Skip to main content
Broadway signs from the street

Theater

Filter by

Select Topics

Select Air Date

to

Select Segment Types

Segment Types

1,081 Segments

Sort:

Newest

15:59

Actor and Playwright David Drake.

Actor and playwright David Drake. In 1985, Drake saw the play "The Normal Heart" by playwright Larry Kramer. It was a turning point for Drake. Kramer went on to become a founder of ACT UP--the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power. Drake a gay man, started on a path of self discovery and activism that has led to his writing a series of vignettes called "The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me" (Anchor Books). (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)

Interview
22:18

Musical Theater Historian Robert Kimball.

Musical theater historian Robert Kimball. Kimball compiled and edited The Complete Lyrics of Ira Gershwin (Knopf) and is artistic advisor to the estate of Ira Gershwin. Kimball knew Ira Gershwin and his wife Leonore. He also edited The Complete Lyrics of Cole Porter.

Interview
16:01

Actor Nathan Lane.

Actor Nathan Lane. He's currently starring in the new Neil Simon comedy on stage, "Laughter on the 23rd Floor." He played Nathan Detroit in the Broadway revival of "Guys and Dolls." Playwright Terrance McNally has written roles for Lane and says, "I need an actor like Nathan to fully express myself. I can't do it with just the words.

Interview
21:38

Broadway Composer Charles Strouse.

Broadway Composer Charles Srouse. His hits include, "Bye Bye Birdie," "Applause," and "Annie." He's also written the film scores for "Bonnie and Clyde," and "The Night They Raided Minskys," and others. Strouse newest production is the sequel to "Annie," -- "Annie Warbucks." It's his second stab at an "Annie" sequel, and it comes after a string of flops. When asked if he'd ever just wanted to quit he said, "Never. . .

Interview
22:08

Musician Pete Townsend.

Pete Townsend. In the 1960's he made waves as the lead guitarist in the British rock group The Who. He was world famous for smashing guitars during concerts. Now, years after The Who split up, Townsend is busy with solo projects. "Tommy," the rock opera he wrote for The Who in 1969, is on Broadway. His latest album is called "White City."

Interview
16:24

Singer and Actress Barbara Cook.

Singer and actress Barbara Cook. Since the 1950's Cook has been in countless Broadway musicals--"Oklahoma", "The King and I", and Leonard Bernstein's "Candide" to name a few. She's been called a "no nonsense singer...able to thrust with gentility of tone." Cook has a new album--her first in five years--called "Dorothy Fields: Close as Pages in a Book." She won a Tony Award for her part as "Marian the librarian" which she originated in "The Music Man."

Interview
22:40

Four-Man Comedy Troupe The Firesign Theatre.

The four-man comedy troupe The Firesign Theatre. The Firesigns created satire out of the political and civil upsets of the late 1960's, drawing big underground radio and college campus audiences. Now, more than ten years since the last tour, The Firesign Theatre is making a comeback. Known for their eclectic comedy routines, they're celebrating their 25th anniversary with a reunion tour.

06:01

An Erratic Album.

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews "Back to Broadway," Barbara Streisand's new album of show tunes.

Review
05:33

New Recordings Among Bernstein's Best.

Conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein would have been 75 today: classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz is a converted fan after hearing the Haydn portion of Sony's new "Royal Edition" of Bernstein performances, complete in 100 compact discs.

Review
22:27

Writer Susan Sontag.

Writer and director Susan Sontag. Sontag is just back from Sarajevo, where she has been directing a performance of Beckett's "Waiting For Godot" in the Serbo-Croatian language. She is one of few arts figures to visit the conflict in the former Yugoslavia, a battle she calls "the Spanish Civil War of our time". Her latest novel is the "Volcano Lover," recently published in paperback by Anchor Books. (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)

Interview
23:07

Charles Busch on Performing in Drag.

Playwright, female impersonator, and now novelist Charles Busch. His play, the camp classic, "Vampire Lesbians of Sodom," was the longest-running play in Off-Broadway history. His other plays include, "Psycho Beach Party," and "Red Scare on Sunset." He has a new show which parodies the variety shows of the 60s, "The Charles Busch Revue," in which he makes seven costume changes in an hour and 15 minutes. One reviewer writes, "Among New York's drag performers, he is certainly the most congenial.

Interview
22:44

Anna Deavere Smith Discusses "Twilight."

Actress and Stanford Theater Professor, Anna Deavere Smith. She performs solo, multi-casted pieces, the scripts of which are transcripts of interviews with real participants of events. "Fires in the Mirrors" (aired on PBS) gave voice to the many facets of the Crown Heights riots.

Interview
16:49

Playwright Terrence McNally

McNally is best known for the script he wrote for "Kiss of the Spider Woman," based on the Manuel Puig novel which was made into a movie and has recently been made into a Broadway musical. His newest play is, "A Perfect Ganesh." McNally helped develop Off- and Off-Off Broadway in the early 70s.

Interview

Did you know you can create a shareable playlist?

Advertisement

There are more than 22,000 Fresh Air segments.

Let us help you find exactly what you want to hear.
Just play me something
Your Queue

Would you like to make a playlist based on your queue?

Generate & Share View/Edit Your Queue