Monster Mash: Lawsuit filed to block ‘ground zero mosque’; Christie’s sees rise in demand

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-- Outrage: A lawsuit has been filed challenging a decision by New York’s Landmarks Preservation Committee that would pave the way for the construction of what is being described as an Islamic center and mosque near ground zero. (CNN)

-- Rebounding: Christie’s reports that sales in the first half of the year rose 46% due to a recovery in demand that lifted prices. (Bloomberg)

-- Extended stay: Tony Award winner Douglas Hodge and Kelsey Grammer will stay on with Broadway’s ‘La Cage aux Folles’ at least until February. (Playbill)

-- Appointment: Playwright Theresa Rebeck has been named associate artist at the Roundabout Theatre Company. (TheaterMania)

-- Public art: Vandals have defaced an anatomically explicit sculpture of a beaver in the town of Bemidji, Minn. (Minneapolis Star-Tribune)

-- And the nominees are ...: The Helpmann Awards -- Australia’s version of the Tonys -- announces nominations, snubbing Cate Blanchett in ‘A Streetcar Named Desire.’ (The Australian)

-- Delinquent: The New Jersey State Opera owes more than $200,000 to various contractors and vendors. (Newark Star-Ledger)

-- Ensemble work: Laura Benanti has joined the cast of the upcoming Broadway production of the musical ‘Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown.’ (BroadwayWorld)

-- New post: The Baltimore Symphony’s assistant conductor, Mei-Ann Chen, has been named music director of the Chicago Sinfonietta. (Baltimore Sun)

-- And in the L.A. Times: Music critic Mark Swed reviews Gustavo Dudamel conducting Bernstein and Gershwin at the Hollywood Bowl; a profile of the Getty Research Institute’s Thomas Gaehtgens.

-- David Ng