Performing Arts

Jharna Devi, 55, was a renowned dancer in Jatra Pala. But no group calls her for any dance performances anymore. Here, she poses for a portrait in her tiny room in Howrah, India.

A Photographer's Search For The Vanishing Stars Of Bengali Folk Theater

4:44pm May 19, 2019

by Amr Alfiky

Ten years after leaving his childhood home in West Bengal, photographer Soumya Sankar Bose returned to find that stars of Jatra, a popular local form of folk theater, were fading from public view.

The Latin American Library at Tulane University is digitizing and archiving a selection of Spanish language soap operas from the 1960s. The illustration above appeared in a brochure titled "What Is and How to Produce a Radionovela," published by America's

Arts

Massive Digitization Effort Is The Latest Plot Twist For Cuban Radio Soap Operas

8:12am May 18, 2019

by Gwen Thompkins

The Latin American Library at Tulane University is digitizing a whopping collection of Cold War-era, must-hear entertainment — Spanish language radionovelas made by Cuban emigrés in Miami.

'Amazing Grace' Musical Has Its 2nd Coming At Museum Of The Bible

7:31am May 13, 2019

NPR's Michel Martin speaks with Gabe Barre, director of Amazing Grace: The Musical, which is currently playing at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C.

Queue Listen Now

In recent years, Dave Chappelle returned to stand-up comedy in force with a series of specials, released on Netflix. He will receive the Mark Twain Prize on Oct. 27, 2019.

Arts

Dave Chappelle To Be Awarded Mark Twain Prize For American Humor

1:28pm May 07, 2019

The comic and actor, known for his boundary-pushing stand-up routines and his sketch comedy TV series Chappelle's Show, will receive the award in a gala at the Kennedy Center.

Arts

Remembering Jo Sullivan Loesser, Wife Of 'Guys And Dolls' Creator Frank Loesser

1:25pm May 03, 2019

by Terry Gross

Jo Sullivan Loesser, who died April 28, married Frank Loesser after starring in his Broadway show, The Most Happy Fella. After Frank died in 1969, she helped preserve his legacy.

Queue Listen Now

Isabelle McCalla (left) and Caitlin Kinnunen star as Alyssa and Emma in The Prom.

Arts

At This Tony-Nominated 'Prom,' The Theme Is Acceptance

5:01am May 03, 2019

by David Greene

In the Broadway musical The Prom, a high school PTA cancels the dance rather than allowing two girls to attend together. The show was just nominated for seven Tony Awards.

Queue Listen Now

Hadestown was nominated for 14 Tony Awards, including one for best musical and another for best leading actress in a musical (Eva Noblezada, center). The awards ceremony is scheduled for June 9.

Arts

Tony Awards Nominations 2019: 'Hadestown' And 'Ain't Too Proud' Lead The Count

1:12pm April 30, 2019

by Jeff Lunden

Tootsie, Beetlejuice and The Prom round up the Tony category for best musical, while The Ferryman, Gary, Ink, Choir Boy and What the Constitution Means to Me are all up for best play.

Bertie Carvel (left) plays a young Rupert Murdoch in the play Ink, which chronicles the media mogul's early attempts to upend the insular world of British newspaper publishing. Also pictured: Bill Buell, Jonny Lee Miller, Robert Stanton and Eden Marryshow

Arts

'Ink' Goes Back In Time To Remember Murdoch Before He Was A Mogul

9:00am April 28, 2019

by Jeff Lunden

The play chronicles Rupert Murdoch's attempts to upend the insular world of British newspaper publishing — how he bought a struggling paper called The Sun and turned it into a widely read tabloid.

Margaret Trudeau, once in the limelight as a socialite and Canada's first lady, is now set to present her own life story in the one-person show Certain Woman of an Age.

Arts

Margaret Trudeau Takes Center Stage — This Time, On Purpose

5:29pm April 27, 2019

by Scott Simon

A wife and then a mother to Canadian prime ministers, she addresses her time in the public eye and her battles with mental illness in an upcoming one-woman show called Certain Woman Of An Age.

Queue Listen Now

Arts

High School Production Of 'Alien' Grows Stronger With Help From Director Ridley Scott

5:35pm April 26, 2019

A high school in northern New Jersey staged a version of the movie Alien and got the blessing of film director Ridley Scott. Now there's a revival with a bigger budget, some provided by Scott.

Queue Listen Now