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

Performing Arts

Magician David Copperfield Forced To Reveal Secret To Trick

Magicians don't usually reveal their secrets — but one of the world's most famous magicians — David Copperfield — just did.

Magician David Copperfield Forced To Reveal Secret To Trick

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No More Hotel Auditions, Says Union Representing Actors

SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris, shown here at January's Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles, is calling for an end to auditions at private hotel rooms or homes. Vince Bucci/Invision/AP hide caption

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Vince Bucci/Invision/AP

The Two-Way

No More Hotel Auditions, Says Union Representing Actors

SAG-AFTRA is calling for an end to auditions in private hotel rooms or residences, after a spate of sexual harassment allegations against powerful Hollywood figures.

Music

Composer Tod Machover Discusses How He Created 'Philadelphia Voices'

The Philadelphia Orchestra will perform the work Tuesday at Carnegie Hall. He based the composition on recorded sounds, including the sizzle of a cheesesteak.

Composer Tod Machover Discusses How He Created 'Philadelphia Voices'

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Theater

How Rodgers And Hammerstein Revolutionized Broadway

Fresh Air

Todd Purdum's new book, Something Wonderful, is about the creative partnership and strained personal relationship behind such hit shows as Oklahoma!, Carousel, South Pacific and The Sound of Music.

How Rodgers And Hammerstein Revolutionized Broadway

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Sarah Kay: What Advice Would You Give Your Future Daughter?

Sarah Kay on the TED stage. James Duncan Davidson/TED hide caption

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James Duncan Davidson/TED

TED Radio Hour

Sarah Kay: What Advice Would You Give Your Future Daughter?

Spoken word poet Sarah Kay imagines what it would like to raise a child in a world of happiness, heartache, and everything in between.

Sarah Kay: What Advice Would You Give Your Future Daughter?

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On Broadway, They Wear Pink: 'Mean Girls' Is Now A Musical

Cady (Erika Henningsen, left) wears pink along with fellow Plastics Gretchen (Ashley Park), Regina (Taylor Louderman) and Karen (Kate Rockwell) in the musical Mean Girls. Joan Marcus/Boneau/Bryan-Brown hide caption

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Theater

On Broadway, They Wear Pink: 'Mean Girls' Is Now A Musical

A lot has changed since Mean Girls came out in 2004, but Tina Fey points to one reason the story still holds up: Older women and teens can both see themselves playing out their worst behavior.

On Broadway, They Wear Pink: 'Mean Girls' Is Now A Musical

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Kim Jong Un Was 'Deeply Moved' After K-Pop Performance

A picture provided by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (back, center) and his wife Ri Sol-Ju (second row, sixth from left) posing with South Korean musicians after their performance in the East Pyongyang Grand Theater in Pyongyang. KCNA via KNS/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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KCNA via KNS/AFP/Getty Images

The Record

Kim Jong Un Was 'Deeply Moved' After K-Pop Performance

The North Korean leader hosted a South Korean delegation Sunday, becoming the first leader in his country's history to take in the talents of K-pop stars in his capital city.

John Legend Pulls From Familiar Roots To Play Jesus In 'Jesus Christ Superstar Live'

John Legend sits before actors playing the 12 disciples in Jesus Christ Superstar Live. Virginia Sherwood/NBC hide caption

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Music Interviews

John Legend Pulls From Familiar Roots To Play Jesus In 'Jesus Christ Superstar Live'

NBC's latest one-night musical event revives the 1970s rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar, starring John Legend in its daunting lead role.

John Legend Pulls From Familiar Roots To Play Jesus In 'Jesus Christ Superstar Live'

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Glenda Jackson Stands Tall, On And Off Stage

Glenda Jackson plays A, the eldest of the three women in the new Broadway production of Edward Albee's Three Tall Women. Brigitte Lacombe hide caption

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Brigitte Lacombe

Theater

Glenda Jackson Stands Tall, On And Off Stage

The Academy Award-winning actress (and former member of British Parliament) returns to Broadway after a 30-year absence in Edward Albee's Three Tall Women.

Glenda Jackson Stands Tall, On And Off Stage

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Remembrances

Jose Antonio Abreu, Founder Of El Sistema Youth Orchestra, Dies At 78

Jose Abreu, founder of El Sistema Youth Orchestra in Venezuela, died Saturday at 78. Alvaro Rodas, director of the Corona Youth Music Project, wrote his grad school thesis on Abreu and remembers him.

Jose Antonio Abreu, Founder Of El Sistema Youth Orchestra, Dies At 78

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'Frozen' Hits Broadway, In 'A Sophisticated Dignified Adult Psychological' Way

Caissie Levy plays Elsa (left) and Patti Murin plays her sister Anna in the Broadway musical version of Frozen. Deen van Meer/Disney Theatrical Productions hide caption

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Deen van Meer/Disney Theatrical Productions

Theater

'Frozen' Hits Broadway, In 'A Sophisticated Dignified Adult Psychological' Way

The creators of the highest-grossing animated film of all time aren't just simply letting it go — they've written a dozen new songs for a very sold-out theatrical adaptation.

'Frozen' Hits Broadway, In 'A Sophisticated Dignified Adult Psychological' Way

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An 'Anna Karenina' For Our Times At Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre

The Bolshoi Theatre's new staging of Anna Karenina features Olga Smirnova as Anna and Andrei Merkuriev as Karenin. Elena Fetisova/Bolshoi Theatre hide caption

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Elena Fetisova/Bolshoi Theatre

Dance

An 'Anna Karenina' For Our Times At Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre

The world-famous ballet company is iconic in Russia. Principal dancer Olga Smirnova says a new staging of a beloved epic takes it into the 21st century.

An 'Anna Karenina' For Our Times At Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre

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Russia's Bolshoi Theatre Brings Anna Karenina Ballet To Modern Era

The world-famous Bolshoi Theatre is a Russian icon. But a new staging of the ballet Anna Karenina takes the beloved Russian epic — and the theater — into the 21st century. NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with Bolshoi principal dancer Olga Smirnova.

Russia's Bolshoi Theatre Brings Anna Karenina Ballet To Modern Era

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Clint Smith: How Should You Raise A Black Son In America?

Clint Smith on the TED stage. Ryan Lash/TED hide caption

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Ryan Lash/TED

TED Radio Hour

Clint Smith: How Should You Raise A Black Son In America?

How do you raise a child in a world taught to fear the color of their skin? Poet and writer Clint Smith explains the difficulty of black parenting, and the implications of being black in America.

Clint Smith: How Should You Raise A Black Son In America?

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Harper Lee Estate Sues Over 'To Kill A Mockingbird' Broadway Script By Aaron Sorkin

Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch, a small-town lawyer who defends a black man accused of rape, in a scene from the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird, based on the novel by Harper Lee. Universal/AP hide caption

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Universal/AP

The Two-Way

Harper Lee Estate Sues Over 'To Kill A Mockingbird' Broadway Script By Aaron Sorkin

The author's lawyer says a contract bars the producers of a high-profile stage adaptation from departing "in any manner" from the spirit of the classic novel.

Harper Lee's Estate Sues Aaron Sorkin Over 'To Kill A Mockingbird' Broadway Adaptation

Author Harper Lee's estate is suing Aaron Sorkin over editorial liberties Sorkin took when turning the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird into a Broadway production.

Harper Lee's Estate Sues Aaron Sorkin Over 'To Kill A Mockingbird' Broadway Adaptation

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