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

Performing Arts

Author Interviews

Michael Caine: A Life Large Enough For An Encore

Sir Michael Caine is the only actor, along with Jack Nicholson, to have been nominated for an Oscar every decade since the 1960s. His second autobiography tells tales of working with Steve Martin, how his marriage has survived 40 years, and what it's like to make people laugh. Host Scott Simon speaks with Caine about his new book The Elephant to Hollywood.

Michael Caine: A Life Large Enough For An Encore

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From Our Listeners

Your Letters: The Hammersteins

Our conversation with Oscar Andrew Hammerstein drove many of you to your keyboards last week. Host Scott Simon reads listeners' letters about his interview last week with the author about the biography of his famous Broadway family.

Your Letters: The Hammersteins

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Theater

Vince Lombardi Takes The Stage With A New Play

Legendary Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi has inspired millions of athletes, coaches, salesmen , politicians and sports fans. Now he has inspired a Broadway play. With help from the NFL, Lombardi: A New American Play, has debuted, and its backers hope it will attract a new crowd to theaters.

Vince Lombardi Takes The Stage With A New Play

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The Magic Of Harry Houdini's Staying Power

Born Ehrich Weiss, Harry Houdini, a rabbi's son, emigrated from Budapest to Appleton, Wis., in 1878. Courtesy of The National Portrait Gallery/Smithsonian Institution hide caption

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Courtesy of The National Portrait Gallery/Smithsonian Institution

The Magic Of Harry Houdini's Staying Power

Harry Houdini was known for escaping from handcuffs, straitjackets and water tanks, but his greatest trick was escaping from the dustbin of history. A new exhibit at the Jewish Museum in New York asks how Houdini's fame managed to survive.

The Magic Of Harry Houdini's Staying Power

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Look, He Made A Hat: Sondheim Talks Sondheim

Happiness is a good rhyme: Stephen Sondheim's new memoir takes its title from a lyric that captures what songwriter Paul Simon -- in a New York Times review of the book -- describes as "that feeling of joy, the little squirt of dopamine hitting the brain" when an artist is at work. Courtesy of the author hide caption

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Courtesy of the author

Theater

Look, He Made A Hat: Sondheim Talks Sondheim

Fresh Air

The musical-theater titan tells the stories behind some of his most famous work, from West Side Story to Gypsy. And he offers some surprising criticisms of other theater greats, including his mentor Oscar Hammerstein.

Look, He Made A Hat: Sondheim Talks Sondheim

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'Primrose': 44 Years Later, Still Sharp As Thumbtacks

Anthony Perkins and Charmian Carr starred in Stephen Sondheim's 1966 made-for-TV musical, Evening Primrose, about people living in a department store after-hours. ABC/Photofest hide caption

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ABC/Photofest

Television

'Primrose': 44 Years Later, Still Sharp As Thumbtacks

Fresh Air

Evening Primrose, Stephen Sondheim's made-for-TV musical about a poet and the girl he discovers living after hours in a department store hasn't been been televised since its 1966 premiere. David Bianculli says the musical, out Tuesday on DVD for the first time, showcases Sondheim's "early brilliance."

'Primrose': 44 Years Later, Still Sharp As Thumbtacks

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The Hammersteins' Path From Brooms To Broadway
From 'The Hammersteins'/Copyright Black Dog and Leventhal

Author Interviews

The Hammersteins' Path From Brooms To Broadway

When Oscar Hammerstein II died 50 years ago, the lights of Broadway were dimmed in his honor. He was part of a family that helped build Broadway with hit shows like Oklahoma!, and some of the first theaters in Times Square. Oscar Andrew Hammerstein's new book tells his family story.

The Hammersteins' Path From Brooms To Broadway

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The Inimitable Cherry Jones: On Hookers, Habits, Presidents And Priests

The Lady In Question: Cherry Jones, right, and Sally Hawkins learn a little more about each other than either can bear in Mrs. Warren's Profession. Joan Marcus hide caption

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Joan Marcus

Monkey See

The Inimitable Cherry Jones: On Hookers, Habits, Presidents And Priests

Famous as President Allison Taylor on TV's 24, she's also known for an iconic Broadway performance in Doubt. She's moved on from that play's crusading nun to play a somewhat more colorful woman: Shaw's notorious Mrs. Warren.

Author Interviews

Marlo Thomas Remembers 'Growing Up Laughing'

Marlo Thomas has written a memoir about the sound and spirit that was so formative in her life and the lives of others. Host Scott Simon talks with the actress and activist about her book, Growing Up Laughing: My Story and the Story of Funny.

Marlo Thomas Remembers 'Growing Up Laughing'

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'Great Gatsby' Onstage, With A White-Collar Twist

Scott Shepherd plays an office worker who gets swept away by The Great Gatsby in Gatz. Joan Marcus hide caption

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Joan Marcus

Theater

'Great Gatsby' Onstage, With A White-Collar Twist

Since its publication in 1925, F. Scott’s Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby has been adapted for film, stage, television and even opera. Now, one ambitious New York theater company has decided to put every word of the novel onstage in a 6 1/2-hour adaptation -- and it's getting rave reviews.

'Great Gatsby' Onstage, With A White-Collar Twist

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Eric Owens: Singing Grendel, Death And A Troll

Opera singer Eric Owens stars as Alberich in the Metropolitan Opera's production of Das Rheingold. Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera hide caption

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Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera

Music Articles

Eric Owens: Singing Grendel, Death And A Troll

Owens is a up-and-coming name in the world of opera. His latest performance in the Metropolitan Opera's production of Das Rheingold has generated excitement and expectations for the versatile performer.

Eric Owens: Singing Grendel, Death And A Troll

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Music Articles

Ukulele World Record Quest In Calif. Comes Up Short

Ukulele players tried to break the Guinness World Record for largest ukulele ensemble on Sunday. The current record, set during a London festival in 2009, is 851 strumming ukes.

Ukulele World Record Quest In Calif. Comes Up Short

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Arts & Life

Father-Son Comedy Duo Does Reality TV

Host Michel Martin speaks to Internet comedy sensation Kevin Wu and his father Michael Wu. Kevin has had 100 million hits on his videos. They are contestants on this season's Amazing Race.

Father-Son Comedy Duo Does Reality TV

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