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

Performing Arts

Thursday

Saturday

'Stonewall' Opera Marks Uprising's 50th Anniversary

Jordan Weatherston Pitts (center) sings the role of Renata, the drag queen, with the company of New York City Opera's Stonewall. Sarah Shatz/Courtesy of New York City Opera hide caption

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Sarah Shatz/Courtesy of New York City Opera

Deceptive Cadence

'Stonewall' Opera Marks Uprising's 50th Anniversary

New York City Opera has commissioned Stonewall, a new opera premiering one week before the 50th anniversary of the riots that sparked the modern gay-rights movement.

'Stonewall' Opera Marks Uprising's 50th Anniversary

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Saturday

Franco Zeffirelli, Creator Of Lavish Productions On Screen And Stage, Dies At 96

Franco Zeffirelli pictured above in New York in October 1974. Jerry Mosey/AP hide caption

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Jerry Mosey/AP

Obituaries

Franco Zeffirelli, Creator Of Lavish Productions On Screen And Stage, Dies At 96

The Italian director staged sumptuously visualized operas, which often resembled Renaissance paintings brought to life. On film, he brought Shakespearean and biblical tales to the big screen.

Franco Zeffirelli, Creator Of Lavish Productions On Screen And Stage, Dies At 96

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Monday

The 2019 Tony Awards

Tony winner Ali Stroker performs "I Can't Say No" from Rodgers & Hammerstein's Oklahoma! onstage during the 2019 Tony Awards. Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions hide caption

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Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

The 2019 Tony Awards

We are recapping this year's Tony Awards. James Corden was back as the host, and it was a big night for the musical Hadestown and the Irish play The Ferryman. The musicals Tootsie and Oklahoma! also picked up multiple awards.

The 2019 Tony Awards

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Sunday

Into The Spotlight: Recognizing Broadway Musicians This Tony Awards Season

Brian Drye plays trombone with Tony-nominated actress Amber Grey onstage in Hadestown. Matthew Murphy/Courtesy of Hadestown, The Musical hide caption

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Matthew Murphy/Courtesy of Hadestown, The Musical

Into The Spotlight: Recognizing Broadway Musicians This Tony Awards Season

Musicals get Tony Awards. Scores get Tony Awards. Orchestrators get Tony Awards. But this year, a number of Broadway musicians are stepping out of the pit and onto the stage.

Into The Spotlight: Recognizing Broadway Musicians This Tony Awards Season

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Wednesday

Our Great Big Theater Roundup

Stephanie Hsu and Will Roland in the Broadway production of Be More Chill. Maria Baranova/Courtesy of Be More Chill hide caption

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Maria Baranova/Courtesy of Be More Chill

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Our Great Big Theater Roundup

We recently packed up and road-tripped to New York to check out some selections from the current Broadway theater season. We went to musicals and plays, revivals and new works, and we have a lot of thoughts.

Our Great Big Theater Roundup

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Friday

'Two Wings: The Music Of Black America In Migration' Celebrates Journey Millions Took

Jason Moran and Alicia Hall Moran think deeply about how the past is preserved and kept vital through music and culture. Dawound Bey/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Dawound Bey/Courtesy of the artist

Music Interviews

'Two Wings: The Music Of Black America In Migration' Celebrates Journey Millions Took

Singer Alicia Hall Moran and pianist Jason Moran mix original music works with 20th century spoken word to reflect on The Great Migration, when African Americans moved from the South to the North.

'Two Wings: The Music Of Black America In Migration' Celebrates Journey Millions Took

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Monday

Whitney Houston Hologram Tour And New Album In The Works 7 Years After Her Death

Whitney Houston's estate announced a slew of new projects featuring the beloved singer, including a hologram tour, a new album or previously unreleased songs, a possible Broadway musical and a Vegas show. Matt Sayles/AP hide caption

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Matt Sayles/AP

Music News

Whitney Houston Hologram Tour And New Album In The Works 7 Years After Her Death

The mega-star sold tens of millions of records and had 11 No. 1 hits throughout her career. And in less than year, Houston, or at least a light-projected version of her, could be at it again.

