Anthony Hopkins says his turn as an aged and increasingly faulty actor performing King Lear in a small theater during World War II is one of his favorite roles in a career full of memorable …
Beth Howland died in December at age 74. One of her best known roles, was as the original Amy in Stephen Sondheim's "Company." Looking into her past can lead you down a pop culture spiral.
Haters (of a multicultural society) gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate. Meanwhile, Swift will continue to bask in her utterly unremarkable whiteness.
When Candice Hoyes sings, she's channeling a legacy of black women in jazz. Her debut album, On a Turquoise Cloud, celebrates the genre's storied roots.
Archaeologist Heather Knight tells NPR's Scott Simon about how the Curtain Theatre, where Shakespeare staged early plays, was rectangular and not round.
Born and raised in Detroit, Dominique Morisseau has written three plays about her hometown. Her latest explores the lives of auto workers struggling to keep their jobs during the 2008 econom…
After five seasons as Walt on Breaking Bad, Cranston reinvented himself as Lyndon B. Johnson in the play (and now the HBO film) All the Way. Originally broadcast March 27, 2014.
Philip Gelb once toured with top musicians. Now he's a chef who hosts intimate dinner parties where the entertainment, by innovative world musicians, is as experimental as the ever-changing …
The Broadway hit musical, Hamilton, is up for 16 Tony Award nominations, and that's sure to boost its already high profits. In April, the musical's producers struck a deal to share some of i…
Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creator and force behind Hamilton, is nominated for three individual awards, including best performance by an actor in a leading role in a musical.
Misty Copeland says she played with Barbie dolls until she was 13 " the same year she started ballet.
A new play created by Los Angeles' Cornerstone Theater tells the story of Los Angeles' Native American population and its search for identity in a big city.
In "Lemonade," Beyoncé's much-discussed visual album, a girl resplendent in white plumage appears. It's a nod to the pop star's New Orleans roots and loaded with the region's racial history.
The actor is now starring on Broadway in Eclipsed, a searing story of young women held captive in Liberia. After that and 12 Years a Slave, Nyong'o says she's ready for some lighter material.
From actor David Tennant to artistic director Gregory Doran, Royal Shakespeare Company thespians reflect on the Bard's legacy. Shakespeare is said to have died 400 years ago on April 23.
From actor David Tennant to artistic director Gregory Doran, Royal Shakespeare Company thespians reflect on the Bard's legacy. Shakespeare is said to have died 400 years ago on April 23.
I grew up in a conservative evangelical home in the Midwest. When Prince died and flashes of purple filled my social media feeds, I felt like an outsider watching a ritual I couldn't fully j…
People are celebrating the Bard's life and enduring legacy around the world. Here's a look at how they're doing it, and how you can get engaged.
These stories are good for sharing any day, but they must be shared today, in honor of The Purple One's passing.
There were no dress circle lounges nor mezzanine bars 400 years ago. Back then, audience snacked on cold nibbles and ready-made street food from vendors they passed on their way to the perfo…
It's not just Hamilton: Some of the season's biggest shows feature original pop scores, including two written by real-life pop stars Sara Bareilles and Duncan Sheik.
When the Broadway musical's creator said the life of Alexander Hamilton embodied hip-hop, people laughed. Now, he's written a book about the national phenomenon with former critic Jeremy McC…
Shelter is a play based on interviews with Central American kids about the violence that drove them to migrate north, and the experience of living in limbo in the U.S. It opens this weekend.
Shelter is a play based on interviews with Central American kids about their harrowing experiences migrating north. NPR's Code Switch team talks with the youth who inspired the play, the pla…
The opera singer Kathleen Battle is set to return to the Metropolitan Opera " 22 years after she was famously dismissed for "unprofessional actions."