The platforms of social media are built around weak ties. Twitter is a way of following (or being followed by) people you may never have met. Facebook is a tool for efficiently managing your acquaintances, for keeping up with the people you would not otherwise be able to stay in touch with. That’s why you can have a thousand “friends” on Facebook, as you never could in real life.
