Theater

Ruth Bader Ginsburg To Appear In 'Merchant Of Venice' Production

7:01am March 29, 2016

On stage this summer, the Supreme Court justice will be playing a judge in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. The production marks the 500 anniversary of the Jewish ghetto in Venice.

Arts

'Dear Evan Hansen' Musical Takes On Teen Behavior, Tangled In Social Media

8:00am March 26, 2016

A musical by Tony-nominated songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul opens Saturday in New York. "Dear Evan Hansen" is a comedy-drama about social anxiety and teen suicide in the age of social media.

Pop Culture Happy Hour: 'Hamilton'

5:46pm March 18, 2016

by Linda Holmes

It's Broadway's current phenomenon, so we went to see it and report back on what it is, how it works, and whether we loved it as much as we wanted to. It's our Hamilton show.

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Actor Henry Godinez as the philosophy professor Oscar Amalfitano, in "Part II: The Part About Amalfitano," from the Goodman Theatre's lengthy production of 2666.

Books
Arts

Have 5 Hours To Spare? See Bolaño's Epic '2666' Onstage

8:42pm March 15, 2016

by Derek John

Roberto Bolaño's posthumous novel 2666 weighs in at more than 900 pages — a challenging read, to say the least. Now Chicago's Goodman Theatre has adapted it as a 5 1/2 hour stage production.

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Arts

Pen-Pal Passion Is Revived In Broadway's 'She Loves Me'

1:22pm March 15, 2016

A revival of the 1963 musical She Loves Me opens Thursday on Broadway. Director Scott Ellis and lyricist Sheldon Harnick (whose Fiddler on the Roof is also back on Broadway) join Fresh Air.

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You may know Gurira as Michonne, the samurai sword-wielding zombie slayer on The Walking Dead. But she's also an award-winning playwright and this week, two of her works are opening in New York.

Arts

'Zimerican' Playwright Danai Gurira Brings African Stories To American Stages

5:00pm March 12, 2016

by Jeff Lunden

You may know Gurira as Michonne, the samurai sword-wielding zombie slayer on The Walking Dead. But she's also an award-winning playwright and this week, two of her works are opening in New York.

Leslie Odom Jr. as Aaron Burr in the Broadway musical Hamilton.

Pop Culture Happy Hour: 'Hamilton,' Kanye And 'Gilmore Girls'

9:49am March 11, 2016

by Linda Holmes

With the panel on pause this week, we bring you three great conversations about theater, music and TV.

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Music director Alex Lacamoire and actor/composer Lin-Manuel Miranda celebrate onstage during a Hamilton performance for the Grammy Awards at Richard Rodgers Theater in New York on Feb. 15.

Watching A Brown 'Hamilton' With A White Audience

4:59pm March 08, 2016

by Gene Demby

The hit musical recasts the Founding Fathers as people of color engaged in rap battles. But on a recent night, ticket buyers largely looked the way Broadway audiences have always looked. What gives?

Actor Matthew Spencer stars as Winston Smith in the stage version of George Orwell's 1984.

'1984' On Stage: Big Brother Is Still Watching You

4:52am March 05, 2016

by Andrea Shea

An award-winning London stage adaptation of 1984 has just transferred to the American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge, Mass. The actors say Orwell's dystopian novel remains ominously relevant today.

Six of Damine's 10 remaining children perform in the finale of the village's annual kabuki festival.

As A Japanese Mountain Village Shrinks, So Do Its Prospects For Kabuki

12:17pm February 23, 2016

by Elise Hu

For more than 300 years, children have performed kabuki, Japan's classical theater, in the village of Damine. But as residents age or leave for cities, Damine is running out of young performers.

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