Performing Arts

Arts

Casting Directors On Broadway Seek To Unionize

5:50pm September 04, 2017

by Jeff Lunden

Broadway casting directors are seeking to unionize like their colleagues in Hollywood, who are already represented. But Broadway producers are resisting and have even threatened to sue, despite support for the casting directors throughout the Broadway community.

A Houston Drag Queen Talks Fundraising

8:04am September 02, 2017

Regina Thorne-DuBois is a Houston drag queen who held a series of Facebook Live fundraisers for local community health organizations in the wake of Harvey. She joins NPR's Scott Simon.

Bernard Pomerance, playwright of "The Elephant Man," in New York in 1979, the year the play debuted.

Bernard Pomerance, Playwright Of 'The Elephant Man,' Has Died

5:58pm August 29, 2017

by Merrit Kennedy

Pomerance wrote the Tony Award-winning play about the life of a very deformed man in Victorian England. It has been played hundreds of times, attracting top actors for the central role.

Arts

Celebrating 30 Years Of 'Fresh Air': Filmmaker And Theater Legend Elia Kazan

2:22pm August 28, 2017

Kazan, whose film credits include Streetcar Named Desire and On The Waterfront, spoke in 1988 about directing Marlon Brando and his 1952 testimony before the House Un-American Activities Committee.

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Arts

New York City Hosts Break Dancing Competition

8:10am August 26, 2017

NPR's Scott Simon talk with legendary break dancer Richard "Crazy Legs" Colón about New York City's biggest break dancing competition and the early days of the dance form.

Hal Prince was in his 20s when began working on Broadway, as an unpaid assistant to director George Abbott. In his nearly 70-year career, Prince has won 21 Tony awards. He's shown above in New York in November 1974.

Arts

'Prince Of Broadway' Pays Tribute To A Musical Theater Legend

5:03pm August 24, 2017

by Jeff Lunden

Harold Prince began his career on Broadway as an unpaid assistant in his 20s. Now, at 89, the producer and director has 21 Tony awards and a long list of hit musicals to his name.

A van registered in Spain sits near the concert venue Maassilo in Rotterdam, Netherlands, where a rock concert set for Wednesday night was canceled because of a terror threat. The driver of the van, which contained some gas bottles, was arrested.

Rotterdam Concert Canceled After Terror Plot Warning

2:16pm August 24, 2017

by Rebecca Hersher

Dutch police canceled a concert by the Los Angeles band Allah-Las after a tip from Spanish authorities about the possibility of an attack at the venue. Two men have been arrested.

John Abercrombie, Jazz Guitarist, Dies At 72

6:39pm August 23, 2017

by Tom Cole

John Abercrombie helped define the sound of jazz guitar: from jazz-rock fusion to funky organ combos to the distinctive less-is-more sound he created on dozens of albums for the ECM label.

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Arts

Jerry Lewis On His Borscht Belt Childhood And The Lonely Work Of Comedy

2:37pm August 21, 2017

by Terry Gross

In 2005, Lewis told Fresh Air about his partnership with singer Dean Martin and how he honed his comic skills while working as a busboy. The comedian, actor and director died Sunday at the age of 91.

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President Trump and first lady Melania Trump will skip the Kennedy Center Honors later this year. It will be the fourth time in 40 years of the event that the sitting president won't be attendance.

President Trump To Skip Kennedy Center Honors, Highlighting Rift With Artists

4:45pm August 19, 2017

by Miles Parks

Three of the five honorees had already spoken out against the president and said they either planned to boycott a White House event or were considering it.