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Tuesday

How To Succeed In Showbiz: The Frank Loesser Story

Actor Danny Kaye (left) clowns around with composer Frank Loesser while rehearsing a song for the 1952 film Hans Christian Andersen. Gjon Mili/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images hide caption

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Gjon Mili/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images

Theater

How To Succeed In Showbiz: The Frank Loesser Story

Today marks the hundredth anniversary of the famed composer's birth. Loesser penned some of Broadway's best-known musicals, including Guys and Dolls.

How To Succeed In Showbiz: The Frank Loesser Story

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Fresh Air Celebrates Frank Loesser's 100th Birthday

Frank Loesser won the Academy Award for his song "Baby It's Cold Outside." Stroud/Express/Getty Images hide caption

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Stroud/Express/Getty Images

Theater

Fresh Air Celebrates Frank Loesser's 100th Birthday

Fresh Air

Frank Loesser wrote the musicals Guys and Dolls and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying -- in addition to over 700 other songs. On today's Fresh Air, musical anthropologist Michael Feinstein discusses Loesser's musical legacy and plays some of his favorite Loesser tunes -- including several rare archival recordings.

Fresh Air Celebrates Frank Loesser's 100th Birthday

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Monday

Theater

Festival Brings New Dramas To Shenandoah Valley

For 20 years, the Contemporary American Theater Festival at Shepherd University has showcased new and edgy plays. The summer festival brings a rush of tourism to Shepherdstown, while offering playwrights old and new a chance to stage new work.

Festival Brings New Dramas To Shenandoah Valley

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Thursday

Theater

'Completely Hollywood': 197 Films, Abridged

Most people will never have time to see the greatest 200 American films of all time, so the Reduced Shakespeare Company is making it a little easier. The three-man troupe condensed 197 of what they deem Hollywood's best — from Chinatown to the six Rocky's — into a stage show that runs under two hours.

'Completely Hollywood': 197 Films, Abridged

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Wednesday

'The Golden Ticket' Is Finally Unwrapped

Daniel Okulitch plays Willy Wonka at the Opera Theatre of St. Louis. Ken Howard hide caption

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Ken Howard

Music News

'The Golden Ticket' Is Finally Unwrapped

The new opera, based on Roald Dahl's ever-popular Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, was meant to bring families into the opera house. But the premiere under way now at Opera Theatre of St. Louis did not have a sweet ride from conception to opening night.

'The Golden Ticket' Is Finally Unwrapped

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Sunday

Waiting In The Wings With Broadway's Understudies

Just Dance: Megan Sikora (center) is a member of the ensemble in Broadway's revival of Promises, Promises. Sikora also understudies the musical's lead, Kristin Chenoweth, and featured actress Katie Finneran. Joan Marcus/The Hartman Group hide caption

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Joan Marcus/The Hartman Group

Theater

Waiting In The Wings With Broadway's Understudies

It's hard out there for Broadway understudies -- they have to learn extra lines, attend extra rehearsals and deal with the grumbling of disappointed audiences. And the pressure is even greater for those who find themselves understudying Tony-nominated actors.

Waiting In The Wings With Broadway's Understudies

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Saturday

Friday

Television

Tim Conway Delivers Laughs Without An Apology

Tim Conway's career stretches from sitcoms in the 1960s to a dozen Disney films and 11 years on The Carol Burnett Show. Last year he won his sixth Emmy for a guest spot on 30 Rock. The 78-year-old legend says he enjoys being funny -- a clean, family-friendly kind of funny.

Tim Conway Delivers Laughs Without An Apology

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Burt Bacharach And Hal David: A 50-Year Musical Duet

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

Burt Bacharach And Hal David: A 50-Year Musical Duet

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.

Burt Bacharach And Hal David: A 50-Year Musical Duet

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Offstage With Broadway Star Sean Hayes

Sean Hayes and Kristin Chenoweth star in a new Broadway revival of Promises, Promises. Hayes says that he's had to overcome "a little added pressure and a little added fear" on stage because of his singing role. Joan Marcus hide caption

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Joan Marcus

Theater

Offstage With Broadway Star Sean Hayes

Fresh Air

The comic actor, who played Jack on TV's Will and Grace, is hosting the Tony Awards this Sunday night. He recently spoke with Terry Gross about his TV career, as well as his transition to Broadway, where he's currently starring in a Broadway revival of Neil Simon's musical Promises, Promises.

Offstage With Broadway Star Sean Hayes

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Tuesday

Theater

Monty Python Vet Eric Idle: 'Not The Messiah'

Monty Python's Eric Idle created a stage show based on Life of Brian called Not The Messiah (He's A Very Naughty Boy). A special performance of the show, featuring fellow Python members Michael Palin, Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam, has been released on DVD.

Monty Python Vet Eric Idle: 'Not The Messiah'

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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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