parterre box

The embattled NYCO chairwoman is 59 years young today!

The people have spoken, and so from henceforth George Steel will be known by his, whatchamacallit, you know, his sobriquet, which (per your decree) is “The Man of Steel.”

La Cieca thought she should review at least a couple of the biggest challenges facing The Man of Steel as he and the NYCO begin a restoration project that, as the saying goes, makes Hoover Dam look like an egg cup.

First and foremost, of course, is giving the heave-ho to Susan L. Baker, preferably after guilting her into flinging a couple million bucks to the company strings-free. Since (as La Cieca hears) Steel was not Baker’s choice to ascend the throne, she should reasonably be readying her exit even as we speak. Prediction: an announced resignation at the same time Steel offcially starts the job in February.  Read more »

La Cieca tries to be charitable, especially to members of her own gender, but she has come to the conclusion that it is time for Susan Baker to shut the hell up. NYCO’s new General Director has been chosen and is about to take office, and the more Baker yammers, the more she makes George Steel come off like an ineffectual lapdog, which goodness knows La Cieca hopes he’s not going to be. (Bad enough that some in the media are calling him “Two-Face.”) Back away from the press conferences, ma’am, and please just let your hired hand do his job.

Oh, and one other thing. If you must talk to the media (and La Cieca thinks you really mustn’t, but who listens to La Cieca?) — anyway, if you must talk to the media, please, please, please stop saying things like you hope to announce a season in mid-March. That’s just deadly, because you’ve just set yourself up for two months of will-they-or-won’t-they speculation, and then, when (as likely will happen) you don’t announce a season in mid-March, that’s yet another brick in the wall of failed NYCO promises, e.g.:

At the moment, our thinking is that if we have to be dark in the State Theater for part of the ‘08-09 performance season, what we would do is have some non-traditional season in other venues,” [Baker] said.

Go on a vacation or something, Ms. Baker, but please do hush.