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Performing Arts

Saturday April 30, 2005

Lost & Found Sound

Portrait of An Artist as An Answering Machine

April 30, 2005 • The telephone answering machine is each person's own domestic preservation device -- a virtual cedar chest of treasured messages -- collections of monologues and small self portraits, that when listened to closely add up to an informal oral history of our lives.

Portrait of An Artist as An Answering Machine

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Friday April 29, 2005

Obituaries

Bassist Percy Heath

Fresh Air

April 29, 2005 • Heath died Thursday at the age of 81. He was the bass player for the Modern Jazz Quartet for four decades and played with Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane and Ornette Coleman.

Bassist Percy Heath

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Thursday April 28, 2005

Culture

The Brothers Who Made Mary Poppins Sing

April 28, 2005 • Generations of children have grown up singing the music and lyrics of Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman. Their hugely popular film musicals, Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang have now been adapted for the stage.

The Brothers Who Made Mary Poppins Sing

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Sunday April 24, 2005

National

The Oldest Living Ziegfeld Girl

April 24, 2005 • At the New Amsterdam Theater on 42nd Street, once home to the Ziegfeld Follies, the oldest living Ziegfeld girl recently took the stage for a charity event. Doris Eaton Travis is 101. She tells Jeff Lunden about her long life and career.

The Oldest Living Ziegfeld Girl

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Friday April 22, 2005

American Stages

Rebellion in the Regional Ranks

April 22, 2005 • As the big resident stages became major cultural institutions, some began to worry that the regional movement had lost its way. NPR's Bob Mondello talks to a new generation of theater professionals about where they’d like to see the movement head in the future.

Rebellion in the Regional Ranks

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Wednesday April 20, 2005

Books

Poetry Month: 'Totally Like Whatever'

April 20, 2005 • In recognition of National Poetry Month, Day to Day and the Hearing Voices radio project present Taylor Mali reading his poem "Totally Like Whatever."

Poetry Month: 'Totally Like Whatever'

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Friday April 15, 2005

Project Recalls Yiddish Theater Legends

April 15, 2005 • Michael Tilson Thomas, a superstar in the classical music world, evokes the legacy of his grandparents in a new show. Bessie and Boris Thomashefsky were legends of Yiddish Theater.

Project Recalls Yiddish Theater Legends

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Thursday April 14, 2005

American Stages

Challenges of a Rotating Repertory

April 14, 2005 • Companies of actors doing plays in a rotation, with a different show every night, is a dream for many in the regional theater movement. Few troupes can afford it, but the ones that do can reap big benefits.

Challenges of a Rotating Repertory

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Thursday April 7, 2005

American Stages

'The Light in the Piazza': Partnering on the Road

April 7, 2005 • Ever since The Great White Hope left resident theater to Broadway and won the Pulitzer Prize, not-for-profit theaters are developing productions hoping for commercial success.

'The Light in the Piazza': Partnering on the Road

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Tuesday April 5, 2005

Opinion

A Visit to the 'Rejection Show'

April 5, 2005 • Commentator Gwen Macsai attends a performance of The Rejection Show, a monthly New York City cabaret for artists, writers and comics who present material shunned by editors and producers.

A Visit to the 'Rejection Show'

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Friday April 1, 2005

Music

Pianist Jon Nakamatsu Performs Scarlatti, Liszt

April 1, 2005 • A native of California, Jon Nakamatsu performs music from Scarlatti and Liszt at NPR.

Pianist Jon Nakamatsu Performs Scarlatti, Liszt

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Thursday March 31, 2005

American Stages

Flexible Theater Design and Audience Intimacy

March 31, 2005 • Not long ago, nearly all U.S. theaters looked the same -- framed stages tucked behind curtains. But the WaterTower Theatre has a flexible design that brings actors and audiences closer together.

Flexible Theater Design and Audience Intimacy

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Monday March 28, 2005

NPR Replay: The Degrees of Kevin Bacon

A Conversation with John Lithgow

March 28, 2005 • From uptight preachers to uptight aliens, actor John Lithgow has never shied away from taking on daring roles. The same holds true in real life.

A Conversation with John Lithgow

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Spoken Word Artists Perform to a Growing Audience

March 28, 2005 • Spoken word performances combine the metaphor and meter of poetry with the emotion and action of drama. And residents of Durham, N.C., are hearing more and more of it.

Spoken Word Artists Perform to a Growing Audience

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Saturday March 26, 2005

'Columbinus' Puts School Shootings on Stage

March 26, 2005 • Columbinus, a play about the school massacre in Columbine, Colo., is on stage at the Round House Theatre in Silver Spring, Md. The drama depicts the teen angst and disaffection that led to violence in an almost documentary style.

'Columbinus' Puts School Shootings on Stage

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