What used to be called Singles Day (November 11), and now is referred to as Global Shopping Festival, continues to be the “world’s biggest shopping day,” according to Adweek. Lisa Lacy reports: “It was another record-breaking day for retail as Chinese ecommerce platform Alibaba rang up 268.4 billion yuan ($38.4 billion).” Lacy compares the day with two shopping dates we’re more familiar with: “Even on the biggest shopping days of the year for Americans, the U.S. doesn’t come close: Consumers …

Read More

Goldstar has announced the nominees for the 11th Annual Goldstar National Nutcracker Award. “This is the only award honoring live performances of The Nutcracker nationwide,” says Goldstar CEO, Jim McCarthy. “The nominees showcase what make this award so special. They all represent a wide variety of genres, styles and creative themes. It’s always exciting to see which one will be named ‘best loved’ Nutcracker in the U.S.” Nominees include well-known ballet companies like the San Francisco Ballet, Miami City Ballet …

Read More

In his post, Anybody Up for a New Golden Age? I’ve Got an Idea …, Jim asked why live entertainment doesn’t create a “series” or a “franchise” more often — unlike movies and books, which “have learned that if you create something that can live beyond a single production, you can do very well and build a very large fan base.” He continued: So, why then is live entertainment basically one and done? If we love the premise, the setting, …

Read More

I’m happy to announce that the winner of the 7th Annual Goldstar National Nutcracker Award is The Hot Chocolate Nutcracker, by Debbie Allen Productions, performed at Royce Hall at UCLA. This is the second time Debbie Allen’s troupe has won. Theirs is a “modern spin” on the traditional performance with lots of talented young performers. When the troupe won back in 2010, I got a behind-the-scenes tour of the school and studio, and that was a lot of fun. They …

Read More