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

Performing Arts

Thursday

'New Hero' Of Classical Guitar Shares His Passion

Milos Karadaglich says as soon as he held his father's rusty, old guitar, he knew it was the instrument he would play. Olaf Heine hide caption

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Olaf Heine

Music Interviews

'New Hero' Of Classical Guitar Shares His Passion

Milos Karadaglich grew up during wartime, but no conflict on the Balkans could stop him from playing the guitar. He earned a coveted spot at London's Royal Academy of Music, and his debut album made a splash on the U.K. charts. Host Michel Martin speaks with the Eastern European artist about his life, music and goals.

'New Hero' Of Classical Guitar Shares His Passion

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Monday

Stephen Sondheim's 'Company': Can Theater-To-Film Take Off?

Neil Patrick Harris stands among the cast of Company, which played in select movie theaters this weekend. Dario Cantatore/Getty Images hide caption

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Dario Cantatore/Getty Images

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Stephen Sondheim's 'Company': Can Theater-To-Film Take Off?

This weekend, movie theaters played a filmed version of a star-studded production of Stephen Sondheim's Company that played live in New York in April. An experiment in filmed versions of live performances (though certainly not entirely new), it raises the question of what the future could hold.

Wednesday

'Spider-Man': Worked Over And Reworked, Does It Work Better Now?

Reeve Carney appears onstage at the curtain call for the opening night performance of the Broadway musical Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark. Charles Sykes/AP hide caption

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Charles Sykes/AP

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Spider-Man': Worked Over And Reworked, Does It Work Better Now?

Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark is finally officially open on Broadway, substantially revamped from its troubled beginnings. Critic Mark Blankenship says there are thrills to be found, but none of them are in the unimpressive score or the flat story.

Tuesday

Stephen Colbert: In Good 'Company' On Broadway

Stephen Colbert and Martha Plimpton perform a song from Company on stage during the 65th annual Tony Awards. Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images hide caption

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Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images

Theater

Stephen Colbert: In Good 'Company' On Broadway

Fresh Air

The political satirist and comedian talks about his Broadway performance (and performance anxieties) and about his recent segments on The Colbert Report featuring Sarah Palin and Anthony Weiner.

Stephen Colbert: In Good 'Company' On Broadway

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At Long Last, Curtain To Rise On 'Spider-Man'

Reeve Carney (left) as Peter Parker and Jennifer Damiano as Mary Jane Watson on the Spider-Man set at the Foxwoods Theatre. Carney previously starred in Taymor's film The Tempest; Damiano earned a Tony nomination in 2009 for her performance in Next to Normal. Jacob Cohl hide caption

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Jacob Cohl

Theater

At Long Last, Curtain To Rise On 'Spider-Man'

After months of previews, cast injuries, scathing reviews and delay upon delay followed by a shut-down and complete overhaul of the script, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark — the most expensive musical ever produced on Broadway — opens Tuesday night.

At Long Last, Curtain To Rise On 'Spider-Man'

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Monday

Culture

Kansas Cuts Public Funding For The Arts

Gov. Sam Brownback recently did away with the state's arts agency — and many in the arts community are up in arms. But some arts advocates argue that being less reliant on government funding is actually a good thing for the arts.

Kansas Cuts Public Funding For The Arts

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'Book of Mormon' Draws Hopefuls Into Ticket Lottery

Trent Fucci and Nancy King fill out lottery tickets for The Book of Mormon in front of a Broadway theater. The play has been sold out since previews. Margot Adler/NPR hide caption

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Margot Adler/NPR

Theater

'Book of Mormon' Draws Hopefuls Into Ticket Lottery

The Book of Mormon has been a popular Broadway musical since it was in previews — So popular, in fact, that hundreds gather in the heat, day after day, just to enter a lottery for a ticket.

'Book of Mormon' Draws Hopefuls Into Ticket Lottery

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Saturday

Friday

A Rising Talent Finds Inspiration In A Theater Vet

Nina Arianda plays Billie Dawn, a showgirl accompanying a corrupt tycoon to Washington, D.C., in the Broadway revival of Born Yesterday. Carol Rosegg hide caption

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Carol Rosegg

Theater

A Rising Talent Finds Inspiration In A Theater Vet

Nina Arianda is dazzling playgoers in a revival of Born Yesterday; a few blocks away, British-American actor Mark Rylance is performing in Jerusalem — after wowing critics earlier this season in La Bete. Jeff Lunden talks to two of this season's Tony favorites.

A Rising Talent Finds Inspiration In A Theater Vet

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Wednesday

For Lookingglass: Classics, Acrobatics And A Tony

Nora Fiffer and Chance Bone of Chicago's Lookingglass Theatre in the company's current production of The Last Act of Lilka Kadison. Sean Williams hide caption

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Sean Williams

Theater

For Lookingglass: Classics, Acrobatics And A Tony

The Chicago theater company founded in 1988 calls its work "theater without a net." It has long been dedicated to performances of new works that involve enormous physical demands of its performers. On Sunday, Lookingglass will receive the 2011 Tony for best regional theater.

For Lookingglass: Classics, Acrobatics And A Tony

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Tuesday

Actress-Activist Shabana Azmi Leads Indian Film's Avant-Garde

Identity Crisis: Shabana Azmi stars in playwright Girish Karnad's Kennedy Center production of Broken Images, about a Hindu short-story writer who wonders if she has betrayed her language and identity by writing an English best-seller. Courtesy of the Kennedy Center hide caption

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Courtesy of the Kennedy Center

Movie Interviews

Actress-Activist Shabana Azmi Leads Indian Film's Avant-Garde

For more than 40 years, Indian actress, activist and sometime politician Shabana Azmi has paved the way for independent, socially conscious Indian cinema. The actress discusses Indian cinema, gender roles and art as activism.

Actress-Activist Shabana Azmi Leads Indian Film's Avant-Garde

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Friday

Art In 'America' Records The National Experience

In Tony Oursler's $5, video elements show through holes in a $5 bill, making it look like Abraham Lincoln's eye and mouth are moving. Courtesy of America: Now and Here hide caption

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Courtesy of America: Now and Here

Art & Design

Art In 'America' Records The National Experience

KCUR

"America: Now and Here" is a traveling, multidisciplinary art show that attempts to chronicle what it's like to live in America today. The project's national tour, which kicked off May 6, shows work from local as well as nationally recognized artists.

Art In 'America' Records The National Experience

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Thursday

Scott Rudin On 'Book Of Mormon' And Edgy Humor

Preaching It: Ugandan villagers in The Book of Mormon (from left), Michael James Scott, Asmeret Ghebremichael, Rema Webb, Lawrence Stallings, Mala Nkenge Wilson and Darlesia Cearcy listen to missionary Josh Gad. Joan Marcus hide caption

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Joan Marcus

Theater

Scott Rudin On 'Book Of Mormon' And Edgy Humor

The seven-time Tony-winning producer, who is also a force in the film industry, talks about the musical The Book of Mormon, which has been nominated for 14 Tony Awards this year despite its notorious irreverence and vulgarity.

Scott Rudin On 'Book Of Mormon' And Edgy Humor

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Wednesday

Movies

Film Shows Slam Poets Are 'Louder Than A Bomb'

The film "Louder Than a Bomb" explores the world's largest youth poetry slam by the same name. It follows Chicago high school students as they compete, revealing how writing helps them develop personal identities, find community and gain therapy. The film has won awards at 15 film festivals. It starts its national theatrical rollout in N.Y. today. Host Michel Martin speaks with the film's co-director Greg Jacobs.

Film Shows Slam Poets Are 'Louder Than A Bomb'

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