Theater

High school theater attendance is up — as are concerns about censorship, survey finds

5:34pm June 05, 2023

by Elizabeth Blair

The annual survey of the most popular high school musicals and plays is out. In addition to top ten lists, the report finds attendance is up 13% but theatre teachers are worried about censorship.

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Annaleigh Ashford, left, and Josh Groban star in Broadway's current revival of Sweeney Todd. Ashford says it's rare for musicals to have this large of an orchestra.

After years of ever-shrinking orchestras, some Broadway musicals are going big

5:00am June 03, 2023

by Jeff Lunden

Producers have been saying for years that large Broadway orchestras are not financially feasible. In fact, the issue led to a strike 20 years ago. So why are some shows bringing them back?

Alex Newell has been nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical.

Arts

Tony Awards have gendered actor categories — where do non-binary people fit?

5:00am June 01, 2023

by Jeff Lunden

"We don't gender other people's professions," says actor Alex Newell. "You say ... I'm going to my dentist and I need to hire a plumber." But Broadway's highest honors have male/female distinctions.

In 'Exclusion,' Kenneth Lin draws on his roots as the son of Chinese immigrants

5:08am May 24, 2023

NPR's Michel Martin speaks with playwright Kenneth Lin about his play Exclusion, which explores racial tensions through the lens of the entertainment industry.

Sara Bareilles plays the Baker's Wife in Into the Woods. She says the first thing she did after taking the role was give her character a real name: "I named her Rebecca."

Sara Bareilles thought 'Into the Woods' would last 2 weeks — she ended up on Broadway

2:20pm May 18, 2023

by Ann Marie Baldonado

What started as a stripped-down production with a limited run became a Grammy award-winning Broadway musical with six Tony nominations. Bareilles plays the Baker's Wife: "I'm so glad that I said yes."

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The musical adaptation of Monsoon Wedding has opened at Brooklyn's St. Ann's Warehouse.

You're invited to 'Monsoon Wedding' — a musical nearly 15 years in the making

12:22pm May 10, 2023

by Bilal Qureshi

Back in 2001, Monsoon Wedding was an indie darling turned international success. Now, the stage adaptation is an ambitious experiment in bridging Indian musical styles with a Broadway-style songbook.

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The crowd- some of whom had been waiting for four hours - was so excited they sometimes drowned out the performers.

Arts

Watch Lin-Manuel Miranda, Josh Groban, cast of 'Hamilton' celebrate 'Sweeney Todd'

7:02pm May 05, 2023

by Jennifer Vanasco

The casts of both shows joined together to sing a parody song penned by Miranda.

Arts

'Some Like It Hot' leads with 13 Tony Award nominations

8:08pm May 02, 2023

by Jennifer Vanasco

J. Harrison Ghee (Some Like It Hot) and Alex Newell (Shucked) are the first nonbinary actors to be nominated for Tonys, and today's announcement also highlighted three plays which have won Pulitzers.

Arts

A rarely revived Lorraine Hansberry play comes to Broadway

7:57am April 30, 2023

by Jeff Lunden

Playwright Lorraine Hansberry's show, "The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window," opened last week on Broadway, almost 59 years ago since it first opened.

Writer Neil Gaiman (center) makes music with FourPlay (L-R: Peter Hollo, Shenton Gregory aka Shenzo Gregorio, Lara Goodridge and Tim Hollo)

Writer Neil Gaiman debuts his first music album with an Australian string quartet

6:27am April 27, 2023

by Olivia Hampton

British writer and comic book author Neil Gaiman launches first studio music album with Australia's FourPlay String Quartet.

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