Sunday

A Photographer's Search For The Vanishing Stars Of Bengali Folk Theater

Anukul Ghosh (left), 63, and Rabin Kumar Majhi, 51, pose as a newly married couple. Ghosh used to play female characters in the 1970s and 1980s. He has now retired from Jatra. Soumya Sankar Bose hide caption

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Soumya Sankar Bose

The Picture Show

A Photographer's Search For The Vanishing Stars Of Bengali Folk Theater

Ten years after leaving his childhood home in West Bengal, photographer Soumya Sankar Bose returned to find that stars of Jatra, a popular local form of folk theater, were fading from public view.

Saturday

Massive Digitization Effort Is The Latest Plot Twist For Cuban Radio Soap Operas

The Latin American Library at Tulane University is digitizing and archiving a selection of Spanish language soap operas from the 1960s. The illustration above appeared in a brochure titled "What Is and How to Produce a Radionovela," published by America's Productions, Inc. Courtesy of the Latin American Library, Tulane University hide caption

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Courtesy of the Latin American Library, Tulane University

Culture

Massive Digitization Effort Is The Latest Plot Twist For Cuban Radio Soap Operas

WWNO

The Latin American Library at Tulane University is digitizing a whopping collection of Cold War-era, must-hear entertainment — Spanish language radionovelas made by Cuban emigrés in Miami.

Massive Digitization Effort Is The Latest Plot Twist For Cuban Radio Soap Operas

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Tuesday

Dave Chappelle To Be Awarded Mark Twain Prize For American Humor

In recent years, Dave Chappelle returned to stand-up comedy in force with a series of specials, released on Netflix. He will receive the Mark Twain Prize on Oct. 27, 2019. Lester Cohen/Netflix hide caption

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Lester Cohen/Netflix

Pop Culture

Dave Chappelle To Be Awarded Mark Twain Prize For American Humor

The comic and actor, known for his boundary-pushing stand-up routines and his sketch comedy TV series Chappelle's Show, will receive the award in a gala at the Kennedy Center.

Friday

Theater

Remembering Jo Sullivan Loesser, Wife Of 'Guys And Dolls' Creator Frank Loesser

Fresh Air

Jo Sullivan Loesser, who died April 28, married Frank Loesser after starring in his Broadway show, The Most Happy Fella. After Frank died in 1969, she helped preserve his legacy.

Remembering Jo Sullivan Loesser, Wife Of 'Guys And Dolls' Creator Frank Loesser

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At This Tony-Nominated 'Prom,' The Theme Is Acceptance

Isabelle McCalla (left) and Caitlin Kinnunen star as Alyssa and Emma in The Prom. Deen van Meer/Polk & Co. hide caption

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Deen van Meer/Polk & Co.

Theater

At This Tony-Nominated 'Prom,' The Theme Is Acceptance

In the Broadway musical The Prom, a high school PTA cancels the dance rather than allowing two girls to attend together. The show was just nominated for seven Tony Awards.

At This Tony-Nominated 'Prom,' The Theme Is Acceptance

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Tuesday

Tony Awards Nominations 2019: 'Hadestown' And 'Ain't Too Proud' Lead The Count

Hadestown was nominated for 14 Tony Awards, including one for best musical and another for best leading actress in a musical (Eva Noblezada, center). The awards ceremony is scheduled for June 9. Matthew Murphy/Courtesy of Hadestown, The Musical hide caption

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Matthew Murphy/Courtesy of Hadestown, The Musical

Theater

Tony Awards Nominations 2019: 'Hadestown' And 'Ain't Too Proud' Lead The Count

Tootsie, Beetlejuice and The Prom round up the Tony category for best musical, while The Ferryman, Gary, Ink, Choir Boy and What the Constitution Means to Me are all up for best play.