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

Performing Arts

Thursday

Can Shows Like 'The McCarthys' Replace CBS' 'Thursday Night Football'?

Tyler Ritter (center) stars in CBS's The McCarthys with, clockwise from top left, Jack McGee, Laurie Metcalf, Jimmy Dunn, Joey McIntyre and Kelen Coleman. Monty Brinton/CBS hide caption

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Monty Brinton/CBS

Analysis

Television

Can Shows Like 'The McCarthys' Replace CBS' 'Thursday Night Football'?

Tonight marks the return of scripted programming on CBS after seven weeks of Thursday Night Football, including a new show, The McCarthys, that should have been left in the locker room.

Tuesday

At 83, Dancer Carmen De Lavallade Looks Back At A Life Spent Onstage
Christopher Duggan

Dance

At 83, Dancer Carmen De Lavallade Looks Back At A Life Spent Onstage

De Lavallade's husband of 59 years, dancer Geoffrey Holder, died on Oct. 5. "He was my biggest fan and I was the same way with him," she says. De Lavallade's one-woman show is called As I Remember It.

At 83, Dancer Carmen De Lavallade Looks Back At A Life Spent Onstage

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Monday

Tuesday

Winners And Losers Of The Fall TV Season Begin To Emerge

Debra Messing stars with Robert Klein in NBC's The Mysteries of Laura. Will Hart/NBC hide caption

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Will Hart/NBC

Analysis

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Winners And Losers Of The Fall TV Season Begin To Emerge

One month into the TV season, NPR TV critic Eric Deggans says diversity is winning and rom-coms are losing as new shows battle for viewers.

Winners And Losers Of The Fall TV Season Begin To Emerge

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Monday

'Little Dancer' Musical Imagines The Story Behind Degas' Mysterious Muse

Edgar Degas' Little Dancer Aged Fourteen is on display at the National Gallery of Art until Jan. 11. Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon/ Courtesy of the National Gallery hide caption

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Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon/ Courtesy of the National Gallery

Theater

'Little Dancer' Musical Imagines The Story Behind Degas' Mysterious Muse

Ballerina Marie Van Goethem started modeling for Edgar Degas around 1878 and inspired his statue Little Dancer Aged Fourteen. But history lost track of her after she left the Paris Opera.

'Little Dancer' Musical Imagines The Story Behind Degas' Mysterious Muse

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Friday

Poetry In Motion: Prima Ballerina Retires After 3-Decade Career

Wendy Whelan, 47, principal dancer at the New York City Ballet, will retire Oct. 18 after 30 years with the institution. Erin Baiano for NPR hide caption

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Erin Baiano for NPR

Dance

Poetry In Motion: Prima Ballerina Retires After 3-Decade Career

Wendy Whelan, 47, will give her final performance with the New York City Ballet on Saturday. NPR spent time with the dancer as she prepared for her goodbye.

Poetry In Motion: Prima Ballerina Retires After 3-Decade Career

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Monday

What's It Like To Be Neil Patrick Harris? He Gives You Options

Neil Patrick Harris has hosted the Tony Awards four times. Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images hide caption

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Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images

Author Interviews

What's It Like To Be Neil Patrick Harris? He Gives You Options

Fresh Air

The actor says he's been able to do a lot of different things in his life, including his role as Doogie Howser. So when he sat down to write a memoir, he made it a "Choose Your Own Adventure."

What's It Like To Be Neil Patrick Harris? He Gives You Options

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Thursday

Play, Ball: A Theatrical Look At The 'Beauty And Brutality' Of Football

Young Mike (Joseph Carlson) antagonizes Mike (Michael Patrick Thornton) during a physical therapy session with Jerry (James Whalen). Stan Barouh/Olney Theatre Center hide caption

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Stan Barouh/Olney Theatre Center

Theater

Play, Ball: A Theatrical Look At The 'Beauty And Brutality' Of Football

In the new play Colossal, a former football player, paralyzed after taking a bad hit during a game, reflects on his glory days and his struggles as a gay man in the macho culture of football.

Play, Ball: A Theatrical Look At The 'Beauty And Brutality' Of Football

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Wednesday

Tuesday

'The Flash' And 'Gotham' Succeed By Taking Comic Book Stories Seriously

Grant Gustin as Barry Allen/The Flash on The CW's The Flash. Jack Rowand/The CW hide caption

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Jack Rowand/The CW

Analysis

Television

'The Flash' And 'Gotham' Succeed By Taking Comic Book Stories Seriously

As The CW's new superhero series The Flash debuts tonight, NPR TV critic Eric Deggans notes the best new broadcast dramas of the fall season are based on comic book stories.

'The Flash' And 'Gotham' Succeed By Taking Comic Book Stories Seriously

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The Unadaptable 'Curious Incident' Gets A Stage Adaptation

Alex Sharp stars as 15-year-old Christopher in the theater adaptation of Mark Haddon's 2003 novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Courtesy of Joan Marcus hide caption

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Courtesy of Joan Marcus

Theater

The Unadaptable 'Curious Incident' Gets A Stage Adaptation

Author Mark Haddon never imagined The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time would work as a play — he judged his writing by its unadaptability. But now it is one, and critics are loving it.

The Unadaptable 'Curious Incident' Gets A Stage Adaptation

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Sunday

Seeing Neurological Patients As Characters, Not Case Studies

Kathryn Hunter, Jared McNeill and Marcello Magni star in The Valley of Astonishment. Pascal Victor/ArtComArt hide caption

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Pascal Victor/ArtComArt

Theater

Seeing Neurological Patients As Characters, Not Case Studies

Legendary theater director Peter Brook is working on a new play centered on people with unusual conditions — like synesthesia, extraordinary memory or the inability to sense their own bodies.

Seeing Neurological Patients As Characters, Not Case Studies

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Friday

Sir Ken Robinson: How Do Schools Kill Creativity?

Ken Robinson proposes a more creative system of education. Asa Mathat/TED hide caption

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Asa Mathat/TED

TED Radio Hour

Sir Ken Robinson: How Do Schools Kill Creativity?

Sir Ken Robinson makes a case for creating an education system that nurtures — rather than stifles — creativity.

Sir Ken Robinson: How Do Schools Kill Creativity?

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Elizabeth Gilbert: Where Does Creativity Come From?

Elizabeth Gilbert shares a new perspective on traditional creative careers. Asa Mathat/TED hide caption

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Asa Mathat/TED

TED Radio Hour

Elizabeth Gilbert: Where Does Creativity Come From?

Writer Elizabeth Gilbert muses on the impossible things we expect from artists and geniuses. She shares the radical idea that, instead of the rare person "being" a genius, all of us "have" a genius.

Elizabeth Gilbert: Where Does Creativity Come From?

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