The Week in Review

(Note: This installment constitutes two weeks in review, as your correspondent was traveling last week. And a great deal has been happening.)

Mark Fisher R.I.P.: The saddest news we've had to report in a very long time is the passing of Mark Fisher, the celebrated production designer, at the much-too-young age of 66. The loss to the industry is incalculable. Fisher pioneered, and mastered, the mega-spectacle that has come to define our era of entertainment. His achievements include many tours for the Rolling Stones and U2, Olympic opening and closing ceremonies, the Queen's Jubilee Concert, and, of course, Pink Floyd's The Wall. And by all accounts, he remained a gentleman while executing one astonishing event after another. For the details, go to: http://plasa.me/i75bj. For a lovely account of stars paying tribute to Fisher, go to http://plasa.me/cscxo.

Helpmann Awards Nominations Announced: The Helpmann Awards, which honor achievement in Australian Theatre, were announced. This year, they are particularly interesting for the number of nods that went to King Kong, the Musical. Nominees from the show include Roger Kirk (costume designer); Peter England (scenic design); Peter Mumford (lighting design); Peter Hylenski (sound design); Marius de Vries, 3D from Massive Attack, Guy Garvey, Sarah McLachlan, Justice and The Avalanches, Michael Mitnick, and Richard Thomas (original score); Chris Ryan (featured actor in a musical); Esther Hannaford (actress in a musical); and Craig Lucas (librettist) and the songwriter team (best new Australian work). The nominations, and possible wins, will only strengthen the possibility that King Kong will be prowling through Times Square sometime in 2014 -- if the producers can find a theatre big enough. They're looking at you, Spider-Man. For the full list of nominees, go to: http://plasa.me/dhz47. For more on King Kong's search for a Broadway berth, go to http://plasa.me/cvuq0.

Dora Award Winners Announced: While we're on the subject, congratulations to the winners of this year's Dora Mavor Moore Awards, which honor achievement in the Toronto theatre scene. Designer winners included Andrea Wittler, for the scenic design of The Dumb Waiter, at Wordsmyth Theatre; Astrid Janson, for the costume design of The War of 1812: The History of the Village of the Small Huts, 1812-15, Presented by VideoCabaret in association with the Young Centre for the Performing Arts; Rebecca Picherack, for the lighting design of Boblo, co-produced by Kitchenband and the Theatre Centre; and Andrew Penner, for the sound design of Boblo. For the full list of winners, go to: http://plasa.me/5fc69.

Sennheiser Sales Rise: Sennheieser reported that it had increased its sales by 10% compared to the previous year, from 531.4 million euro to 584.4 million euro. To us, the really striking development was the following news: "The APAC region recorded the largest growth with a sales increase of 30.1 percent, up to 95.0 million euros. Particularly positive developments were achieved in China, India, and Japan. The high acceptance of Japanese customers for high-end products HD 800 and IE 800, plus steady growth in China through an increased demand in the professional broadcasting area, led to excellent results. Sennheiser's presence in India has fundamentally transformed the use of headphones. Rather than being restricted to telephone applications, recreational use of headphones is now taking the lead, with more and more customers enjoying listening to music through headphones." For news on all of the company's markets, go to: http://plasa.me/uu2ip.

Dialing Up a Hit: It's not a standard practice -- not yet -- but Ken Danvenport, a Broadway producer, is testing a new audience reaction technique while trying out a new musical, Somewhere in Time. It is dial testing, in which audience members turn a dial to indicate rising or falling interest in what they are seeing. (If you've watched the Presidential debates on CNN, you're familiar with the technology). As the Times reports: "The dials seemed to pinpoint a problem with the song "Tick Tick Tick": the fever line slid as the main character, Richard, lamenting the rush of life, was interrupted by dry dialogue from his brother." We would like to tell you how awful an idea this is, but words fail us. Fortunately, producer Manny Azenberg has some choice things to say about it: http://plasa.me/b5xju.

Trouble in Cruise Ship Paradise: Following a decent earnings report but news of dropping ticket sales, Carnival Corp. reported that Mickey Arison, son of Ted Arison, the company's founder, had been replaced as CEO. This is not surprising, following the string of snakebit disasters that began with the wreck of the Costa Concordia. The company also reported that its sales were lower than last year's even with deep discounts. The $41 million profit it reported was largely attributed to savings in fuel costs, as the company's ships learn to be more fuel efficient. The new CEO, Arnold W. Donald, has a background in nutrition -- well, in a way. He founded Merisant, maker of Equal and Canderel and was also an executive at Monsanto, the people who brought you genetically modified seeds. For more: http://plasa.me/1orwa.

Disaster Averted Thanks to Pat Benatar: Rocker Pat Benatar bailed on a benefit performance in Inverness, Florida, for WalkerFest, supporting Habitat for Humanity, Wounded Warriors, and United Way. The reason: She found the stage was unstable and, cognizant of what happened in Indiana a couple of years ago, decided that history wasn't going to repeat itself. As the website celebrityexaminer.com reported, "One photo clearly shows unsupported uprights, with wooden supports attached with c-clamps along the edge of the stage. In another photo, the uprights for the remainder of the stage were not supported in any manner and appeared to be leaning in different directions and not straight up and down as one would expect of a supporting device." For the full story, go to http://plasa.me/8r5g1.

Are Mega Nightclubs Ruining Vegas?: According to no less an authority than Robin Leach, of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous fame: "There's growing concern at the now-obvious effect that mega-nightclubs are having on Strip shows. Ticket brokers are demanding steeper discounting. Audiences are slipping to the point of several shows being no longer profitable." Of course, this might just mean that it's time for the city to reinvent itself again. Read the story and you decide: http://plasa.me/tyi8b. Then again, the New York Times reports that Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos, has decided that downtown Vegas -- the ugly, seedy part that you never see when you're at LDI or InfoComm -- should become a hipster's hangout: http://plasa.me/b602s.

Atlantic City in Decline: And while we're on the subject of gambling dens, the Times also reports on the sad state of Atlantic City, which is losing business to casinos all over the Northeast. (The unkindest cut of all: Last year, Pennsylvania -- Pennsylvania! -- Pennsylvania displaced Atlantic City as the gambling capital of the East, according to the American Gaming Association. A new casino, Revel, opened last year, emphasizing dining, shopping, and cocktails over gambling. But, says the Times, "Revenues have fallen 40% since their peak in 2006, as new casinos in neighboring states have taken away gamblers. Revel, hailed by Governor Chris Christie as a "turning point" for the city when it opened in April 2012, lost $111 million its first year." Things have gotten so bad that Revel is offering to refund "all slot losses" for the month of July. The grisly details can be found at: http://plasa.me/5gnol.