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Debbie Allen's 'Weapons' To Stop Gun Violence Are Dance And Music

Debbie Allen's FREEZE FRAME...Stop the Madness is a musical featuring dance, video and visual art that explores gun violence in cities. Lee Tonks/Courtesy of Debbie Allen Dance Academy hide caption

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Lee Tonks/Courtesy of Debbie Allen Dance Academy

Debbie Allen's 'Weapons' To Stop Gun Violence Are Dance And Music

Director, actor and choreographer Debbie Allen's multimedia musical Freeze Frame examines the lives of young people living in cities with the backdrop of violence and police shootings.

Debbie Allen's 'Weapons' To Stop Gun Violence Are Dance And Music

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Performing Arts

'Falsettos' Still Resonates In Changed Social Landscape

When Falsettos first premiered in 1981, this frank, funny musical about gay, Jewish life in New York City was covering new territory. Now a revival is in the works, but will it still feel resonant in an age where gay rights have become mainstream?

'Falsettos' Still Resonates In Changed Social Landscape

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Arts & Life

Christopher Marlowe Credited As Shakespeare's Co-Author On Henry VI Plays

True authorship of Shakespeare has been debated for centuries. Now, the New Oxford Shakespeare edition will list Elizabethan playwright Christopher Marlowe as co-author on the three Henry VI plays, part one, two and three. NPR's Robert Siegel talks with Florida State University professor Gary Taylor, one of the general editors of the new volume.

Christopher Marlowe Credited As Shakespeare's Co-Author On Henry VI Plays

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Manic And Depressed, 'I Didn't Like Who I Was,' Says Comic Chris Gethard

Chris Gethard co-stars in Comedy Central's Broad City and in Mike Birbiglia's film Don't Think Twice. His one-man show, Career Suicide, details his experiences with depression. Atisha Paulson/Chris Gethard hide caption

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Atisha Paulson/Chris Gethard

Shots - Health News

Manic And Depressed, 'I Didn't Like Who I Was,' Says Comic Chris Gethard

Fresh Air

Gethard tells stories of hitting rock bottom in his new one-man off-Broadway show, which is billed as a comedy about "suicide, depression, alcoholism and all the other funniest parts of life."

Manic And Depressed, 'I Didn't Like Who I Was,' Says Comic Chris Gethard

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'It's Very Lonely': Kathleen Turner Stars As Joan Didion In 'Magical Thinking'

Kathleen Turner stars as Joan Didion in Arena Stage's production of The Year of Magical Thinking. C. Stanley Photography/Arena Stage hide caption

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C. Stanley Photography/Arena Stage

'It's Very Lonely': Kathleen Turner Stars As Joan Didion In 'Magical Thinking'

Turner appears in a new production of The Year of Magical Thinking, based on Didion's 2005 memoir. In one year, Didion's daughter fell into a coma and her husband of 40 years had a fatal heart attack.

'It's Very Lonely': Kathleen Turner Stars As Joan Didion In 'Magical Thinking'

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John Slattery Gushes About His Role In Revived Broadway Classic 'Front Page'

John Slattery, best known for his role in Mad Men, plays Hildy Johnson in the new Broadway production of The Front Page. He tells NPR's Scott Simon "it's a fantastic part in a fantastic play."

John Slattery Gushes About His Role In Revived Broadway Classic 'Front Page'

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A Guilt-Ridden Winner Takes Center Stage In Peter Brook's 'Battlefield'

Battlefield stars actors Sean O'Callaghan, Jared McNeill (as Yudishtira), Ery Nzaramba and Carole Karemera. Richard Termine/Courtesy of the Brooklyn Academy of Music hide caption

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Richard Termine/Courtesy of the Brooklyn Academy of Music

A Guilt-Ridden Winner Takes Center Stage In Peter Brook's 'Battlefield'

The theater director's latest production was inspired by the civil war in Syria. It tells the story of Yudishtira, a prince who is overwhelmed by guilt after he wins a bloody war.

A Guilt-Ridden Winner Takes Center Stage In Peter Brook's 'Battlefield'

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Performing Arts

'The Encounter' Brings The Sound Of The Amazon To Broadway

In 1969, an explorer and photographer named Loren McIntyre was dropped into the Amazon rainforest to try and make contact with a tribe called the Mayoruna. Now his story is headed to Broadway. The show uses binaural audio to play sounds of the rainforest in 3-D.

'The Encounter' Brings The Sound Of The Amazon To Broadway

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Arts & Life

Theater Artist Anne Basting Named MacArthur Fellow

NPR's Kelly McEvers interviews Anne Basting, a theater artist and educator at the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, about being awarded the MacArthur fellowship this year. She describes her work with people with cognitive impairment, such as Alzheimer's and dementia, using improv theater and storytelling techniques to improve their lives.

Theater Artist Anne Basting Named MacArthur Fellow

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Fresh Air Remembers Pulitzer Prize-Winning Playwright Edward Albee

Fresh Air

Albee made his debut as a Broadway playwright in 1962 with Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, which went on to win a Tony Award. He died Friday at the age of 88. Originally broadcast in 1984.

Fresh Air Remembers Pulitzer Prize-Winning Playwright Edward Albee

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National

Missouri Theater Embraces Ferguson Echoes In 'Antigone' Production

KCUR 89.3

Some TV stars will perform Sophocles' Antigone on stage in Ferguson, Mo., tonight. The ancient Greek drama is expected to resonate with its theme of an individual's struggle against the state.

Missouri Theater Embraces Ferguson Echoes In 'Antigone' Production

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Playwright Edward Albee, Who Changed And Challenged Audiences, Dies At 88

Albee, shown here in 1995, won Pulitzer Prizes for A Delicate Balance, Seascape and Three Tall Women and Tony awards for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? Jack Mitchell/Getty Images hide caption

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Jack Mitchell/Getty Images

The Two-Way

Playwright Edward Albee, Who Changed And Challenged Audiences, Dies At 88

"All art should be useful," Albee said. "If it's merely decorative, it's a waste of time." The Pulitzer-winning playwright of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? died Friday following a short illness.

Playwright Edward Albee, Who Changed And Challenged Audiences, Dies At 88

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Actress And Broadway Star Kristin Chenoweth Plays Not My Job
Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images

Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!

Actress And Broadway Star Kristin Chenoweth Plays Not My Job

We've invited Chenoweth, who is 4 feet 11 inches, to answer three questions about 6-foot-1 model and actress Brigitte Nielsen.

Actress And Broadway Star Kristin Chenoweth Plays Not My Job

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Performing Arts

'Come From Away' Musical Tells Story Of Resilience After 9/11

As the extent of the 9/11 attacks became known, 38 planes were rerouted to Gander, Newfoundland. More than 6,000 passengers and crew were taken in by families there. Their story is the subject of a new musical called, Come From Away, which runs at Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C., in September and October before heading to Broadway.

'Come From Away' Musical Tells Story Of Resilience After 9/11

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