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

Performing Arts

Friday

John Lithgow, Talking Shakespeare And His Father

Character-Building Experience: "It's a kind of alchemical process," says actor John Lithgow about the process of creating a role. "Some of it is you, and some of it is pure calculation." WVIZ/PBS ideastream hide caption

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WVIZ/PBS ideastream

John Lithgow, Talking Shakespeare And His Father

Twice nominated for an Oscar, the actor is notable for the breadth of his range: He's played a serial killer, a transgendered woman and an alien, and audiences have eaten it up every time. He joined Scott Simon for a conversation about getting started as the son of a producer -- and making it on his own.

John Lithgow, Talking Shakespeare And His Father

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Tuesday

Vaclav Havel, Returning To Drama With 'Leaving'

Re-Election Or Bust: In the American premiere of Vaclav Havel's Leaving, Oscar-nominated actor David Strathairn plays a retired head of state who has trouble letting go of the perks of office. Jim Roese hide caption

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Jim Roese

Theater

Vaclav Havel, Returning To Drama With 'Leaving'

The former Czech president, who made his name first as a playwright and then as a leading political dissident, sees the U.S. premiere of his latest stage work in Philadelphia May 26. The central character? A politician who has trouble giving up the perks of power.

Vaclav Havel, Returning To Drama With 'Leaving'

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Theater

Valerie Harper Tackles Tallulah Bankhead

Valerie Harper, famous for playing The Mary Tyler Moore Show's Rhoda, is nominated for a Tony Award for her Broadway embodiment of Tallulah Bankhead in Looped. Bankhead is the hard-drinking, cocaine-sniffing diva believed to be the inspiration for Cruella de Vil.

Valerie Harper Tackles Tallulah Bankhead

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Saturday

Everyone Else Outsources, So Why Can't The Arts?

The Columbus Symphony Orchestra is one of the Ohio arts organizations that has turned to CAPA -- the Columbus Association for the Performing Arts -- for help with finances and fundraising. Courtesy of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra hide caption

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Courtesy of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra

Culture

Everyone Else Outsources, So Why Can't The Arts?

In Columbus, Ohio, nonprofit arts groups are doing what U.S. businesses have done for decades: outsourcing. Financially beleaguered arts groups are handing over the "back office" to CAPA, an organization that handles finances, marketing, ticketing and fundraising ... stuff that artists don't really like doing anyway.

Everyone Else Outsources, So Why Can't The Arts?

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Keepin' The Musical Real, Off-Broadway

In The Burnt Part Boys, teenagers Chet (Andrew Durand), Jake (Charlie Brady), Pete (Al Calderon) and Frances (Molly Ranson) all set out for the mines that killed their fathers -- some meaning to destroy them, others to prevent their destruction. Joan Marcus hide caption

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Joan Marcus

Theater

Keepin' The Musical Real, Off-Broadway

Original Broadway musicals were few and far between this season, but that doesn't mean musical theater is on the wane. The Burnt Part Boys and Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson are two original off-Broadway productions that are keeping the tradition alive.

Keepin' The Musical Real, Off-Broadway

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Thursday

Theater

August Wilson's 'Fences' Revival Earns Praise

The tragic drama Fences won August Wilson his second Pulitzer Prize in 1987. Director Kenny Leon was a longtime friend and collaborator of Wilson's, and his Broadway revival stars Denzel Washington and Viola Davis. The production has already snared ten Tony nominations since opening in April.

August Wilson's 'Fences' Revival Earns Praise

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Sunday

'Moby Dick' The Opera

Music News

'Moby Dick' The Opera

Composer Jake Heggie is best known for his opera based on Sister Helen Prejean's book, Dead Man Walking. The work, written in 2000, has become one of the most performed contemporary operas, and Heggie has also become a popular composer of songs for the likes of Renee Fleming, Frederica von Stade and Audra McDonald. His latest work sets Herman Melville's words almost verbatim to music. Moby Dick was co-commissioned by the Dallas Opera and four other countries and will tour the world over the next several years.

'Moby Dick' The Opera

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Friday

Lena Horne's Story, As Told By Her Daughter

Gail Lumet Buckley (left) and her mother, Lena Horne, at an awards ceremony in 1987. Buckley's book, The Hornes: An American Family, charts her family's roots. G. Paul Burnett/AP hide caption

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G. Paul Burnett/AP

Obituaries

Lena Horne's Story, As Told By Her Daughter

Fresh Air

When Lena Horne first signed with MGM, the studio wanted her to play a maid. But on the advice of Paul Robeson and her father, she refused. Fresh Air remembers the legendary star of stage and screen with this interview conducted in 1986 with Horne's daughter, Gail Lumet Buckley.

