Second City now seeking its second wave
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Andrew Alexander announced his exit from running the Second City not long after the theatre was the subject of racism accusations from its improv comedy alumni. Now the company is for sale, just before changing its Toronto address. The producer still has unfinished business with the SCTV documentary that Martin Scorsese started.
Three things about the Ceeb
The backlash to CBC offering podcasts tailored to advertising clients has been followed by the project being put on pause. But there was also word of its 130 job cuts over the next three months, due to higher costs and lower revenues. And as it keeps competing with the newspaper websites, CBC is hosting a portal that links to them.
Daylight Saving Time would become standard time if the Time Amendment Act is passed at the right time. Ontario PC MPP Jeremy Roberts tabled a bill that would require Quebec and New York from similarly opting to stop clocks from falling back. (Listen, there was once a time when banning single-use plastics also seemed unlikely.)
A socially distant culture beat
Cineplex signalled it won’t be following its no-longer-aspiring acquirer Cineworld in shutting down theatres until Hollywood restarts sending superheroes. Meanwhile, the R&B duo Dvsn found drive-in concerts rewarding enough to continue booking them. And now comes the approach to bringing audiences back into a large live theatre:
Mal Coven dead at 91. The man behind the BiWay discount retail chain had been touting its comeback with an upgraded adaptation. The return is now reportedly in doubt. Coven took charge of his first BiWay location in 1962, on the invitation of his brother-in-law, Abe Fish, who passed away in March 2020.
Finally, imagining this birthday
John Lennon having been delivered on October 9, 1940, prompted his record company to encourage Canadian radio to play “Imagine” in unison at his time of arrival, 80 years later. More imagination has certainly gone into the new book about John and Yoko’s adventures in Canada and the new movie about an earlier time and place:
