Accessibility links
Performing Arts News, interviews, and commentary on theater, the arts, music, and dance.

Performing Arts

How a mother and her daughters created an innovative Indian dance company

Aparna (from left), Ranee and Ashwini Ramaswamy. Aparna Ramaswamy hide caption

toggle caption
Aparna Ramaswamy

Culture

How a mother and her daughters created an innovative Indian dance company

Ragamala Dance Company is the life work of Ranee Ramaswamy — and now her adult daughters, Aparna and Ashwini. Creative work can be lonely, Aparna says, and having "built-in companions" is a gift.

How a mother and her daughters created an innovative Indian dance company

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1167135771/1176062358" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
A Black, trans journey through TV and film; plus, inside Beyoncé's 'Renaissance' tour
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Parkwood; Ray Love Jr.

It's Been a Minute

A Black, trans journey through TV and film; plus, inside Beyoncé's 'Renaissance' tour

Since releasing one of the most critically acclaimed albums in 2022, pop titan Beyoncé has withheld the visuals for almost a year. NPR Senior Culture editor Bilal Qureshi went to the first stop on the Renaissance World Tour and joins producer Corey Antonio Rose to reveal one of the most highly anticipated musical secrets.

A Black, trans journey through TV and film; plus, inside Beyoncé's 'Renaissance' tour

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1174996769/1175760808" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
You're invited to 'Monsoon Wedding' — a musical nearly 15 years in the making

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

toggle caption
Matthew Murphy

Theater

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

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.

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

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1175071479/1175071480" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Beyoncé's Renaissance tour begins; revisiting house music history with DJ Honey Dijon
NPR

It's Been a Minute

Beyoncé's Renaissance tour begins; revisiting house music history with DJ Honey Dijon

Host Brittany Luse revisits her 2022 conversation with the legendary DJ Honey Dijon. As one of the only Black trans DJs playing the biggest venues in the world, she's not only become an icon of the scene, but an arbiter of the culture. It's no surprise that Beyoncé tapped Honey for her biggest album yet, Renaissance. Brittany and Honey talk house music's Black roots, the evolution of the club scene, and working with Beyoncé on "Alien Superstar" and "Cozy."

Beyoncé's Renaissance tour begins; revisiting house music history with DJ Honey Dijon

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1174081216/1174979868" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
John Mulaney's 'Baby J' turns the spotlight on himself

John Mulaney in his latest Netflix comedy special Baby J. Marcus Russell Price/Netflix hide caption

toggle caption
Marcus Russell Price/Netflix

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

John Mulaney's 'Baby J' turns the spotlight on himself

John Mulaney wants to talk about drugs. In his latest Netflix comedy special, Baby J, he recounts the intervention in late 2020 that sent him to rehab. He talks about his resistance to giving up cocaine, his schemes to avoid sobriety, and how it feels to have your star-studded friends tell you how worried they are over Zoom.

John Mulaney's 'Baby J' turns the spotlight on himself

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1172164034/1173050819" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Opera Ebony broke boundaries in classical music for 50 years — but what comes next?

Benjamin Matthews, one of the founders of Opera Ebony. Opera Ebony hide caption

toggle caption
Opera Ebony

Culture

Opera Ebony broke boundaries in classical music for 50 years — but what comes next?

Opera Ebony was formed when opportunities for Black singers were few and far between. The company celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, but may not survive its 81-year-old founder.

Opera Ebony broke boundaries in classical music for 50 years — but what comes next?

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1160023327/1172918617" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Writer Neil Gaiman debuts his first music album with an Australian string quartet

Writer Neil Gaiman (center) makes music with FourPlay (L-R: Peter Hollo, Shenton Gregory aka Shenzo Gregorio, Lara Goodridge and Tim Hollo) Chris Frape/Riot Act Media hide caption

toggle caption
Chris Frape/Riot Act Media

Music News

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

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

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

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1171910322/1172387994" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Dame Edna creator Barry Humphries dies at age 89

Barry Humphries performs as Dame Edna for a farewell tour in London on Nov. 13, 2013. Tony Award-winning comedian Barry Humphries, internationally renowned for his garish stage persona Dame Edna Everage, died on Saturday in Sydney. Joel Ryan/Joel Ryan/Invision/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Joel Ryan/Joel Ryan/Invision/AP

Obituaries

Dame Edna creator Barry Humphries dies at age 89

The Tony Award-winning comedian was internationally renowned for his garish stage persona Dame Edna Everage, a condescending snob whose evolving character delighted audiences over seven decades.

Broadway legend Chita Rivera dances through her life in a new memoir

Chita Rivera as Anita in the 1957 Broadway musical West Side Story. AP hide caption

toggle caption
AP

Culture

Broadway legend Chita Rivera dances through her life in a new memoir

In Chita: A Memoir, Rivera recounts her career originating roles in major Broadway shows. Now 90, Rivera remembers West Side Story from the beginning: "I was there at the first flicker of the skirt!"

Broadway legend Chita Rivera dances through her life in a new memoir

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1170991320/1171202788" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
'Phantom of the Opera' takes a final Broadway bow after 13,981 performances

John Riddle as Raoul, Laird Mackintosh as the Phantom and Emilie Kouatchou as Christine, take a bow at the end of the final performance of the Phantom of the Opera at the Majestic Theater in New York City on April 16, 2023. Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images

Theater

'Phantom of the Opera' takes a final Broadway bow after 13,981 performances

On Sunday night the curtain will fall on the longest-running show in Broadway history: Andrew Lloyd Webber's mega hit ran for more than 35 years. "I got the gig of a lifetime," says one cast member.

'Phantom of the Opera' takes a final Broadway bow after 13,981 performances

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1169698583/1170246299" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Death and grief in 'Succession'; plus, privacy and the abortion pill

The third episode in season four of the HBO hit 'Succession' has the dysfunctional Roys dealing with grief and death. HBO hide caption

toggle caption
HBO

It's Been a Minute

Death and grief in 'Succession'; plus, privacy and the abortion pill

This week, host Brittany Luse is joined by UC Berkeley Law professor Khiara Bridges to connect the dots between the recent legal battles over the abortion pill mifepristone and our constitutional right to privacy. Then, Linda Holmes of NPR's 'Pop Culture Happy Hour' stops by to chat about the television episode that still has our group chats in a chokehold, and how it eloquently captured the way we experience death and grief in real life.

Death and grief in 'Succession'; plus, privacy and the abortion pill

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1169691004/1170206206" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Terence Blanchard's opera on the troubled life of boxer Emile Griffith premieres

Terence Blanchard's work based on the troubled life of boxing champion Emile Griffith premieres at the Metropolitan Opera. (This piece originally aired on Weekend Edition on April 8, 2023.)

Terence Blanchard's opera on the troubled life of boxer Emile Griffith premieres

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1168931310/1168931311" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
'Champion' is not your grandmother's Metropolitan Opera

Ryan Speedo Green as Young Emile Griffith in Terence Blanchard's Champion. Zenith Richards/Met Opera hide caption

toggle caption
Zenith Richards/Met Opera

'Champion' is not your grandmother's Metropolitan Opera

Terence Blanchard made history last season when his opera Fire Shut Up in My Bones was the first work by a Black composer staged by the Metropolitan Opera. And the Met has asked for more.

'Champion' is not your grandmother's Metropolitan Opera

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1168416669/1168795062" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
From Daft Punk to ballet: Thomas Bangalter makes full swing to classical

Thomas Bangalter, half of the former Daft Punk duo, composed the score for the ballet Mythologies, choreographed by fellow Frenchman Angelin Preljocaj. Jean-Claude Carbonne/Biz 3 hide caption

toggle caption
Jean-Claude Carbonne/Biz 3

Music

From Daft Punk to ballet: Thomas Bangalter makes full swing to classical

Thomas Bangalter, formerly of French electronic music duo Daft Punk, has released a classical music album: the score to a ballet titled Mythologies that draws on American minimalism and Baroque works.

From Daft Punk to ballet: Thomas Bangalter makes full swing to classical

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1167777429/1168581852" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
As 'Sweeney Todd' returns to Broadway, 4 Sweeneys dish about the difficult role

Annaleigh Ashford and Josh Groban in the 2023 Broadway production of Sweeney Todd. Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman hide caption

toggle caption
Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman

Theater

As 'Sweeney Todd' returns to Broadway, 4 Sweeneys dish about the difficult role

Josh Groban, Michael Cerveris, Norm Lewis and Len Cariou all agree: It's exhausting playing a murderous sociopath, while dealing with stage blood, a mechanical barber chair and singing complex music.

As 'Sweeney Todd' returns to Broadway, 4 Sweeneys dish about the difficult role

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1166249500/1166719647" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
The Queen's Cartoonists: Where jazz meets animation and hints of musical circus

The Queen's Cartoonists perform at the Miller Symphony Hall in Allentown, PA on November 22, 2019. Lindsey Theong/The Queen's Cartoonist hide caption

toggle caption
Lindsey Theong/The Queen's Cartoonist

Music Interviews

The Queen's Cartoonists: Where jazz meets animation and hints of musical circus

The Queen's Cartoonists is a jazz band with elements of classical music, comedy and clowning that performs music live to animation, both old and contemporary.

The Queen's Cartoonists: Where jazz meets animation and hints of musical circus

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1157442227/1165977686" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Sam Waterston on being the most recognizable pretend lawyer in New York
Santiago Felipe/Getty Images

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!

Sam Waterston on being the most recognizable pretend lawyer in New York

On this week's episode, guest host Karen Chee talks with legendary actor Sam Waterston about Law & Order, how to look good in a stovepipe hat, and where to see raccoons doing Shakespeare.

Sam Waterston on being the most recognizable pretend lawyer in New York

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1164375148/1164495157" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Browse archive or search npr.org