Entertainment

Zakes Mokae built his career on the success of early roles in plays by Athol Fugard, a white South African who was against apartheid. Mokae joins Fresh Air to discuss the importance of those plays within the context of his home country.

Guitarist and signer Jane Voss and singer Hoyle Osborne play for a live audience at Fresh Air's music studio. Their style incorporates the blues, Tin Pan Alley, vaudeville, and originals. Voss and Osborne are also married and today is their tenth anniversary.

Frequent Fresh Air guest Spalding Gray takes stories about his life and anxieties and transforms them into comedic monologues he delivers in a direct fashion. His monologues include "Sex and Death to the Age of Fourteen," "A Personal History of American Theater," and "Swimming to Cambodia." His current monologue is "The Terrors of Pleasure," and it chronicles his attempts to "grow up" and experience ownership by purchasing a house in the Catskills.

Novelist Kurt Vonnegut discusses his writing, and his work defending the intellectual freedom of writers in America and abroad.

Singer Peggy King joins the studio to interpret the songs of Irving Berlin in honor of his recent 90th birthday. King is joined by pianist Corky Hale and bassist David Finck.

Guitarist and singer Marty Grosz and saxophonist and clarinetist Dick Meldonian regale a live audience with their versions of 1920s jazz and pop tunes at the Fresh Air studio. Grosz is a one the few musicians who still play rhythm guitar, and is the son of German satiric artist George Grosz. Meldonian has played with many famous jazz musicians and singers, and has also released several of his own records. The concert was funded by the Philadelphia Foundation.

Sir Alec Guiness may be best known for his roles in films like Star Wars and Bridge on the River Kwai, but he honed his craft in the theater, learning something new with every production.

Writer Paul Rudnick's new novel lampoons Manhattan's exclusive, fashion-obsessed nightclub scene --with which Rudnick has first-hand experience.

Malcom Rebennack writes and performs music under the name Dr. John. He began as a studio musician before developing his theatrical stage show, which drew from New Orleans traditions.

The singer and pianist perform classic American popular songs for a live studio audience. They talk to Fresh Air producer and guest host Amy Salit about what makes some popular music endure.

John Houseman has had an illustrious career as an actor and producer of film, television, and radio. He is known for bringing Shakespeare to diverse audiences via Broadway, the Federal Theater Project, and film adaptations of the playwright's work.

Actress Lynn Redgrave, known for numerous stage productions and the film Georgy Girl, comes from a family of actors. She joins Fresh Air to discuss her craft and how both her weight and famous last name shaped her career.

Spalding Gray's career performing humorous, autobiographical monologues has sometimes been a detriment to his attempts to break into film and television acting; no casting director wants to be mentioned in one of Gray's stage shows.

Feminist writer Gloria Steinem has a new book about actress Marilyn Monroe. Steinem was initially disgusted by Monroe's portrayal of some onscreen. Now she has a more sympathetic view toward the late actress's talent and vulnerability.

Peggy King returns to Fresh Air for a holiday concert featuring bassist David Finck and pianist and harpists Corky Hale.

Malcom Rebennack writes and performs music under the name Dr. John. He began as a studio musician before developing his theatrical stage show, which drew from New Orleans traditions.

Graham Chapman came out while working on the sketch comedy show Monty Python's Flying Circus. He discusses his activism to support gay rights, as well as the many times the television program lampooned conventional masculinity.

Accordionist William Schimmel explains how his instrument lends itself to stylistic mash-ups and improvisatory approaches to composition.

In honor of the composer's 99th birthday, Fresh Air invites Peggy King to perform several of his songs in studio. She is accompanied by pianist Mike Abene.

Impresario Joseph Papp helped launch Broadway hits like A Chorus Line and The Pirates of Penzance, and founded the New York Shakespeare Festival. He talks about the political aspects of theater casting, production, and criticism.