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Ann Harada, From 'Smash' To Stepsisterhood

by Rebecca Ritzel

February 05, 2013 3:32 PM

Smash's dauntless stage manager (Ann Harada) returns to TV tonight — though the actress herself will be on Broadway in Cinderella.

Actress Ann Harada (in pink) returns to the stage in the Broadway premiere of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella, an update of the made-for-TV movie from 1957. Her other theater work has included Avenue Q and Les Miserables.

Eric Idle: A Python In Winter

by Will Sloan

November 16, 2012 9:07 AM

Will Sloan talks to Monty Python veteran Eric Idle about his long career and his new "pseudo-radio play," which features actors like Russell Brand, Eddie Izzard, and Tracey Ullman.

British comedian Eric Idle performs during the closing ceremony of the 2012 London Olympic Games in August.

Circus Roboticus, Or: This Actor Is A Serious Heavyweight

by Randy Gener

November 08, 2012 5:47 PM

A repurposed robot prototype named KUKA, originally designed by the auto industry, is the breakout star of Sans Objet, a performance piece making its debut in the U.S. this month. Randy Gener describes the rewards — and the challenges — involved in working with a nearly 3,000-pound diva.

The cast and creative team of Sans Objet learned the hard way that a 2,800-pound robot can be a bit of a diva: Because he's run by a computer program, he never forgets his blocking.

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'Into The Woods' All Over Again, This Time In An Actual Urban Jungle

by Trey Graham

August 10, 2012 2:54 PM

Stephen Sondheim's fractured musical fairy tale is getting a major revival in Central Park. NPR's Trey Graham had a look.

Sarah Stiles and Ivan Hernandez are Little Red and the Wolf — whose encounter in Into the Woods brings the fairy tale's charged sexuality forcefully to the surface.

Theater Diary: The After-Action Report

by Trey Graham

June 19, 2012 5:13 PM

One last dispatch, now that we've recovered, featuring observations on Jackie Hoffman and shirtless dwarves.

Miriam Shor, late of TV's recently cancelled GCB, played the fairy godmother at this year's Broadway Bares charity strip-a-thon. We are sorry, but this is more or less the only photo we can show you from the event.

Theater Diary: When Reactions Speak Louder Than Words

by Trey Graham

June 15, 2012 6:17 PM

Sometimes high-octane histrionics are what makes a show unforgettable. And sometimes it's the little moments — and how they reflect what's gone before.

Mariah, at right, is the steel-spined matriarch of Porgy and Bess's Catfish Row. Actress NaTasha Yvette Williams, with Norm Lewis's Porgy and Bryonha Marie Parham's Serena, creats one of the show's pivotal moments without having to speak a word.

Theater Diary: Ludacris Meets The Von Trapps, And A Bartender Proves Unreliable

by Trey Graham

June 13, 2012 7:14 PM

Things I learned over the course of two very busy days in New York, including why you shouldn't believe every rumor you hear in a 9th Avenue saloon.

Three's company: M (Jason Butler Harner, left) and F (Amanda Quaid) spar over the affections of the paralyzingly uncertain John (Cory Michael Smith) in Mike Bartlett's The Cockfight Play.

Theater Diary: In Which Our Hero's Head Explodes From Sheer Nerd Joy

by Trey Graham

June 12, 2012 1:22 PM

Clybourne Park extends, Pacino tipped for Glengarry, and a third development that will send a tingle down the legs of musical-theater nerds everywhere.

Emily Skinner (left) and Alice Ripley in the original Broadway production of a show that we will shortly discuss further.

Tony Awards Recap: We Ponder The Highs And Lows Of A Show About Shows

by Trey Graham

June 11, 2012 1:24 PM

Last night's Tony Awards broadcast was evidence — awkward moments and all — that if there's one thing Broadway performers know how to do, it's put on a live show.

David Alan Grier dazzled audiences last night in "It Ain't Necessarily So," part of a song medley from best musical-revival winner Porgy and Bess.

Live-Blogging The 2012 Tony Awards

by Linda Holmes

June 10, 2012 6:08 PM

Do you like theater? Do you like tearful speeches? Musical numbers? Tap-dancing? Neil Patrick Harris? We'll be covering all these things and more as we watch the 2012 Tony Awards.

Neil Patrick Harris performs at the 2011 Tony Awards in June of last year. He will host again Sunday night.

Join Us For The Tony Awards Sunday Night, Where We Vow To Break A Leg

by Linda Holmes

June 08, 2012 3:24 PM

Sunday night, we'll be watching — both on our couches and from New York — and liveblogging the Tonys, which are often the most enjoyable awards of the year.

Sunday night, we will be covering the Tony Awards. And we hope you'll join us.

For Impressionist Jim Meskimen, The Voice Is 'A Sample Of Who We Are'

by Linda Holmes

June 02, 2012 6:43 AM

Impressionist Jim Meskimen does many, many celebrity voices. You may have heard his George W. Bush, or perhaps his Morgan Freeman.

Jim Meskimen arrives at the premiere of Frost/Nixon in November 2008.

'February House': When Musicals Whisper Rather Than Shout

by Mark Blankenship

May 25, 2012 2:04 PM

Critic Mark Blankenship says that February House, a musical about a band of artists who lived together in Brooklyn, is a musical that whispers rather than shouting with exuberance.