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

Performing Arts

Monday

Pee-wee Herman was more than a boy who never grew up

Paul Reubens poses after a performance of The Pee-wee Herman Show on Broadway in October 2010. Charles Sykes/AP hide caption

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Charles Sykes/AP

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Pee-wee Herman was more than a boy who never grew up

Pee-wee's creator, Paul Reubens, died Sunday of cancer. He was 70. Pee-wee was a petulant man-child and a trickster spirit, a burst of joyous id that snuck his brand of anarchy into the mainstream.

Pee-wee Herman was more than a boy who never grew up

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Saturday

Despite all the talk, no states have active laws banning drag in front of kids

Drag Queen Brigitte Bandit reads a book during a story time reading at the Cheer Up Charlies dive bar on March 11, 2023 in Austin, Texas. Bills to restrict drag performances across the country have failed to make an impact. Brandon Bell/Getty Images hide caption

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Brandon Bell/Getty Images

National

Despite all the talk, no states have active laws banning drag in front of kids

KUAR News

Across the country, efforts by state Republicans to restrict drag performances in front of kids have fallen short. Bills have been scuttled, blocked, vetoed and more.

Despite all the talk, no states have active laws banning drag in front of kids

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Tuesday

You can immerse yourself — literally — in this Broadway show

Arielle Jacobs and Jose Llana as Imelda and Ferdinand Marcos in Here Lives Love. Billy Bustamante, Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman hide caption

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Billy Bustamante, Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman

Theater

You can immerse yourself — literally — in this Broadway show

Here Lies Love tells the story of Imelda and Ferdinand Marcos' rise and fall in the Philippines. The $22 million immersive musical production is a big Broadway gamble.

You can immerse yourself — literally — in this Broadway show

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Saturday

Patti LuPone talks quitting Broadway and palming cell phones

Recording artist Patti LuPone performs on stage the 60th Annual GRAMMY Awards at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Christopher Polk/Getty Images for NARAS hide caption

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Christopher Polk/Getty Images for NARAS

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!

Patti LuPone talks quitting Broadway and palming cell phones

Patti LuPone joins panelists Emmy Blotnick, Adam Felber, and Joyelle Nicole Johnson to talk birds, Broadway, and the proper way to swipe a cell phone.

Patti LuPone talks quitting Broadway and palming cell phones

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Wednesday

NEA announces 2024 Jazz Masters including Terence Blanchard and Gary Bartz

Terence Blanchard performs at the International Jazz Day Concert, New Orleans Tricentennial at the Orpheum Theater in 2018. Tyler Kaufman/Getty Images for Thelonioius Mon hide caption

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Tyler Kaufman/Getty Images for Thelonioius Mon

Music News

NEA announces 2024 Jazz Masters including Terence Blanchard and Gary Bartz

The National Endowment for the Arts has selected Terence Blanchard, Willard Jenkins, Amina Claudine Myers and Gary Bartz for the prestigious honor.

NEA announces 2024 Jazz Masters including Terence Blanchard and Gary Bartz

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Friday

Theater

Remembering Broadway legend and 'Fiddler on the Roof' lyricist Sheldon Harnick

Fresh Air

Harnick, along with composer Jerry Bock, wrote the enduring music for Fiddler, as well as Fiorello and She Loves Me. He died June 23. Originally broadcast in 1988, 2004 and 2014.

Remembering Broadway legend and 'Fiddler on the Roof' lyricist Sheldon Harnick

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Alan Arkin has died — the star of 'Get Smart' and 'Little Miss Sunshine' was 89

Alan Arkin appeared in more than 100 films in a career spanning over seven decades. He won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Little Miss Sunshine. He's pictured above in Los Angeles in March 2013. Eric Charbonneau/Invision/AP hide caption

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Eric Charbonneau/Invision/AP

Obituaries

Alan Arkin has died — the star of 'Get Smart' and 'Little Miss Sunshine' was 89

Arkin knew from childhood that he wanted to be an actor, and he spent a lifetime performing — the Academy Award winner appeared in more than 100 films in a career spanning over seven decades.

