Music
What Inspires Singer Simone
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Performing Arts
Audra McDonald: Shaping 'Bess' On Broadway
()The actress is nominated for her fifth Tony Award for the Broadway musical Porgy and Bess. "There's very few quiet moments for Bess," she says. "They're all very big, very emotional. ... And to commit to that night after night after night is very difficult."
Theater
Managing The Gershwins' Lucrative Musical Legacy()
April 27, 2012 In the 1920s, it wasn't uncommon for the Gershwin brothers — composer George and lyricist Ira — to have two shows on Broadway at once. This season, it's happening again. As Jeff Lunden reports.
Theater
Broadway's 'Best Man': John Larroquette()
April 26, 2012 Perhaps most recognizable for his role on Night Court, John Larroquette has recently taken to the stage, earning a Tony Award for his role in the 2011 production of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. Now, he has returned to Broadway in a revival of Gore Vidal's The Best Man.
Theater
Blair Underwood On Stanley, Stella And 'Streetcar'()
April 21, 2012 A new multiracial Broadway revival of A Streetcar Named Desire is opening and stars Blair Underwood as Stanley Kowalski. Underwood talks to Weekend Edition's Scott Simon about portraying the role as an African-American, New Orleans, and differentiating his "Stella!" from Brando's.
Theater
London Smash 'Two Guvnors' Comes To Broadway()
April 18, 2012 A British comedy that was the fastest selling ticket in the history of London's West End opens on Broadway tonight with its original cast. As Jeff Lunden reports, One Man, Two Guvnors is full of whimsically portrayed stereotypes — and is based on 500-year-old comic traditions.
Monkey See
I Died On The Titanic()
April 13, 2012 Titanic the musical, that is. NPR.org's Dana Farrington played a drowning victim as an eight-grader in 2002. The costumes and set were memorable in a good way, she says. But portraying the tragic ordeal was a bit creepy.
Theater
Philip Seymour Hoffman: Broadway's New 'Salesman'()
April 12, 2012 Oscar-winner Philip Seymour Hoffman is starring in the Broadway revival of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman. NPR's Steve Inskeep talks with Hoffman about the iconic role and why, 63 years after the play premiered, it continues to resonate with modern audiences.
