'Mad Men' Finale: A Love Letter To Fans Filled With Mostly Happy Endings by Eric Deggans

AMC's Mad Men ended its seven-season run on Sunday. Fans may have loved how characters' stories were resolved, but critics may question how writers got them there.

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 4:58am on May 18, 2015☆⚑

Boston Pops Gives The Audience What It Wants

NPR's Scott Simon talks to Boston Pops conductor Keith Lockhart about the By Popular Demand program, in which the audience helps pick the music the Pops plays.

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 7:47am on May 16, 2015☆⚑

Amy Poehler On Vinyl Designed To Catch Eyes Along With Ears by Lynn Neary

Harper Collins Audio is releasing a vinyl edition of Amy Poehler's book, Yes Please. The publisher thinks the combination of old media, plus the popular Poehler, will attract a young audienc…

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 7:47am on May 16, 2015☆⚑

American Ballet Theater Turns 75 by Kim Kokich

Over the ABT's three-quarters of a century, the company has stuck to its mission of presenting classics like Swan Lake along with works of contemporary choreographers.

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 7:47am on May 16, 2015☆⚑

David Letterman's Top 10 Late-Night Memories (Well, Not Really) by Eric Deggans

No one has been a late-night TV host longer than David Letterman, who retires Wednesday after 33 years. Here's what he told NPR TV Critic Eric Deggans on leaving the Ed Sullivan Theater one …

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 3:37am on May 14, 2015☆⚑

Athol Fugard Breaks Fences Around 'The Painted Rocks At Revolver Creek' by Jeff Lunden

The 82-year-old playwright says he thought he was done writing about South Africa after apartheid ended " but there were more stories in him, like this tale of a farmer who paints his life o…

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 4:42pm on May 11, 2015☆⚑

He Couldn't Stop Painting Rocks " And Now He Has Inspired A Play by Diane Cole

Tonight, a new play by Athol Fugard opens off-Broadway. It's based on the story of Nukain Mabuza, a poor farm laborer in South Africa who was obsessed with creating a garden of painted rocks.

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 2:44pm on May 11, 2015☆⚑

ABC Brings Muppets Back To Prime Time As News Emerges About Fall Shows by Eric Deggans

TV networks officially reveal fall schedules next week, but word has already spread on some new shows and cancellations. NPR TV Critic Eric Deggans says early trends include more diversity, …

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 3:53pm on May 8, 2015☆⚑

Getting To Know The Real Story Was Key To Broadway's 'King And I' Revival by Jeff Lunden

The musical's heroine was inspired by an English-Indian governess who really did travel to the king of Siam's court. The revival, directed by Bartlett Sher, has received nine Tony nomination…

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 7:57am on May 2, 2015☆⚑

Getting To Know The Real Story Was Key To Broadway's 'King And I' Revival by Jeff Lunden

The musical's heroine was inspired by an English-Indian governess who really did travel to the king of Siam's court. The revival, directed by Bartlett Sher, has received nine Tony nomination…

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 7:57am on May 2, 2015☆⚑

Director Julie Taymor Steers A 'Grounded' Portrait Of A Drone Pilot by Audie Cornish

The political, one-woman play starring Anne Hathaway seems to be the opposite of what Taymor " the creative force behind Broadway's The Lion King and Spider-Man musical " is known for.

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 4:55pm on April 28, 2015☆⚑

Why Russian-American Jews Are Ballroom Dance Leaders by Alexandra Starr

As ABC's Dancing with the Stars celebrates its 10th anniversary, we explain why Russian Jewish immigrants and their descendants have stepped to the front of this country's ballroom dance sce…

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 4:27pm on April 28, 2015☆⚑

The Hard Work And Close Bonds Of Competitive College A Cappella by Linda Holmes

Pitch Perfect may have made the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella look like a personality contest, but the real competition takes long hours and exacting musicianship.

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 5:21am on April 25, 2015☆⚑

Actors' Equity Implements $9 Minimum Wage For LA's Small Theaters by Mandalit Delbarco

Less than a week after union members in LA overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to make small theaters pay their performers minimum wage, Actors' Equity decided to go ahead and implement it an…

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 4:27pm on April 22, 2015☆⚑

Small South Carolina Newspaper Takes Home Top Pulitzer Prize by Neda Ulaby

The winners of this year's Pulitzer Prizes in journalism, fiction, poetry, drama, music, biography, history and nonfiction were announced Monday at Columbia University in New York.

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 5:35pm on April 20, 2015☆⚑

In 'Song Of Lahore,' A Race To Revive Pakistani Classical Music by Linda Poon

In 1977, classical music virtually died in Pakistan when the government decried music and film. Seven musicians are working to bring the art back, and a film premiering Saturday documents th…

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 4:56am on April 18, 2015☆⚑

In 'Song Of Lahore,' A Race To Revive Pakistani Classical Music by Linda Poon

In 1977, classical music virtually died in Pakistan when the government banned live concerts. Seven musicians are working to bring the art back, and a film premiering Saturday documents thei…

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 4:56am on April 18, 2015☆⚑

Broadway Passes The Bechdel Test With 'Fun Home' by Neda Ulaby

Alison Bechdel's bestselling graphic novel memoir about growing up gay with a closeted father doesn't seem like an obvious choice for a musical, but it's coming to Broadway. NPR's Neda Ulaby…

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 4:17pm on April 16, 2015☆⚑

The 'Justified' Finale Brings An End To Another TV Western by Eric Deggans

FX's powerful modern-day Western 'Justified' airs its series finale tonight. NPR TV Critic Eric Deggans says its end underscores the decline of a once-powerful TV genre.

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 1:18pm on April 14, 2015☆⚑

Günter Grass, Who Confronted Germany's Past As Well As His Own, Dies At 87 by Tom Vitale

In 2006, the Nobel prize-winning author of The Tin Drum admitted that as a teen during World War II, he had served with the Waffen-SS " the combat unit of the Nazi Party's elite military pol…

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 7:30am on April 13, 2015☆⚑

'Nurse Jackie' Ends As TV's Most Honest Depiction Of Addiction by Eric Deggans

Showtime's dramedy Nurse Jackie begins its final season Sunday. NPR TV critic Eric Deggans says the show offers television's most realistic depiction of a high functioning drug addict.

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 5:27am on April 12, 2015☆⚑

'Game Of Thrones' And 'Veep' Anchor HBO's Killer Sunday Lineup by Eric Deggans

HBO's Game of Thrones, Veep and Silicon Valley all start new seasons Sunday. NPR TV critic Eric Deggans says these three shows just might form the best Sunday night lineup on television this…

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 8:04am on April 10, 2015☆⚑

'Grand Illusion' Exhibit Lifts Curtain On The Secrets Of Setting The Stage by Susan Stamberg

An exhibit at the Library of Congress is devoted to the art of theatrical design. Drawings, sketches, watercolors, posters and scale models reveal how magic and spectacle are achieved before…

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 4:49am on April 10, 2015☆⚑

Who Gets To Dance In 'Swan Lake'? The Answer Is Changing by Elizabeth Blair

For the first time, two black dancers will star in a major American production of Swan Lake. NPR's Elizabeth Blair peeks behind the curtain to see why it has been so hard for ballet to diver…

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 8:51pm on April 9, 2015☆⚑

Bill Nighy And David Hare Team Up Again In 'Skylight' Revival by Jeff Lunden

"Our paths haven't crossed " we've beaten a path towards each other," says playwright David Hare. "Bill is my favorite leading man." Nighy is now starring in a revival of Hare's Skylight on …

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 4:21pm on April 7, 2015☆⚑