An afternoon with Bob the Drag Queen

We met Bob the Drag Queen on a sunny day in New York recently. Keren Carrión/NPR hide caption

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Keren Carrión/NPR

Culture

An afternoon with Bob the Drag Queen

Bob the Drag Queen knows the world of drag is getting politicized. But as he prepares his next moves on stage and screen, he makes no apologies for expressing his signature flair.

An afternoon with Bob the Drag Queen

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Wednesday

Virginia Johnson on her time at Dance Theatre of Harlem: 'It was love'

Virginia Johnson, 73, the outgoing artistic director of Dance Theatre of Harlem poses in one of the company's ballet studios at 466 West 152nd street in New York City, N.Y. on Thursday, June 22, 2023. She joined the company in 1969 as a founding member and prima ballerina, returning to it as the Artistic Director from 2009-2023. Nicky Qumaina-Woo for NPR hide caption

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Nicky Qumaina-Woo for NPR

Dance

Virginia Johnson on her time at Dance Theatre of Harlem: 'It was love'

When Virginia Johnson joined the Dance Theatre of Harlem, it was often confused with the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team. This week Johnson retires as artistic director of the pioneering company.

Virginia Johnson on her time at Dance Theatre of Harlem: 'It was love'

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Tuesday

Judge blocks a Florida law that would punish venues where kids can see drag shows

The popular restaurant chain Hamburger Mary's, which features drag waitresses and family-friendly drag performances, has won a legal battle after filing a lawsuit against Florida's drag show ban. The chain's Orlando, Fla., restaurant is seen on June 13. Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images hide caption

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Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

National

Judge blocks a Florida law that would punish venues where kids can see drag shows

The ruling, in a case brought by a Hamburger Mary's restaurant, pauses enforcement of the state's new "Protection of Children" law, which prohibits admitting children to an "adult live performance."

Friday

Broadway lyricist Sheldon Harnick, who wrote 'Fiddler on the Roof,' dies at 99

Broadway lyricist Sheldon Harnick at the Tony Awards in May 2016. Matthew Eisman/Getty Images hide caption

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Matthew Eisman/Getty Images

Obituaries

Broadway lyricist Sheldon Harnick, who wrote 'Fiddler on the Roof,' dies at 99

The Tony- and Pulitzer Prize-winning lyricist was one of the last masters of Broadway's Golden Age. His career extended over 60 years.

Broadway lyricist Sheldon Harnick, who wrote 'Fiddler on the Roof,' dies at 99

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Thursday

Queen Latifah and Billy Crystal are among the 2023 Kennedy Center honorees

Dionne Warwick (from left), Barry Gibb, Queen Latifah, Billy Crystal and Renée Fleming will be honored by the Kennedy Center for their lifetime achievements. The Kennedy Center hide caption

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The Kennedy Center

Culture

Queen Latifah and Billy Crystal are among the 2023 Kennedy Center honorees

Billy Crystal, Renée Fleming, Barry Gibb, Queen Latifah and Dionne Warwick will be honored for their lifetime artistic achievements as the 46th class of Kennedy Center honorees.

Queen Latifah and Billy Crystal are among the 2023 Kennedy Center honorees

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Tuesday

Dominique Fishback is the actress with a thousand faces

Dominique Fishback Shane McCauley hide caption

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Shane McCauley

It's Been a Minute

Dominique Fishback is the actress with a thousand faces

Dominique Fishback is starring in one of the biggest summer movies, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, but her star has long been on the rise through roles in Judas and the Black Messiah, Swarm, and The Deuce.

Dominique Fishback is the actress with a thousand faces

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Thursday

British star Glenda Jackson has died at age 87

British actor Glenda Jackson in April, 1974. Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images hide caption

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Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Obituaries

British star Glenda Jackson has died at age 87

Jackson was one of the finest British actors of her generation, winning Oscar, Emmy and Tony Awards. Fiercely political, she also served as a member of Parliament for decades.

British star Glenda Jackson has died at age 87

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Wednesday

Nation's first 'drag laureate' kicks off Pride in San Francisco

As anti-drag and anti-LGBTQ policies become more common, San Francisco recently appointed the country's first "drag laureate." (Story aired on All Things Considered on June 12, 2023.)

Nation's first 'drag laureate' kicks off Pride in San Francisco

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