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

Performing Arts

Thursday

Theater

Larry David's First Time On Broadway: 'It's Not So Easy!'

Fresh Air

The comedian wrote and stars in Fish in the Dark, a play about rivalries and dysfunction when a family patriarch dies. Originally broadcast March 5, 2015.

Larry David's First Time On Broadway: 'It's Not So Easy!'

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Saturday

Ballet Programs Look For More Boys To Step Up To The Barre

Finn Miller Vaughan, 8, practices at the barre at Canyon Concert Ballet in Fort Collins. He is the only boy in his ballet class. Stacy Nick/KUNC hide caption

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Stacy Nick/KUNC

Dance

Ballet Programs Look For More Boys To Step Up To The Barre

KUNC

It takes two to dance a pas de deux, but demand for the male half of the duex far outstrips supply. Many schools and ballet programs offer special classes and steep discounts to male students.

Ballet Programs Look For More Boys To Step Up To The Barre

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Thursday

Wednesday

'Waitress' Serves Dark, Funny Fare With A Musical Twist (And A Side Of Pie)

Waitress tells the story of Jenna (Jessie Mueller), a diner waitress who is stuck in a stifling, abusive marriage and yearns for a better life. Evgenia Eliseeva/Courtesy of The American Repertory Theater hide caption

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Evgenia Eliseeva/Courtesy of The American Repertory Theater

Theater

'Waitress' Serves Dark, Funny Fare With A Musical Twist (And A Side Of Pie)

WBUR

The musical was adapted from a 2007 indie film starring Keri Russell. It follows a diner waitress who pours her churning emotions about her abusive marriage into creatively named pies.

'Waitress' Serves Dark, Funny Fare With A Musical Twist (And A Side Of Pie)

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Monday

Lesbian Cartoonist Alison Bechdel Countered Dad's Secrecy By Being Out And Open

Alison Bechdel is the author of the long-running syndicated comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For. Elena Seibert/Courtesy of O+M Co. hide caption

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Elena Seibert/Courtesy of O+M Co.

Theater

Lesbian Cartoonist Alison Bechdel Countered Dad's Secrecy By Being Out And Open

Fresh Air

The musical and graphic novel Fun Home describe Bechdel's coming out, and her dad's closeted homosexuality. She says, "In many ways ... my professional career has been a reaction to my father's life."

Lesbian Cartoonist Alison Bechdel Countered Dad's Secrecy By Being Out And Open

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Friday

'Evan Hansen' Makes Music Out Of Teen Angst And Anxiety

Laura Dreyfuss plays Zoe, Connor's bereaved sister, and Ben Platt is Evan in Dear Evan Hansen. Margot Schulman/Courtesy of Arena Stage hide caption

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Margot Schulman/Courtesy of Arena Stage

'Evan Hansen' Makes Music Out Of Teen Angst And Anxiety

A new musical by Tony-nominated songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, Dear Evan Hansen is a comedic drama that deals with teen suicide in the age of social media.

'Evan Hansen' Makes Music Out Of Teen Angst And Anxiety

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Monday

Sunday

Friday

A Hip-Hop Soundtrack For A Musical About Alexander Hamilton? Sure, Why Not?

Hamilton, which opened Thursday on Broadway, is a play based on the life of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton. Joan Marcus/Shane Marshall Brown hide caption

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Joan Marcus/Shane Marshall Brown

Code Switch

A Hip-Hop Soundtrack For A Musical About Alexander Hamilton? Sure, Why Not?

The new musical about the U.S.'s Founding Fathers — set to a mostly hip-hop score — that everyone's been talking about for months and months finally opens officially on Broadway Thursday night.

A Hip-Hop Soundtrack For A Musical About Alexander Hamilton? Sure, Why Not?

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Thursday

A Hip-Hop Soundtrack For A Musical About Alexander Hamilton? Sure, Why Not?

Hamilton, which opened Thursday on Broadway, is a play based on the life of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton. Joan Marcus/Shane Marshall Brown hide caption

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Joan Marcus/Shane Marshall Brown

Race

A Hip-Hop Soundtrack For A Musical About Alexander Hamilton? Sure, Why Not?

The new musical about the U.S.'s Founding Fathers — set to a mostly hip-hop score — that everyone's been talking about for months and months finally opens officially on Broadway Thursday night.

A Hip-Hop Soundtrack For A Musical About Alexander Hamilton? Sure, Why Not?

Listen · 6:57
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Jon Stewart's 'Daily Show' Legacy: Changing How Americans See Satire

President Obama talks with The Daily Show host Jon Stewart. Evan Vucci/AP hide caption

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Evan Vucci/AP

Analysis

Television

Jon Stewart's 'Daily Show' Legacy: Changing How Americans See Satire

Jon Stewart hosts his last episode of The Daily Show tonight, after 16 years as TV's satirist supreme. NPR TV critic Eric Deggans says Stewart's barbs changed how people talk about politics and media.

Jon Stewart's 'Daily Show' Legacy: Changing How Americans See Satire

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Wednesday

Need Fake Friends For Your Wedding? In S. Korea, You Can Hire Them

A stage production or a Korean wedding? It can be hard to tell. Elise Hu/NPR hide caption

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Elise Hu/NPR

Parallels

Need Fake Friends For Your Wedding? In S. Korea, You Can Hire Them

Baby showers, weddings, even meet-the-parent weekends don't have to include your actual loved ones, at least not in South Korea. A cottage casting industry exists to help fill your life-staging needs.

Need Fake Friends For Your Wedding? In S. Korea, You Can Hire Them

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Sunday

Caught In The Act: Joke-Stealing In The Age Of Twitter

Conan O'Brien's been sued by a comedy writer who alleges he's been stealing jokes. But journalist Larry Getlen warns not to assume the worst: In the world of topical comedy, similar jokes are bound to arise. Kevin Winter/Getty Images hide caption

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Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Caught In The Act: Joke-Stealing In The Age Of Twitter

When comics tell jokes about the news, they're bound to come up with similar punch lines. But comedy writer Larry Getlen says that, while joke theft does happen, it's still rare.

Caught In The Act: Joke-Stealing In The Age Of Twitter

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Saturday

For Penn & Teller's Magical Partnership, The Trick Is Telling The Truth

Still snapping selfies, 40 years later. Joan Marcus/Courtesy of Courtesy of Boneau/Bryan-Brown hide caption

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Joan Marcus/Courtesy of Courtesy of Boneau/Bryan-Brown

For Penn & Teller's Magical Partnership, The Trick Is Telling The Truth

The duo are are back on Broadway. They both talk — yes, even Teller — with NPR's Scott Simon about magic, danger and the remarkable endurance of their 40-year partnership.

For Penn & Teller's Magical Partnership, The Trick Is Telling The Truth

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Friday

The Play's The Thing — High School Productions Down The Decades
LA Johnson/NPR

NPR Ed

The Play's The Thing — High School Productions Down The Decades

Bob Mondello looks at the most-produced shows at high schools through seven decades and ponders what the choices made by drama teachers tell us.

The Play's The Thing — High School Productions Down The Decades

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