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

Performing Arts

Wednesday

Obituaries

Actor Jerry Orbach Dies at 69

Actor Jerry Orbach died Tuesday at age 69 of prostate cancer. Orbach spent years on the New York stage as a song man in hit musicals, but he was perhaps best known for his role as acerbic New York homicide detective Lennie Briscoe in the long-running hit series Law and Order.

Actor Jerry Orbach Dies at 69

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Culture

Jeremy Irons Takes On the Bard's 'Merchant'

Oscar-winning actor Jeremy Irons talks about his latest role as the title character in a film adaptation of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice -- a play some consider to be anti-Semitic for its portrayal of the vengeful Jewish moneylender Shylock.

Jeremy Irons Takes On the Bard's 'Merchant'

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Tuesday

Saturday

Weekend Edition Saturday

New York City Ballet Marks 'Nutcracker' 50th

NPR's Scott Simon talks to dancers with the New York City Ballet who are starring in this year's Nutcracker ballet. He also speaks with legendary ballerina Maria Tallchief, who was the very first Sugar Plum Fairy in the NYCB's production of Nutcracker 50 years ago.

New York City Ballet Marks 'Nutcracker' 50th

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Friday

Culture

'Sliced by an Artist': A Child's Radio Play

Day to Day presents Sliced By An Artist, a radio play written by elementary school student Kenny Juarez when he was 9 (he's now 11). Actor Dustin Hoffman narrates the story. It's a fantasy about a drinking straw trying to avoid his father's fate of being shredded for a piece of artwork.

'Sliced by an Artist': A Child's Radio Play

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Wednesday

Media

No Joke: Comedians May Go On Strike

It doesn't always pay to be funny. Especially if you're an unknown stand-up comic living in New York City. Fed up with decades of measly paychecks and indifferent bookers, over 300 comedians have formed a new group, the New York Comedians Coalition. Two weeks ago, the coalition sent a letter to owners of 11 clubs asking for their first significant pay raise in decades. If the demands aren't met, the comedians are going on strike.

No Joke: Comedians May Go On Strike

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Sunday

Music

Paul Winter Solstice Concerts

The winter solstice occurs this Tuesday. For the past 25 years, musician Paul Winter has celebrated the event with a series of concerts. This year, the event took place at the Cathedral of St. John the Devine in New York City. NPR's Margot Adler spoke with Winter as he prepared for the concerts.

Paul Winter Solstice Concerts

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A Dance Legend Who Still Finds New Directions

Choreographer Paul Taylor is one of the giants of modern dance. Even as his Paul Taylor Dance Company is marking its 50th season with a tour to all 50 states, Taylor is at home, planning his next move. Hear NPR's Jennifer Ludden.

A Dance Legend Who Still Finds New Directions

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Thursday

Music Interviews

Celebrating the Music, and Humanity, of Beethoven

Musician and writer Miles Hoffman says the great composer, born 234 years ago this week in Bonn, Germany, is still revered for his forceful music — and admired for writing a share of it after losing his hearing.

Celebrating the Music, and Humanity, of Beethoven

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Tuesday

Scenes I Wish I Had Written

David Henry Hwang: Honesty and Identity

Playwright David Henry Hwang's award-winning plays include 1980's FOB (or "Fresh Off the Boat") and M. Butterfly. For our series Scenes I Wish I'd Written, Hwang discusses an exchange from Tony Kushner's play Angels in America.

David Henry Hwang: Honesty and Identity

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Monday

Thursday

Wednesday

Tuesday

Scenes I Wish I Had Written

Paula Vogel: Remembering Through Language

The Greek myth of the fate of Eurydice, who dies after being saved from Hades by Orpheus, provides the kernel of one of Pulitzer Prize-winner Paula Vogel's favorite scenes. Vogel discusses Sarah Ruhl's vision of Eurydice with NPR's Susan Stamberg.

Paula Vogel: Remembering Through Language

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Saturday

Movies

Paying Tribute to the Comedy of Peter Sellers

HBO's biopic The Life and Death of Peter Sellers debuts on the pay-cable network Sunday. Geoffrey Rush plays the great British comic. To celebrate, NPR's Scott Simon and New York Times critic Elvis Mitchell help movie fans brush up on some of Sellers' finest screen moments.

Paying Tribute to the Comedy of Peter Sellers

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