Venice Biennale 2023

I’m creating an important list of the cast of characters that will be highly influential when selecting the US national representative for an international art exhibition like the Venice Biennale. Today, I add another character, Rocco Landesman, to that list:

Rocco Landesman, the colorful theatrical producer and race-track aficionado who brought hits like Big River, Angels in America and The Producers to Broadway, has been nominated as the next chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, the White House said on Tuesday. -New York Times

Well well well, don’t I have a fancy connection to this man? I like to connect the tiniest of dots, so here goes: In 2002, I interned for the marketing director of the Broadway revival of Flower Drum Song. In the same cramped office, I sporadically assisted the producer of the show, Benjamin Mordecai, who was also one of the producers for Angels in America, which as you can read above, was also produced by Landesman, and that is how I know Kevin Bacon!

Well with that excitement, let’s hope the next decade and beyond of Arts in America is wonderful and drama-free, albeit run by a man of the stage.