Theater

A bench is seen at the entrance of the Freedom Theatre in the Jenin refugee camp 10 days after a raid by Israeli forces, Dec. 23, 2023.

How a West Bank Palestinian theater went from symbol of hope to casualty of war

3:59pm January 28, 2024

by Lauren Frayer

Jenin's Freedom Theatre was ransacked by Israeli soldiers, its staff thrown in jail. Once celebrated as a peace initiative, it's the latest casualty of near-daily military raids on the West Bank.

Singer and composer H. Sinno is bringing a site-specific opera to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Temple of Dendur.

An ancient Egyptian temple in New York inspires a Lebanese American musician

5:01am January 27, 2024

by Anastasia Tsioulcas

H. Sinno, former lead singer of the pioneering Lebanese rock band Mashrou' Leila, pairs their own history with that of the Metropolitan Museum's Temple of Dendur in their new opera.

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Arts

Stephen Sondheim is cool now

10:33am January 21, 2024

by Bob Mondello

With three shows running currently in NY and two more on tour, the late composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim is as present in contemporary theater as he was when he was alive.

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Arts

Josh Groban never gave up his dream of playing 'Sweeney Todd'

1:45pm January 12, 2024

by Ann Marie Baldonado

The Tony-nominated baritone gives his final performance in the Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim's acclaimed musical on Jan 14, after 46 weeks and rave reviews. Originally broadcast April 10, 2023.

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Sondheim had the highest standards for himself, the director of Here We Are said.

Arts

Stephen Sondheim is cool now

4:33pm January 11, 2024

by Bob Mondello

The late composer/lyricist was once considered an acquired taste — but with three shows running in New York and another on tour, he's a hit.

With songs by The Avett Brothers, Swept Away is inspired by the true story of an 19th century shipwreck in which seamen resorted to cannibalism to survive.

Truth, forgiveness: 'Swept Away' is a theatrical vessel for Avett Bros' music

4:27pm January 08, 2024

by Elizabeth Blair

With songs by the Avett Brothers, Swept Away follows four men fighting to survive a shipwreck. The musical is inspired by the true story in which men resort to cannibalism to survive.

The late musician Prince, performing at the Super Bowl in 2007 in Miami Gardens, Fla.

Prince's 'Purple Rain' is becoming a stage musical

1:19pm January 08, 2024

by Anastasia Tsioulcas

Plans are still coming together, but two up-and-coming names on Broadway are already attached to the Prince project: playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins and director Lileana Blain-Cruz.

Tap dancing star and choreographer Maurice Hines dies at 80

4:13pm January 04, 2024

by Andrew Limbong

Maurice Hines, dancer and choreographer — and evangelist for the art of tap dancing — died Friday at age 80. Hines and his brother, the famed Gregory Hines, helped keep tap in the public eye.

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Maurice Hines, seen in 2005, appeared alongside his younger brother Gregory Hines during the first part of his career.

Arts

Broadway actor, dancer and choreographer Maurice Hines dies at 80

2:29pm December 30, 2023

by Chloe Veltman

Maurice Hines, who started tap dancing at the age of five, starred alongside his late brother Gregory Hines in the 1984 Francis Ford Coppola movie The Cotton Club.

Detained theater artist Mustafa Sheta in Jenin's Freedom Theatre in 2022.

Arts

Artists rally in support of West Bank theater members detained since Dec. 13

6:31pm December 20, 2023

by Neda Ulaby

Members of Jenin's renowned Freedom Theatre were arrested and detained by Israeli military forces, including its artistic director and general manager, who remains in custody.