Accessibility links
Performing Arts News, interviews, and commentary on theater, the arts, music, and dance.

Performing Arts

Saturday

'Spring Awakening' Brings Teen Angst to Broadway

Spring Awakening is winning critical praise as a fresh interpretation of the Broadway musical. Based on a 19th-century play, the angst-ridden teen musical defies convention by dealing with tough topics and raw adolescent feelings.

'Spring Awakening' Brings Teen Angst to Broadway

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/7032516/7045592" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Thursday

For Broadway, It Was a Very Good Year

Christmas week broke attendance and box office records, bringing in close to $30 million. That figure is impressive, but it also reflects some big changes in how tickets are sold on the Great White Way.

For Broadway, It Was a Very Good Year

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/6889533/6891470" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Wednesday

Culture

New York Sees a Comedy-Club Renaissance

New York City is experiencing a resurgence of comedy clubs. The explanations for this phenomenon are economic, technological (the so-called "You Tube" effect) and artistic. But do more comedy clubs mean better comedy?

New York Sees a Comedy-Club Renaissance

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/6883708/6883709" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Sunday

Music

Yo-Yo Ma's Musical Autobiography: 'Appassionato'

Cellist Yo-Yo Ma's latest CD is the romantically themed Appassionato, which has been billed as his "musical autobiography." Released just last week, the album is already one of the most popular downloads on iTunes.

Yo-Yo Ma's Musical Autobiography: 'Appassionato'

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/6835078/6845168" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Friday

Pop Culture

Alec Baldwin of '30 Rock'

Fresh Air

Actor Alec Baldwin has been nominated for a Golden Globe award for his role in the TV sitcom 30 Rock. He recently appeared in the films The Good Shepard, Running with Scissors, The Departed and The Aviator. This interview originally aired on Dec. 8, 2003.

Alec Baldwin of '30 Rock'

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/6831348/6831361" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

'The Queen' and Helen Mirren

Fresh Air

Actress Helen Mirren has been nominated for three Golden Globes this year. For her roles in the TV mini-series Prime Suspect and Elizabeth I, and for her work in the film The Queen. This interview originally aired on Apr. 18, 2006.

'The Queen' and Helen Mirren

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/6831363/6831372" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Thursday

Driveway Moments

Meet the Real Sacha Baron Cohen

Fresh Air

English comedian and actor Sacha Baron Cohen is best-known for his characters. They include a journalist from England named Ali G, and Bruno, a flamboyantly gay Austrian fashion reporter. His most famous character is Borat, a Kazakhstan reporter who stars in a controversial film. All three characters were part of his Da Ali G Show.

Meet the Real Sacha Baron Cohen

Due to legal restrictions, the audio for this story is no longer available

Wednesday

British Man Devotes Life to Mastering Beijing Opera

China has just 76 traditional opera troupes today, compared to 2,000 four decades ago. But it has an unlikely new champion: a Briton who has devoted more than a decade to mastering Beijing opera and bringing it to new audiences.

British Man Devotes Life to Mastering Beijing Opera

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/6696442/6718274" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Monday

Music

Trio Plays Music for a Nordic Winter Wonderland

Three musicians from the Washington, D.C.-area celebrate the new year with a performance of traditional Nordic music on violin and string bass. The latest CD from Andrea Hoag, Loretta Kelley and Charlie Pilzer is Hambo in the Snow, which has been nominated for a Grammy.

Trio Plays Music for a Nordic Winter Wonderland

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/6697302/6697773" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Friday

The Long View

Merce Cunningham: Dance at the Edge

Considered by many the greatest living choreographer, Merce Cunningham's career began with Martha Graham and spans 60 years of innovations in dance and music. At 87, Cunningham is still creating new works and he remains on the leading edge of dance.

Merce Cunningham: Dance at the Edge

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/6692356/6692442" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Tuesday

Josh Blue: 'Last Comic Standing'

In August, comedian Josh Blue captured the national spotlight when became the winner of NBC's reality series Last Comic Standing. Blue was interesting not only because of his jokes, but also because the butt of his jokes is often cerebral palsy, a neurological disorder which he lives with.

Josh Blue: 'Last Comic Standing'

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/6681338/6681339" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Monday

Re-Creating Gen. Washington's Delaware Crossing

Every year for 20 years, actor Robert Gerenser has spent Christmas Day as Gen. George Washington, helping to re-enact the stressful day in 1776 when Washington and the Continental Army crossed the Delaware.

Re-Creating Gen. Washington's Delaware Crossing

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/6674273/6674274" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Thursday

Monday

Culture

Joseph Barbera, Legendary Animator, Dies

Animator Joseph Barbera, half of the legendary duo of Hanna-Barbera has died. Barbera, 95, created a host of cartoon characters, from the Flintstones to the Jetsons and Tom and Jerry.

Joseph Barbera, Legendary Animator, Dies

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/6644591/6644594" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript