French Farce Enjoys a Revival May 31, 2008 • Scott Simon interviews Mark Rylance, co-star in the most-performed French play, Boeing Boeing. The Broadway play also features Gina Gershon and Christine Baranski. French Farce Enjoys a Revival Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/91028178/91029101" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
French Farce Enjoys a Revival Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/91028178/91029101" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Culture Mel Brooks Blazes Wacky Trail May 24, 2008 • Actor, director, producer and comedian Mel Brooks talks about his new Broadway musical Young Frankenstein, the movie and potential stage production of Blazing Saddles, and his long and successful career. Mel Brooks Blazes Wacky Trail Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/90801438/90801457" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Mel Brooks Blazes Wacky Trail Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/90801438/90801457" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Music Interviews Bette Midler's Show Goes On May 22, 2008 • The "Divine Miss M" talks about her legendary career, her outrageous characters and her new Las Vegas concert show The Showgirl Must Go On. "I'm giving Sin City a roasting and toasting she'll never forget," Midler says. Listen to this 'Talk of the Nation' topic Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/90728984/90728975" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Listen to this 'Talk of the Nation' topic Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/90728984/90728975" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
In Character Troy Maxson: Heart, Heartbreak as Big as the World May 12, 2008 • He's the protagonist — you can't quite say "hero," unless you add "tragic" in front — of August Wilson's play Fences. James Earl Jones, who first played the part, helps explain why he's unforgettable. Troy Maxson: Heart, Heartbreak as Big as the World Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/90374807/90379912" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Troy Maxson: Heart, Heartbreak as Big as the World Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/90374807/90379912" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
National Circus Family Is Ready for a Safety Net May 10, 2008 • After spending 10 years traveling the world in a 1962 double-decker bus that maxes out at 33 mph, the Sprockets Circus family is ready for the next attraction: a home. The trip taught its members some valuable lessons about their fellow man. Circus Family Is Ready for a Safety Net Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/90321001/90344044" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Circus Family Is Ready for a Safety Net Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/90321001/90344044" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Music News Jazz Education Group Sounds Its Siren Song April 25, 2008 • For 40 years, the International Association of Jazz Education has worked to promote jazz instruction at middle schools, high schools and colleges around the world. This week, the IAJE announced it was filing for bankruptcy protection and shutting down. Jazz Education Group Sounds Its Siren Song Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/89953765/89953746" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Jazz Education Group Sounds Its Siren Song Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/89953765/89953746" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Morgan Freeman's New Role: An Actor, In Extremis April 25, 2008 • After nearly 20 years away from the stage, he's back on Broadway in The Country Girl, directed by Mike Nichols. His character: a washed-up actor with a love for the bottle and an uncertain gift. Morgan Freeman's New Role: An Actor, In Extremis Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/89946042/89955409" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Morgan Freeman's New Role: An Actor, In Extremis Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/89946042/89955409" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Music News What Did I Do With My Violin? April 24, 2008 • Every few months seems to bring another headline about a lost violin. This week, it was Philippe Quint, who lost his violin in New York City. David Sternbach, director of the Center for Arts and Wellness, talks with Robert Siegel about what makes classical musicians so forgetful. What Did I Do With My Violin? Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/89922216/89925652" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
What Did I Do With My Violin? Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/89922216/89925652" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Video Sessions MySpace Phenom Kate Nash Rocks in the Flesh April 23, 2008 • The English-Irish singer-songwriter stopped by the BPP studios to play "Skeleton Song," one of the arresting pop songs off her debut album, Made of Bricks. MySpace Phenom Kate Nash Rocks in the Flesh Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/89870758/89870726" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
MySpace Phenom Kate Nash Rocks in the Flesh Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/89870758/89870726" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Enter New Playwrights, Stage Left, in Denver April 19, 2008 • Three years ago, Kent Thompson became the artistic director of the Denver Center Theatre Company. Under his leadership, the company has become one of a handful of regional theaters around the country committed to developing new work. Enter New Playwrights, Stage Left, in Denver Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/89727847/89785551" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Enter New Playwrights, Stage Left, in Denver Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/89727847/89785551" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
In Character Stage Mother from Hell: Needy, Greedy Mama Rose April 13, 2008 • Gypsy's antiheroine is a woman boiling over with frustrated ambition, who channels all her energies into turning her daughters into stars — woe be to anyone who gets in her way. Jeff Lunden has an appreciation. Stage Mother from Hell: Needy, Greedy Mama Rose Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/89512165/89598488" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Stage Mother from Hell: Needy, Greedy Mama Rose Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/89512165/89598488" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Review Movies Elderly Rock Singers Put on a Good Show April 10, 2008 • Los Angeles Times and Morning Edition film critic Kenneth Turan reviews the film Young at Heart. It's a documentary about a choir made up of senior citizens who perform songs by rock, punk and soul music artists. Elderly Rock Singers Put on a Good Show Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/89521903/89516895" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Elderly Rock Singers Put on a Good Show Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/89521903/89516895" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Business May I Have Your Rather Valuable Autograph? April 8, 2008 • Al Wittnebert, an elder statesman of the autograph business, says there is a code of honor in seeking famous signatures — and that it can be a lucrative way to make a living. May I Have Your Rather Valuable Autograph? Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/89457801/89457775" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
May I Have Your Rather Valuable Autograph? Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/89457801/89457775" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Review Music Reviews The Breeders' Scrappy 'Mountain Battle' April 8, 2008 • Esquire music critic Andy Langer discusses the week's new album releases, including albums from The Breeders, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Hayes Carll, Ike Reilly, and Man Man. The Breeders' Scrappy 'Mountain Battle' Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/89457841/89457785" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
The Breeders' Scrappy 'Mountain Battle' Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/89457841/89457785" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
National Commuter Concerto Helps Writer Net Pulitzer April 7, 2008 • For his Pulitzer-prize winning feature story, Gene Weingarten of The Washington Post convinced world-class violinist Joshua Bell to play beautiful music in a Metrorail station to gauge commuters' reaction. Commuter Concerto Helps Writer Net Pulitzer Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/89443778/89444505" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Commuter Concerto Helps Writer Net Pulitzer Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/89443778/89444505" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript