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Sunday

Second Acts: Heather Headley Is Back On Broadway — After A '15-Year Intermission'

Singer and actress Heather Headley (center) returns to Broadway after 15 years to wow audiences in her role as Shug Avery in a revival of The Color Purple. Matthew Murphy/Matthew Murphy hide caption

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Matthew Murphy/Matthew Murphy

Second Acts: Heather Headley Is Back On Broadway — After A '15-Year Intermission'

The actress, who won a Tony in 1997 for her role in Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida, returns to Broadway after 15 years, to play nightclub singer Shug Avery in a revival of The Color Purple.

Second Acts: Heather Headley Is Back On Broadway — After A '15-Year Intermission'

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Friday

Rachel Chavkin Loves Chaos, And With 3 Shows In The Works, It Shows

Hadestown — a retelling of the Greek myth of Orpheus -- is one of two off-Broadway shows director Rachel Chavkin has running right now. Above, from left, Shaina Taub, Lulu Fall, Damon Daunno, Nabiyah Be, Amber Gray, Chris Sullivan and Jessie Shelton. Joan Marcus/Matt Ross Public Relations hide caption

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Joan Marcus/Matt Ross Public Relations

Theater

Rachel Chavkin Loves Chaos, And With 3 Shows In The Works, It Shows

The avant garde director has two shows running off-Broadway and a musical opening in October. Though she's working on several different projects, she says there's always "a conversation" between them.

Rachel Chavkin Loves Chaos, And With 3 Shows In The Works, It Shows

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New 'Merchant Of Venice' Recasts Shylock As A Sympathetic Everyman

Real life father and daughter Jonathan and Phoebe Pryce as Shakespeare's Jewish moneylender Shylock and his daughter Jessica, in a new production of The Merchant of Venice. Robbie Jack/Corbis via Getty Images hide caption

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Robbie Jack/Corbis via Getty Images

Theater

New 'Merchant Of Venice' Recasts Shylock As A Sympathetic Everyman

Actor Jonathan Pryce is playing the Jewish moneylender in a new touring production of The Merchant of Venice that reimagines Shakespeare's supposedly-comic villain as a tragic and universal figure.

New 'Merchant Of Venice' Recasts Shylock As A Sympathetic Everyman

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Monday

'Ghost' Soprano Marni Nixon, Who Voiced Blockbuster Musicals, Dies At 86

Soprano Marni Nixon, shown above in June 1988, was dubbed "The Ghostess with the Mostest" in Time magazine. "Bad rhyme, but that sort of stuck," she said. Jack Mitchell/Getty Images hide caption

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Jack Mitchell/Getty Images

The Two-Way

'Ghost' Soprano Marni Nixon, Who Voiced Blockbuster Musicals, Dies At 86

You might not know Marni Nixon's name, but you've probably heard her. Nixon dubbed the voices for Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady, Natalie Wood in West Side Story and Deborah Kerr in The King and I.

'Ghost' Soprano Marni Nixon, Who Voiced Blockbuster Musicals, Dies At 86

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Monday

Theater

A Tribute To The Late American Composer Eubie Blake

Fresh Air

Blake's music is featured in the Broadway revival, Shuffle Along. Our tribute features live performances of his songs and interviews with pianist Dick Hyman, among others. Originally broadcast in '98.

A Tribute To The Late American Composer Eubie Blake

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Thursday

This Shakespeare Reconstruction Sets 'Merchant' In Post-Civil War D.C.

In District Merchants, Akeem Davis plays Lance, a freed slave who has a crisis of conscience when he learns his boss, Shylock, may have been involved in the slave trade. Teresa Wood/Courtesy of the Folger Theatre hide caption

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Teresa Wood/Courtesy of the Folger Theatre

Theater

This Shakespeare Reconstruction Sets 'Merchant' In Post-Civil War D.C.

