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

Performing Arts

Thursday

'Stuff Happens': The Iraq War as History Play

The dark comedy by David Hare chronicles the tangle of diplomatic maneuvers leading to the war. It hints that President Bush and top advisers intended to invade Iraq even before the Sept. 11 attacks.

'Stuff Happens': The Iraq War as History Play

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Sunday

What Are Your Summer Reads?

DJ Rekha, Spinning a Few Tomes

Rekha Malhotra, a New York City-based DJ, arranged the music for Bridge and Tunnel, the Obie-Award winning Off-Broadway show. She offers her list of what she's been reading this summer.

DJ Rekha, Spinning a Few Tomes

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Friday

Wednesday

Obituaries

Appreciation for Composer David Diamond

Composer David Diamond died Monday at age 89. Diamond's works have been compared to those by Aaron Copland and Leonard Bernstein. Blair talks about Diamond's life and about his composition Rounds.

Appreciation for Composer David Diamond

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Monday

Saturday

Pop Culture

Del Close and the Roots of Second City

Author Jeff Griggs talks about Guru: My Days with Del Close. Close was central to Chicago's Second City club, which gave rise to John Belushi, Bill Murray and many other comic talents.

Del Close and the Roots of Second City

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59th Annual Tony Awards

Liev Schreiber, Enjoying a Tony Role as Roma

Liev Schreiber stars as the real-estate salesman Ricky Roma in a production of Glengarry Glen Ross showered with Tony nominations. Schreiber, Alan Alda and Gordon Clapp are all nominated for best actor.

Liev Schreiber, Enjoying a Tony Role as Roma

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Friday

Music News

Barenaked Ladies Meet Shakespeare

Shakespeare was not only a poet and a playwright but a songwriter as well. The famous bard wrote songs for most of his comedies. But fortunately for the Barenaked Ladies, only the lyrics survived. Celeste Headlee of Detroit Public Radio reports.

Barenaked Ladies Meet Shakespeare

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Culture

Star of 'Spamalot,' Actor Tim Curry

Fresh Air

He is currently starring in the Broadway production of Spamalot, the musical of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. He plays King Arthur. The show has been nominated for 14 Tony awards, including one for best performance by a leading actor in a musical for Curry. Curry's first movie, the film that made him famous, was the 1975 cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show. This interview was originally broadcast on March 15, 2005.

Star of 'Spamalot,' Actor Tim Curry

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James Earl Jones and Leslie Uggams on 'Golden Pond'

The 2005 Tony Awards will air Sunday. James Earl Jones has been nominated for best actor for his role in the Broadway play On Golden Pond. His leading lady is acting veteran Leslie Uggams. The two portray an elderly couple who visit their summer home in Maine and deal with a number of family issues. Ed Gordon visits with Jones and Uggam at Corte Theater on Broadway.

James Earl Jones and Leslie Uggams on 'Golden Pond'

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Thursday

Tuesday

Music Interviews

Artist and Activist Oscar Brown Jr., Dead at 78

We remember singer, poet, songwriter, playwright and social activist Oscar Brown, Jr., who died Sunday in Chicago. He was 78. Brown was signed as a Columbia Records singer in 1960. His first release, Sin and Soul, was critically hailed.

Artist and Activist Oscar Brown Jr., Dead at 78

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Saturday

Education

An Orchestra Teacher's Initial Overture

Sarah Hanks is a first-year music teacher at Kipp Academy in Washington, working with junior high students. She once had thoughts of becoming a professional musician, but something kept pulling her towards kids and strings.

An Orchestra Teacher's Initial Overture

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Lost & Found Sound

Tennessee Williams

One night Tennessee Williams and his buddy Pancho walked down to 131 Royal Street in New Orleans to the Pennyland Arcade, sat in a Voice-O-Graph recording booth and made eight cardboard acetate discs. These 1947 recordings are intertwined with a return to the Penny Arcade today, as well as conversations with actress Kim Hunter, the original Stella in "A Streetcar Named Desire", Tennessee's brother Dakin, and his biographer Lyle Leverich among others.

Tennessee Williams

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Monday

Music Interviews

Trucker Turned Tenor Sings 'Samson'

Robert Siegel talks with a tenor who used to do more than sing for a living. Before becoming an opera singer, Carl Tanner drove a truck. He also made his living as a bounty hunter. But it wasn't his calling. So Tanner is now singing the role of Samson in the Washington National Opera's production of Samson and Dalila.

Trucker Turned Tenor Sings 'Samson'

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