Curtains?

February 1, 2015

During his career, Kaiser (Leading Roles) has revived multiple struggling arts institutions, including while in his current position as president of the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. In the author's fifth book about arts management, he contends that such turnarounds will be nearly impossible in the future without proactive, drastic steps to ensure quality programming and marketing. There is little question that he is an insightful administrator, and the general strategies he outlines here remain practical even as he advocates for the need to take risks. Nevertheless, Kaiser is overly repetitive, and his observations outside of the performing arts are often stilted in prose, particularly when he is discussing younger people. Moreover, given the author's strong background in economics research, the decision to largely forego citations is a curious one, especially since they would bolster his overall argument. Often thin in content despite its modest length, Kaiser's latest includes recommendations that would probably have stood out more within the context of an article-length study. VERDICT Managers and board members of performing arts organizations will benefit most from the points Kaiser presents here.--Chris Martin, North Dakota State Univ. Libs., Fargo

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