Performing Arts

Vaslav Nijinsky as the faun at the premiere of the Ballets Russes' production of Afternoon of the Faun at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris in May 1912. Click here to see the full costume. Edward Gooch/Getty Images hide caption

Keith Carradine (right) performs with the cast of Hands on a Hardbody during its spring 2013 run in New York. Chad Batka hide caption

His statue may be a Theater District landmark now, but George M. Cohan caused no small amount of trouble for Actors' Equity early in its history. The union marks its 100th anniversary this year. Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

Beth Lapides (with music director-producer Mitch Kaplan) is the founder and ringmaster at UnCabaret, a Los Angeles comedy institution that's marking its 25th anniversary this year. UnCabaret hide caption

The Ruth Ellis Center helps about 5,000 young people each year. Mercedes Mejia/Michigan Radio hide caption

Musician Amanda Palmer says she learned about trust and giving when she was a street performer. James Duncan Davidson/TED hide caption

Egyptian folk singer Dina El Wedidi performs at Qasr El Nil Theater during the Downtown Cairo Arts Festival. Wedidi says efforts to revitalize venues like the Qasr El Nil are important because there aren't enough places for musicians of the post-revolution explosion to perform. Mostafa Abdel Aty/Courtesy of Downtown Contemporary Arts Festival hide caption

When she's discovered to be a multiracial woman "passing" as white, the Cotton Blossom's star performer, Julie (Alyson Cambridge), is forced to leave the company. Scott Suchman/Washington National Opera hide caption

Fred (Cory Michael Smith) and Holly (Emilia Clarke) in a scene from the recent Broadway adaptation of Truman Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's. The show, which received a slew of negative reviews, closed after only 38 performances. Used With Permission hide caption

Barbra Streisand is Joyce Brewster in The Guilt Trip. The multitalented performer has won an Oscar, an Emmy, a Grammy and a Tony — a feat achieved by fewer than a dozen artists. Sam Emerson/Paramount Pictures hide caption

The role of the Leading Player (Patina Miller) becomes a kind of circus ringmaster in the new Broadway revival of Stephen Schwartz's 1972 musical Pippin. Joan Marcus hide caption

The Broadway musical Matilda put NPR's Bob Mondello in mind of two other big-budget tuners with plucky kids at the center of the action — and got him thinking about what these shows say about their eras. Joan Marcus hide caption

Bette Midler in I'll Eat You Last: A Chat With Sue Mengers. Midler stars as Mengers, a legendary and larger-than-life Hollywood agent whose sharp wit won her both friends and foes in the film industry. Richard Termine/BBBway hide caption

Patterson Joseph plays Brutus, the friend whose betrayal wounds Caesar most — and whose suicide caps off the play's second act. Richard Termine/BAM hide caption

The Broadway cast of Matilda the Musical, including Olivier Award-winning actor Bertie Carvel as the barbaric headmistress Miss Trunchbull. Joan Marcus hide caption