Performing Arts

Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock in the Star Trek episode "Plato's Stepchildren" in 1968.

Arts

Leonard Nimoy's Mr. Spock Taught Us Acceptance Is Highly Logical

3:20pm March 02, 2015

by Eric Deggans

The Star Trek actor died Friday in Los Angeles, and NPR TV Critic Eric Deggans says Nimoy's signature role taught fans the power of accepting their differences rather than fighting them.

Every Brilliant Thing, starring Jonny Donahoe, follows a son's efforts to fight his mother's deep depression.

Arts

One-Man Show Casts 'Brilliant' Light On Realities Of Suicide, Depression

10:15am March 02, 2015

by Jeff Lunden

The off-Broadway play Every Brilliant Thing tackles its dark subject through audience participation and comedy. Both critics and audience members have described it as incredibly moving.

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Dean Winters, left, and Josh Duhamel are not your father's mismatched buddy cops, on the new CBS show Battle Creek.

Arts

'Battle Creek' Tries To Shake Up CBS' Cop Show Formula

10:20pm March 01, 2015

by Eric Deggans

CBS' new cop show Battle Creek is based on a 12-year-old script by Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan. It's among three new network shows that aim to reinvent old TV concepts.

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Kevin Spacey's President Frank Underwood is embattled and often frustrated in the third season of Netflix's House of Cards.

This Season On 'House Of Cards,' It's Tough To Be The Boss

11:13am February 27, 2015

by Eric Deggans

New episodes of Netflix's House of Cards debut today, and NPR TV critic Eric Deggans says this season's challenges may please critics who say the show's vision of Washington, D.C., runs too smoothly.

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Blanco says his recordatorio, a memento of his birth, shows that he "was a man of the world before I could even walk."

An American Dream, A Cuban Soul: Poet Richard Blanco Finds 'Home'

5:05pm February 20, 2015

by Richard Blanco

While immigration is a subject of some of the most intense political debates in this country, inaugural poet Richard Blanco says it also drives his art. He shares his journey of becoming an American.

Arts

Popular Mexican Actress Lorena Rojas Dies

2:57am February 18, 2015

by Jasmine Garsd

She acted in telenovelas, but also made a name for herself in film and on stage.

One Playwright's 'Obligation' To Confront Race And Identity In The U.S.

7:35pm February 16, 2015

by Jeff Lunden

Branden Jacobs-Jenkins has written a trilogy of provocative and fantastical explorations of race. His latest, based on a 1859 melodrama, pokes fun at conventions while raising difficult questions.

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Comedian Bill Burr performs at the Bud Light Presents Wild West Comedy Festival in 2014.

Arts

Comedian Bill Burr Says Stand-Up In Asia In Its 'Lenny Bruce Years'

6:20pm February 15, 2015

NPR's Arun Rath speaks with Burr — just back from a trip to India — about comedy abroad, and how difficult it is for an American to find material that will make the world laugh.

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'Shesh Yak' Explores A Society Torn Apart By The Syrian Civil War

6:20pm February 15, 2015

by Deb Amos

The off-Broadway production is the work of a Syrian playwright trying to sort out the fear and distrust that have torn his country apart. It's written for audiences who only know Syria from the news.

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Marina Franklin says audiences can always relate to jokes about heartache. "There's nothing like getting an immediate response," she says.

Arts

For Three Comedians, Valentine's Day Makes For One Big Joke

10:15am February 14, 2015

by Elizabeth Blair

Whether they find Valentine's Day "icky," or the "Christmas of love," stand-up comics Jim Gaffigan, Marina Franklin and Ted Alexandro all find plenty of funny material in romance — or the lack of it.

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