The Wall Street Journal - 24.02.2020

(Barry) #1

A10B| Monday, February 24, 2020 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.**


ALBANY

Jewish Center Among
Several Threatened

The Albany Jewish Commu-
nity Center was evacuated and
searched Sunday morning after
it and several other centers
around the country received
anonymous emails with vague
threats that mentioned a bomb,
Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.
Mr. Cuomo went to the Al-
bany center after police evacu-
ated about 100 people, searched
the building with dogs and de-
clared it safe.
Similar vague threats were
emailed to about 18 Jewish
Community Centers around the
country, according to Mr.
Cuomo’s office. The centers pro-
vide educational, fitness and so-
cial programs for children and
adults. Mr. Cuomo’s office had
no further details about the na-
ture of the threats nor whether
police searched other locations.
Mr. Cuomo said the FBI is in-
vestigating where the threats
originated. State Director of
Emergency Management Mi-
chael Kopy said the emails were
sent to people with Jewish
Community Center accounts, but
he declined to specify which
centers were targeted.
“These types of situations are
so ugly and so unfortunate,” Mr.
Cuomo said. “What’s worse is
we’re seeing more and more of
them. We’ve had about 42 inci-
dents of anti-Semitism in this
state this past couple of months
so it’s not getting better. It’s
only getting worse.”
—Associated Press

Jacob Sanchez
Diagnosed with autism

Lack of speech is a sign of autism. Learn the others at autismspeaks.org/signs.


League, the industry’s trade
group.
It is also the first time a
Broadway drama or musical
has been presented at Madi-
son Square Garden, venue offi-
cials said. The space is being
given to the “Mockingbird”
production at no charge, offi-
cials added. Projections are

being used to help audience
members in the arena’s far
reaches see the stage.
The idea for the event orig-
inated with “Mockingbird”
producer Scott Rudin, who
says he has felt frustrated try-
ing to attract a more diverse
crowd to the show, which
opened on Broadway in No-
vember 2018.

Hosting an event for
schoolchildren on a massive
scale and removing the barrier
of price became a way to ac-
complish that. “Mockingbird”
seats start at $39, but can run
as high as $199.
Production officials de-
clined to specify how much
the effort will cost. The pro-
duction is forgoing its usual
Wednesday matinee perfor-
mance, which means a loss of
tens of thousands of dollars in
ticket revenue.
The production is also com-
mitting time to remount the
production, given the larger
footprint of the arena’s stage.
“It’s the opposite of inti-
mate,” said Nick Robinson, a
cast member.
The production has been a
success since it opened at the
Shubert Theatre, grossing
more than $100 million to date
and selling out every perfor-
mance. It has benefited from
the enduring popularity of the
novel, which chronicles racial
injustice in the South during
the 1930s.

GREATER NEW YORK GREATER NEW YORK WATCH


OBITUARY

Model, Lifestyle Guru
B. Smith Dies at 70

Barbara “B.” Smith, one of the
nation’s top black models who
went on to open restaurants,
launch a successful home prod-
ucts line and write cookbooks,
has died at her Long Island
home at age 70 after battling
early onset Alzheimer’s disease.
Ms. Smith’s family announced
on social media that she died
Saturday evening.
“Heaven is shining even
brighter now that it is graced
with B.’s dazzling and unforget-
table smile,” her husband, Dan
Gasby, said on Facebook.
Ms. Smith wrote three cook-
books, founded three successful
restaurants, including one in
Manhattan, and launched a na-
tionally syndicated television
show and a magazine. Her home
products line was the first from
a black woman to be sold at a
nationwide retailer when it made
its debut in 2001 at Bed Bath &
Beyond.
In 1976, she became the sec-
ond black model to be on the
cover of Mademoiselle magazine,
after Jolie Jones in 1969.
She hosted the nationally
syndicated television show “B.
Smith with Style” for nearly a
decade.
Ms. Smith was diagnosed
with early onset Alzheimer’s dis-
ease in 2013. She and Mr. Gasby
raised awareness of the disease,
and particularly its impacts on
the African-American commu-
nity, following her diagnosis.
—Associated Press

B. Smith, shown at a 2012 event, began her career as a model
and became a lifestyle maven, restaurateur and television host.

JOSE LUIS MAGANA/ASSOCIATED PRESS

The book is part of many a
school curriculum. Officials
with New York City’s Depart-
ment of Education noted it is
taught to this day.
The Madison Square Garden
event isn’t the only effort on
the part of Broadway produc-
ers and executives to welcome
younger audiences. The Broad-
way League’s Broadway
Bridges program, started in
2017, offers $10 tickets for
shows to high schools.
But by virtue of the arena’s
size—more than 10 times the
capacity of the Shubert The-
atre—the “Mockingbird” per-
formance stands out, say the-
ater professionals.
Joe Christopher, a vice pres-
ident with RWS Entertainment
Group, a New York company
that specializes in theater and
live events, noted that by
bringing Broadway to a venue
“where you would go to see a
Beyoncé concert,” the event
takes on special meaning.
“It elevates the art form to
that level of superstardom,” he
said.

Madison Square Garden has
long been a marquee destina-
tion for sporting events and
concerts. But on Wednesday,
the New York City venue will
play host to a different sort of
program: a play.
The producers of Broad-
way’s “To Kill a Mockingbird,”
the Aaron Sorkin drama based
on the Harper Lee novel, part-
nered with Madison Square
Garden and the New York City
Department of Education to
bring the production to the
venue’s arena.
The performance will be of-
fered to about 18,000 local
middle- and high-school stu-
dents from throughout the five
boroughs for free.
Broadway productions typi-
cally don’t venture beyond
their theaters, save for pre-
senting excerpts at events like
the Tony Awards or Macy’s
Thanksgiving Day Parade.
“This is totally unique,”
said Charlotte St. Martin,
president of the Broadway

BYCHARLESPASSY

‘Mockingbird’ Gets Really Big Stage


Writer Aaron Sorkin, left, and Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza, in blue tie, with cast and crew members at Madison Square Garden.

DIA DIPASUPIL/GETTY IMAGES


The performance
will be offered
to about 18,
students for free.

NY
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