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

Performing Arts

Thursday

Replacing a Symphony Stage -- Carefully

In the 105 years since the construction of the Boston's acoustically perfect Symphony Hall, its stage has become dangerously worn. The Boston Symphony has made every effort to duplicate the original stage, hoping to avoid the mistakes made at Carnegie Hall during its renovation. The new stage will be unveiled at a concert Friday.

Replacing a Symphony Stage -- Carefully

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Music Interviews

In the Hands Of A Master, The Ukulele Is No Toy

Think the ukulele is just a cheap, plastic toy to be played under a palm tree? One listen to Jake Shimabukuro and you'll change your mind. The Hawaiian-born virtuoso visits NPR to show what the tiny instrument can do.

In the Hands Of A Master, The Ukulele Is No Toy

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Tuesday

German Opera Shelved Due to Religious Content

A leading opera house in Germany has cancelled a production because a scene that might offend Muslims could create a security threat. The production of Idomeneo features a scene in which a character presents the severed heads of religious leaders -- including Jesus, the Buddha and Muhammad.

German Opera Shelved Due to Religious Content

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Monday

Shostakovich Fans Look for Political Meaning In His Music

Composer Dmitri Shostakovich, in 1950. Deutsche Fotothek hide caption

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Music

Shostakovich Fans Look for Political Meaning In His Music

The political identity of composer Dmitri Shostakovich has been a topic of debate for decades.

Shostakovich Fans Look for Political Meaning In His Music

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Sunday

Opera Diva Performs for Arts Education

Jessye Norman performed Friday at a Pasadena, Calif., high school to encourage more arts education in U.S. schools, and provide a singular opportunity for underprivileged students to be exposed to opera.

Opera Diva Performs for Arts Education

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Thursday

Music Interviews

For Chico Hamilton, The Beat Goes On

Today is the 85th birthday of jazz drummer and legendary bandleader Chico Hamilton. He has spent seventy years behind the drum kit, performing in a wide variety of styles and jazz flavors: from big band and R&B, to funky and experimental.

For Chico Hamilton, The Beat Goes On

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Tuesday

A Greek View of War's Tragedy: 'The Persians'

Aeschylus' tragedy The Persians is the first play based not on myth, but on a historical fact: the defeat of the Persian army at the Battle of Salamis. The National Theatre of Greece is performing the play in Greek with English subtitles, at the City Center in New York. This oldest surviving tragedy can, at times, seem surprisingly contemporary.

A Greek View of War's Tragedy: 'The Persians'

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Saturday

Movies

Do Movie Audiences Have a Tin Ear?

What has become of the movie musical? The most recent attempt -- Idlewild from the rap group OutKast -- flopped at the box office. Entertainment critic Elvis Mitchell and Scott Simon ponder the status of films built around singing and dancing.

Do Movie Audiences Have a Tin Ear?

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Thursday

Culture

From 'Popeye' Doyle to Puccini: William Friedkin

William Friedkin, director of The French Connection, is now at the helm of a different production: opera. He explains what Puccini and the Marx Brothers have in common, and reflects on that legendary chase scene.

From 'Popeye' Doyle to Puccini: William Friedkin

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Monday

Sports

'Soring' Accusations Force Horse-Show Cancellation

The championship of the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration has been cancelled for the first time in its 68-year history. The controversy erupted after inspectors disqualified the majority of the horses, suggesting that the horses showed signs of "soring," the illegal practice of irritating a horse's legs to make its gait higher.

'Soring' Accusations Force Horse-Show Cancellation

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Sunday

Movies

Marni Nixon: Hollywood's Invisible Voice

You might not know Marni Nixon's name, but you have most probably heard her. She dubbed the voices for Deborah Kerr in The King and I, Natalie Wood in West Side Story and Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady — three of Hollywood's biggest movie musicals. Her new memoir, I Could Have Sung All Night, is being published this week.

Marni Nixon: Hollywood's Invisible Voice

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Tuesday

The Impact of War

'Black Watch' Play Depicts Scottish Soldiers in Iraq

Scots have long formed a disproportionate percentage of the British military. Now a play is depicting the soldiers' recent work in Iraq, where the famed Black Watch regiment has been deployed for three years. Black Watch, based on interviews with returning soldiers, suggests a crisis in the British military.

'Black Watch' Play Depicts Scottish Soldiers in Iraq

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Sunday

'Zero Hour' Puts Mostel's Life on Center Stage

The tumultuous life of the late actor Zero Mostel is the subject of a new one-man play in Los Angeles. Zero Hour casts Jim Brochu as the multiple Tony Award winner, known for Fiddler on the Roof and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.

'Zero Hour' Puts Mostel's Life on Center Stage

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Wednesday

Updating 'The Fantasticks' for a New Revival

After just four years off the stage, The Fantasticks, the longest-running musical in American theater, is opening in a new revival. The production by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt closed in January of 2002. Through the years, Jones, the lyricist, has made various changes to the song, "It Depends on What You Pay," because of its lyrics.

Updating 'The Fantasticks' for a New Revival

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Monday

Dramatic Redemption: 'Shakespeare Behind Bars'

An award-winning documentary follows prisoners at the Luther Luckett Correctional Complex in Kentucky as they seek redemption and perhaps a greater purpose to their lives as they practice to perform Shakespeare's last play, The Tempest.

Dramatic Redemption: 'Shakespeare Behind Bars'

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