Performing Arts

Remembering Broadway's Barbara Cook: 'My First Memories Are Of Singing'

1:39pm August 11, 2017

Cook, who starred in Broadway shows like The Music Man and Candide, died on Tuesday. She spoke to Fresh Air in 2016 about her struggle with addiction and her second career as a cabaret singer.

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Okieriete Onaodowan had to learn both accordion and piano to play the role of Pierre in Natasha, Pierre and The Great Comet of 1812. He ends his run on the show in mid-August.

Arts

There's No Easy Answer For Why 'The Great Comet' Is Closing

6:09pm August 09, 2017

by Elizabeth Blair

Natasha, Pierre and The Great Comet of 1812 received rave reviews and 12 Tony nominations, the makings of a Broadway hit. Now, it's closing, in part because of a controversy over casting and race.

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Bruce Springsteen, performing at New York City's Madison Square Garden in November 2013.

Bruce Springsteen Is Headed To Broadway For An Intimate Series Of Performances

10:31am August 09, 2017

by Anastasia Tsioulcas

The Boss has announced a limited, intimately scaled music-and-words show at Broadway's Walter Kerr Theatre, running in October and November.

Barbara Cook performs at the 120th anniversary of New York's Carnegie Hall in 2011.

Barbara Cook, Tony Award-Winning Actress And Singer, Dies At 89

4:31pm August 08, 2017

by Jeff Lunden

Cook became famous for her parts in Leonard Bernstein's Candide and Meredith Willson's The Music Man. Then, when Broadway roles became scarce, she reinvented herself as a concert and cabaret artist.

Arts

Our Backstage Pass Takes Us To The Wings Of London's Globe Theatre

8:27am August 08, 2017

by Petra Mayer

If all the world's a stage, and men and women merely players, there must be somewhere to stash the scenery and change your costumes. What's it like in the wings at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre?

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Poetry Of Failure Comes To Life At Chicago's 'Baudelaire In A Box'

6:47pm August 05, 2017

by Dan Weissman

This weekend in Chicago, a small theater troupe with a big resume will present all of the poems in Charles Baudelaire's "Les Fleurs du Mal" — sung by more than 50 performers from around the world.

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Arts

Md. Teens' 'Step' Journey Unfolds Amid Aftermath Of Freddie Gray's Death

4:15pm August 03, 2017

by Mandalit del Barco

The documentary Step tracks a group of dancers at a Baltimore high school. It traces the journey of individual step dancers and what they go through to make their way to the next step in their lives.

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Arts

Actor Ed Harris Says Sam Shepard Was 'Iconically American'

10:17am August 01, 2017

Playwright/actor Sam Shepard died Thursday at the age of 73. Actor Ed Harris worked with him on many different project on the stage and screen; he offers his memories.

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Arts

Kevin Hart's New Online Comedy Service Joins Crowded Streaming Market

5:18am August 01, 2017

by Elizabeth Blair

Kevin Hart is launching a streaming comedy service. The actor's Laugh Out Loud Network, which rolls out this week, enters an already crowded market. LANGUAGE ADVISORY: There are two bleeps in actualities in this piece at :14 and :44 in.

Sasheer Zamata performs at the Just For Laughs festival in Montreal.

Arts

Sasheer Zamata Uses Comedy To Address Intolerance

5:03pm July 31, 2017

by Elizabeth Blair

The comedian just came off four seasons on Saturday Night Live. Now, she wants to break through to the next part of her career — convincing people she's a writer as well as a performer.

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