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

Performing Arts

Monday

Saturday

New York's Public Theater Marks 50 Years

New York is celebrating 50 years of the Public Theater. What Joe Papp started in a church basement on the Lower East Side became one of the most important theater companies in the world.

New York's Public Theater Marks 50 Years

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Friday

Culture

Dick Cavett Relives His Rock Era

Dick Cavett's late-night show, launched on ABC in 1969, showcased a who's who of musicians of the day, among them Janis Joplin, Mick Jagger and David Bowie. A DVD series was released this week.

Dick Cavett Relives His Rock Era

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Saturday

Williamstown, Setting the Stage for Drama's Future

Williamstown Theatre Festival in western Massachusetts offers a summer program that has been called "theater boot camp." British-trained actor Roger Rees is the company's new artistic director.

Williamstown, Setting the Stage for Drama's Future

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Tuesday

Detroit Students Sing Their Way to College

Can voice lessons help a kid get to college?Less than half of Detroit's high school students graduate, but more than 95 percent of kids who perform with the Mosaic Youth Theatre end up in college.

Detroit Students Sing Their Way to College

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Saturday

The Cackle Sisters, Yodeling Queens

Carolyn and Mary Jane DeZurik grew up on a Minnesota farm, but they rose to musical fame in the 1930s. Their special talents included yodeling and imitations of birds and barnyard animals. Their story is told again by writer John Biguenet in the music issue of Oxford American magazine.

The Cackle Sisters, Yodeling Queens

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Tuesday

Author Interviews

Martin Moran Tackles Abuse in 'The Tricky Part'

Fresh Air

Author and actor Martin Moran's new memoir is The Tricky Part: One Boy's Fall from Trespass into Grace. As a boy, he was sexually abused by a male counselor at a Catholic boys' camp. Nearly 30 years later, Moran went to see the man again at a convalescent home.

Martin Moran Tackles Abuse in 'The Tricky Part'

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Saturday

Wednesday

Wednesday

Tuesday

Actor James Avery Steps Onstage as 'Othello'

James Avery is best known as Philip Banks, the wealthy uncle of Will Smith's character in the 1990s TV series The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. But his work encompasses a broader range, from movies to voicing animation to his latest role in a California stage production of William Shakespeare's Othello.

Actor James Avery Steps Onstage as 'Othello'

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Sunday

'Primo' Brings Nazi Camp Experiences to Broadway

Primo Levi, an Italian survivor of the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz, wrote about his experiences in such a profund way that his work has inspired people ever since. Now, South African actor Sir Antony Sher has adapted Levi's memoir If This Is a Man into a solo show. Primo opens on Broadway Monday.

'Primo' Brings Nazi Camp Experiences to Broadway

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Saturday

Movies

Critic Roger Ebert: More 'Great Movies'

The "thumbs up" maven discusses the films he tends to watch over and over, from The Searchers to Planes, Trains and Automobiles. Many of those favorites are included in Ebert's new book, The Great Movies II.

Critic Roger Ebert: More 'Great Movies'

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