Performing Arts

Simone Dinnerstein in dress rehearsal for The Eye Is the First Circle.

Pianist Simone Dinnerstein illuminates a lifetime in art with a new multimedia concert

6:03pm October 10, 2021

by Jeff Lunden

The eloquent pianist used a work break imposed by pandemic to learn something new: stage directing, a skill set she put to use in creating a multimedia recital.

A view of the Kennedy Center from the water in Washington, D.C.

Stagehands at the Kennedy Center OK a strike, days after Hollywood crews did the same

5:58pm October 07, 2021

by Elizabeth Blair

Stagehands at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. voted unanimously to strike if the performing arts center proceeds with cuts.

Left: Shelly C. Lowe, nominee for the chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Right: Maria Rosario Jackson, nominee for the National Endowment for the Arts chair

Arts

Here are the White House's picks to lead the National Arts and Humanities Endowments

5:09pm October 05, 2021

by Elizabeth Blair

The White House has announced its nominees for the next Chairs of the National Arts and Humanities Endowments. If confirmed, the NEH pick would become the first Native American to become chair.

Arts

Broadway's comeback brings back business

3:41pm October 04, 2021

by Camille Petersen

Broadway has begun its reopening and ripple effects are being felt on the businesses around it from florists to bars and restaurants.

Michelle Zauner (L) of Japanese Breakfast performs with drummer Craig Hendrix at the Intersect music festival at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds on December 07, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

You Are What You Cook

6:00am October 02, 2021

by Alyssa Jeong Perry

In her memoir, Crying In H Mart, released earlier this year, author and musician Michelle Zauner explores how cooking helped her understand her identity as a Korean American after her mother's death.

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Comedian Josh Johnson Dares To Make Us Laugh In A Global Pandemic

6:10pm September 30, 2021

NPR's Audie Cornish talks with comedian Josh Johnson about his newfound success and how comedy has served as a processing tool for collective trauma throughout the pandemic.

Rather than a heroic journey, the story at the center of Blanchard's opera is one of self-discovery, with an assured, tactile specificity which includes a boistrous fraternity step routine that opens Act III.

Terence Blanchard's Met Opera Debut Is A Singular Achievement And A Shared Success

6:20pm September 28, 2021

by Nate Chinen

The composer's magnetically powerful Fire Shut Up in My Bones lands with a force of authenticity, a too-rare window into Black life in an operatic setting.

Arts

'Dear Evan Hansen' Actor Ben Platt Escapes From Anxiety By Being In The Spotlight

2:27pm September 27, 2021

by Terry Gross

Platt frequently worries about the past and what's to come, but there's one place where his anxiety tends to subside. "Being on stage, for me, is kind of the antidote to that," he says.

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Will Liverman (center) as Charles in Terence Blanchard's Fire Shut Up in My Bones.

Terence Blanchard Makes History At The Metropolitan Opera

1:28pm September 27, 2021

by Tom Vitale

Fire Shut Up in My Bones, based on the Charles M. Blow memoir of the same title, is the first work by a Black composer to be staged by the Metropolitan Opera.

Broadway performers at the Tony Awards on Sunday.

Arts

Highlights From The Tony Awards

12:38pm September 27, 2021

by Nell Clark

Moulin Rouge! The Musical took home 10 awards, including the night's biggest: Best musical. The Inheritance won for best play, and A Soldier's Play for best revival.