Performing Arts

Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin (left) and Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman Yasser Arafat (right) shake hands at the White House in front of President Bill Clinton in September 1993. The new play OSLO is a dramatization of the events that l

Arts

'OSLO' Tells The Surprising Story Behind A Historic Handshake

8:40am August 06, 2016

by Jeff Lunden

A new play chronicles the secret negotiations that brokered the 1993 Palestinian-Israeli peace accord. It's a thriller, says playwright J.T. Rogers: "The ticking clock is the dramatist's friend."

Playwright Tom Minter helps Kyla-Michelle Petty stage her Malcolm X monologue. Minter counsels the students in writing and performing their two sets of monologues

At The Portrait Gallery, Students Tell The Stories That Pictures Can't

10:02am August 05, 2016

by Gabriel Rosenberg

Washington, D.C., teens get into the spirit of historical figures and tell visitors what the portraits miss. In one instance, a student imagines a private talk between Richard Nixon and his wife.

Zelda Fichandler co-founded Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., with her husband, Tom Fichandler, and drama teacher Edward Mangum. She is seen here with her husband in 1971.

Arts

Remembering Zelda Fichandler, Matriarch Of American Regional Theater

4:26pm August 04, 2016

by Bob Mondello

When the co-founder of Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., made her theater a nonprofit, hundreds of small regional stages followed suit. Fichandler died July 29 at the age of 91.

Singer and actress Heather Headley (center) returns to Broadway after 15 years to wow audiences in her role as Shug Avery in a revival of The Color Purple.

Arts

Second Acts: Heather Headley Is Back On Broadway — After A '15-Year Intermission'

6:24pm July 31, 2016

by NPR Staff

The actress, who won a Tony in 1997 for her role in Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida, returns to Broadway after 15 years, to play nightclub singer Shug Avery in a revival of The Color Purple.

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Hadestown — a retelling of the Greek myth of Orpheus -- is one of two off-Broadway shows director Rachel Chavkin has running right now. Above, from left, Shaina Taub, Lulu Fall, Damon Daunno, Nabiyah Be, Amber Gray, Chris Sullivan and Jessie Shelton.

Arts

Rachel Chavkin Loves Chaos, And With 3 Shows In The Works, It Shows

4:53pm July 29, 2016

by Jeff Lunden

The avant garde director has two shows running off-Broadway and a musical opening in October. Though she's working on several different projects, she says there's always "a conversation" between them.

Arts

New 'Merchant Of Venice' Recasts Shylock As A Sympathetic Everyman

4:53pm July 29, 2016

by NPR Staff

Actor Jonathan Pryce is playing the Jewish moneylender in a new touring production of The Merchant of Venice that reimagines Shakespeare's supposedly-comic villain as a tragic and universal figure.

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Arts

Remembering Hollywood 'Ghost Singer' Marni Nixon

1:51pm July 29, 2016

Nixon, who died on Sunday, was a classically trained actress who mostly worked behind the scenes. She dubbed vocals for many films, including My Fair Lady. Originally broadcast in 2001.

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Soprano Marni Nixon, shown above in June 1988, was dubbed "The Ghostess with the Mostest" in Time magazine. "Bad rhyme, but that sort of stuck," she said.

'Ghost' Soprano Marni Nixon, Who Voiced Blockbuster Musicals, Dies At 86

6:01pm July 25, 2016

by Jeff Lunden

You might not know Marni Nixon's name, but you've probably heard her. Nixon dubbed the voices for Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady, Natalie Wood in West Side Story and Deborah Kerr in The King and I.

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Iraqi Dancer's Dreams Cut Short By Terrorism

5:03pm July 23, 2016

by Denise Guerra

An ISIS bombing in Baghdad killed more than 300 Iraqis in early July. One of them, Adil Al-Faj, known as Adil Euro, went against cultural norms as a break dancer who dreamed of dancing in New York.

'The Phantom Of The Empire': You Guessed It, Musical And Star Wars Combined

5:04pm July 16, 2016

by Beth Accomando

Turning Tydes, a musical theater troupe in San Diego, does musical mash-ups that spoof Broadway shows. Ahead of Comic-Con, they're performing a mash-up of Star Wars and The Phantom of the Opera.