Lena Horne's Story, As Told By Her Daughter

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Thursday

With Manzari Brothers, Hines Taps A New Generation

Maurice Hinds with John (at left) and Leo Manzari, from the Arena Stage production of Duke Ellington's Sophisticated Ladies at the Lincoln Theater in Washington, D.C. Scott Suchman hide caption

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Scott Suchman

Dance

With Manzari Brothers, Hines Taps A New Generation

When Maurice Hines was young, he and his brother Gregory were sibling tap dancing sensations. Now Maurice has discovered another pair of young brothers who tap: John and Leo Manzari. The Manzari brothers perform with Hines in a production of Duke Ellington's Sophisticated Ladies at the Lincoln Theater in Washington, D.C.

With Manzari Brothers, Hines Taps A New Generation

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Friday

Gustavo Dudamel: Making Classical Cool In L.A.

Gustavo Dudamel rehearses with the L.A. Philharmonic at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Ben Bergman/NPR hide caption

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Ben Bergman/NPR

Music Interviews

Gustavo Dudamel: Making Classical Cool In L.A.

Meet a young man who's managed to make classical music popular in Los Angeles: Gustavo Dudamel. Now the 29-year-old Venezuelan conductor known as "the Dude" is taking the L.A. Philharmonic on its first national tour under his direction.

Gustavo Dudamel: Making Classical Cool In L.A.

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Wednesday

Writer Discovers Her 'Urban Beat' In Dance Class

Freelance writer Sarah Wildman says she has studied dance for most of her adult life, but she until recently she had never taken a hip-hop class. Wildman signed up for a class at the Dance Institute of Washington and wrote about her experience in the recent fitness edition of the Washington Post Magazine. Host Michel Martin talks to Wildman about what she learned and they practice some moves in the studio.

Writer Discovers Her 'Urban Beat' In Dance Class

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Music And Lyrics: Burt Bacharach And Hal David

The cast of the Broadway revival of Promises, Promises includes Sean Hayes (center) in the role originated by Jerry Orbach in 1968. Joan Marcus hide caption

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Joan Marcus

Music Interviews

Music And Lyrics: Burt Bacharach And Hal David

Fresh Air

The legendary composer and lyricist -- who collaborated on tunes like "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head," "I Say a Little Prayer" and "What's New Pussycat?" -- discuss their 50-year relationship and some favorite tunes from the Broadway revival of their musical, Promises, Promises.

Music And Lyrics: Burt Bacharach And Hal David

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Tuesday

Remembering Film And Stage Star Lynn Redgrave

Lynn Redgrave made her Broadway debut in Black Comedy on Feb. 5, 1967. AP Photo hide caption

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AP Photo

Obituaries

Remembering Film And Stage Star Lynn Redgrave

Fresh Air

The British stage and film star -- a member of a storied acting dynasty -- died Sunday after "a seven-year journey with breast cancer," her family said. She was 67. Fresh Air remembers the star of Georgy Girl and The Happy Hooker with excerpts from a 1986 conversation.

Remembering Film And Stage Star Lynn Redgrave

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Monday

Lynn Redgrave, Earning Her Place Among Legends

Lynn Redgrave paid tribute to her actress mother, Rachel Kempson, in a solo show titled Rachel and Juliet. Mig Dooley/Folger Theatre hide caption

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Mig Dooley/Folger Theatre

Opinion

Obituaries

Lynn Redgrave, Earning Her Place Among Legends

The Oscar nominee, who died Sunday after what her family described as "a seven-year journey with breast cancer," was the one member of the Redgrave dynasty whom no one thought of as an actor -- until she'd become a star.

Lynn Redgrave, Earning Her Place Among Legends

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In London, A Stirring 'War Horse' Of A Drama

Adrian Kohler, co-founder of the company that made War Horse's puppets, uses the techniques and tools of shipbuilding -- his father was a shipwright -- to build his creations. Simon Annand hide caption

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Simon Annand

Culture

In London, A Stirring 'War Horse' Of A Drama

The New London Theatre's War Horse, a captivating story about war and friendship, is told with the help of life-sized horse puppets. Jeff Lunden speaks with the actors -- and the puppeteers -- behind this particular type of mechanized magic.

In London, A Stirring 'War Horse' Of A Drama

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