In District Merchants, Shylock is still Jewish, but half of the other characters are freed slaves. The playwright says he was inspired but a reference to slavery in Shakespeare's original text.

This Shakespeare Reconstruction Sets 'Merchant' In Post-Civil War D.C.

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Monday

Theater

Broadway Chanteuse Barbara Cook: 'My First Memories Are Of Singing'

Fresh Air

After starring in Broadway shows like The Music Man and Candide, Cook struggled with addiction, then staged a successful second career as a cabaret singer. Her new memoir is Then and Now.

Broadway Chanteuse Barbara Cook: 'My First Memories Are Of Singing'

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Monday

Monday

On A Dark Day, The Tonys Double Down On Joy — And Pride

Lin-Manuel Miranda accepts the award for best book of a musical for Hamilton at the 70th Annual Tony Awards at the Beacon Theatre on Sunday. Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions hide caption

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Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions

Pop Culture Happy Hour

On A Dark Day, The Tonys Double Down On Joy — And Pride

The shadow of a mass shooting in Orlando cast a pall over the 70th Annual Tony Awards broadcast, but host James Corden offered a spirited paean to "every Broadway would-be."

On A Dark Day, The Tonys Double Down On Joy — And Pride

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Sunday

May I Help You Find Your Seat? We Sat Down With Broadway's Longtime Ushers

Michelle Gonzalez has been an usher for 11 years. She's the newly elected shop steward at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre, home of the musical Waitress. Jeff Lunden/NPR hide caption

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Jeff Lunden/NPR

May I Help You Find Your Seat? We Sat Down With Broadway's Longtime Ushers

Every year, NPR's Jeff Lunden talks to some of the hardworking people in the theater biz who aren't eligible for Tony nominations.

May I Help You Find Your Seat? We Sat Down With Broadway's Longtime Ushers

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Monday

Broadway Producer Scott Rudin: 'I'm A Complete Product Of Mentorship'

Adrienne Warren and company perform "I'm Just Wild About Harry" in the musical Shuffle Along, one of five shows Scott Rudin is currently producing on Broadway. Julieta Cervantes/Courtesy of O+M Co. hide caption

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Julieta Cervantes/Courtesy of O+M Co.

Theater

Broadway Producer Scott Rudin: 'I'm A Complete Product Of Mentorship'

Fresh Air

Rudin, who started in theater at age 15, owes a lot to the producers who taught him his craft. "They were giants," he says. All five of Rudin's current shows have been nominated for Tony Awards.

Broadway Producer Scott Rudin: 'I'm A Complete Product Of Mentorship'

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Friday

Monday

Friday

After Factory Layoffs, The 'Skeleton Crew' Is Left Behind

Dez, Faye and Shanita (played by Jason Dirden, Lynda Gravatt and Nikiya Mathis) are the "skeleton crew" left behind in a Detroit auto plant after layoffs in 2008. Ahron R. Foster/Courtesy of Boneau/Bryan-Brown hide caption

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Ahron R. Foster/Courtesy of Boneau/Bryan-Brown

Theater

After Factory Layoffs, The 'Skeleton Crew' Is Left Behind

Born and raised in Detroit, Dominique Morisseau has written three plays about her hometown. Her latest explores the lives of auto workers struggling to keep their jobs during the 2008 economic crisis.

After Factory Layoffs, The 'Skeleton Crew' Is Left Behind

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An Underground Supper Club Where Music Moves The Menu

One of musician-turned-chef Philip Gelb's culinary creations for his Sound & Savor series of dinners and concerts. It's a mezze plate of falafel, roasted garlic hummus, beet nut pate, pepper pecan sauce and socca, a thin pancake made of chickpea flour. Hannah Kaminsky hide caption

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Hannah Kaminsky

The Salt

An Underground Supper Club Where Music Moves The Menu

Philip Gelb once toured with top musicians. Now he's a chef who hosts intimate dinner parties where the entertainment, by innovative world musicians, is as experimental as the ever-changing fare.