Theater

Broadway's highest honors were handed out at Radio City Music Hall

6:17am June 13, 2022

by Jeff Lunden

Sunday's 75th annual Tony Awards celebrated Broadway's first full season since the pandemic shutdown. A theme of the night was deep gratitude for the uncelebrated people who keep the shows running.

Patti LuPone (l) won a Tony for her performance in Company. She's here with star Katrina Lenk

Arts

The 2022 Tony Award winners (updating live)

11:01pm June 12, 2022

by Jennifer Vanasco

We'll update this list of nominations with winners throughout the night.

Ladies In WaitingFront, l-r: ElenaBonomo (Drums), Kimi Hayes (Guitar), Back l-r: Michelle Osbourne (Bass), Julia Schade(Conductor/Keyboard)

Arts

The music conductors who make Broadway sing - but won't get Tonys

6:46pm June 12, 2022

by Jeff Lunden

Broadway's music conductors aren't eligible for Tony Awards. But they're still vital to each show.

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James Jackson, Jr., L. Morgan Lee, Antwayn Hopper, John-Andrew Morrison and Jason Veasey play the self-lacerating thoughts of Usher (Jaquel Spivey) in A Strange Loop.

How 'A Strange Loop' fits into Black theater legacies

6:00am June 11, 2022

by Nathan Pugh

The musical — which is up for 11 Tony Awards this Sunday — subverts and reimagines decades of Black theater and pop culture.

When Black Boys Die, a gunplay written and directed by William Electric Black.

How the arts can help children think about gun violence

4:00pm June 07, 2022

by Jon Kalish

The former Sesame Street writer is working with the NYPD to create a small pilot program on gun violence at an elementary school in East Harlem.

Encore: Encore! Encore! Applauding the literal showstopper

5:39pm June 06, 2022

by Bob Mondello

NPR's Bob Mondello looks at a show-stopping theatrical phenomenon that's fallen out of fashion — the encore.

Arts

Kyiv opera house reopens after 3 months

4:48pm June 05, 2022

by Julian Hayda

Ukraine's National Opera was built to celebrate Russian opera at the height of the imperial era. Performances were suspended after the war began but have recently re-started.

Arts

Angela Lansbury looks back on her great performances on stage and screen

3:44pm May 27, 2022

by Terry Gross

In June, Lansbury will receive the Tony Award for lifetime achievement. The Murder, She Wrote star previously won Tonys for her performances in Gypsy and Sweeney Todd. Originally broadcast in 2000.

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Marjan Neshat (in white dress), Roxanna Hope Radja (behind couch), Nikki Massoud and Artemis Pebdani in Wish You Were Here.

Arts

Iranian-American playwright is set on breaking expectations

4:40pm May 13, 2022

by Jeff Lunden

Sanaz Toossi is having a moment – her first production ever, English, just won a Lucille Lortel award for outstanding new off-Broadway play, and Wish You Were Here opened last week.

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Anthony Roth Costanzo nearly lost his voice to cancer. Now he's back as 'Akhnaten'

3:51pm May 13, 2022

by Terry Gross

A decade ago, Costanzo had surgery that threatened to destroy his singing voice. Now he stars as a gender-fluid Egyptian pharaoh in the Met Opera's production. Originally broadcast Oct. 7, 2019.

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