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This Shakespeare Reconstruction Sets 'Merchant' In Post-Civil War D.C.

In District Merchants, Akeem Davis plays Lance, a freed slave who has a crisis of conscience when he learns his boss, Shylock, may have been involved in the slave trade. Teresa Wood/Courtesy of the Folger Theatre hide caption

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Teresa Wood/Courtesy of the Folger Theatre

This Shakespeare Reconstruction Sets 'Merchant' In Post-Civil War D.C.

In District Merchants, Shylock is still Jewish, but half of the other characters are freed slaves. The playwright says he was inspired but a reference to slavery in Shakespeare's original text.

This Shakespeare Reconstruction Sets 'Merchant' In Post-Civil War D.C.

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Broadway Chanteuse Barbara Cook: 'My First Memories Are Of Singing'

Fresh Air

After starring in Broadway shows like The Music Man and Candide, Cook struggled with addiction, then staged a successful second career as a cabaret singer. Her new memoir is Then and Now.

Broadway Chanteuse Barbara Cook: 'My First Memories Are Of Singing'

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Arts & Life

A Grisly, Humorous Dissection Of Morality In 'Anatomy Theatre'

It was once thought that evil resided inside the body. So murderers were dissected to find it. That macabre practice is the subject of a dark but funny new opera, "Anatomy Theatre."

A Grisly, Humorous Dissection Of Morality In 'Anatomy Theatre'

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'Hamilton' Gets Kids Performing History In Their Own Way. Hear Their Stories

These are just a few of the 1,300 New York City high school students who gathered for a special matinee performance of Hamilton at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on May 11, 2016. Walter McBride/Courtesy of the Gilder Lehrman Institute hide caption

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Walter McBride/Courtesy of the Gilder Lehrman Institute

Music

'Hamilton' Gets Kids Performing History In Their Own Way. Hear Their Stories

Meet the high school students who, inspired by the hit Broadway musical, are rapping, singing and re-enacting American history lessons in their own way.

Hamilton: A Story Of US

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Harry Potter Inc. Hopes To Re-Create The Magic, Hogwarts And All, With 'Cursed Child'

A fan holds a copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows at a book release party at Scholastic headquarters in New York in 2007. Clark Jones/AP hide caption

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The Week's Best Stories From NPR Books

Harry Potter Inc. Hopes To Re-Create The Magic, Hogwarts And All, With 'Cursed Child'

Lynn Neary wonders whether the latest "Harry Potter story" (technically the script of a new play) merits the marketing push it's getting.

Harry Potter Inc. Hopes To Re-Create The Magic, Hogwarts And All, With 'Cursed Child'

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On A Dark Day, The Tonys Double Down On Joy — And Pride

Lin-Manuel Miranda accepts the award for best book of a musical for Hamilton at the 70th Annual Tony Awards at the Beacon Theatre on Sunday. Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions hide caption

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Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions

Pop Culture Happy Hour

On A Dark Day, The Tonys Double Down On Joy — And Pride

The shadow of a mass shooting in Orlando cast a pall over the 70th Annual Tony Awards broadcast, but host James Corden offered a spirited paean to "every Broadway would-be."

On A Dark Day, The Tonys Double Down On Joy — And Pride

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Hamilton Wins 11 Tonys Out Of Its 16 Nominations

Tony Awards host James Corden and the night's biggest winners paid an emotional tribute to the 50 lives lost in a mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla., on Sunday morning.

Hamilton Wins 11 Tonys Out Of Its 16 Nominations

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May I Help You Find Your Seat? We Sat Down With Broadway's Longtime Ushers

Michelle Gonzalez has been an usher for 11 years. She's the newly elected shop steward at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre, home of the musical Waitress. Jeff Lunden/NPR hide caption

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Performing Arts

May I Help You Find Your Seat? We Sat Down With Broadway's Longtime Ushers

Every year, NPR's Jeff Lunden talks to some of the hardworking people in the theater biz who aren't eligible for Tony nominations.

May I Help You Find Your Seat? We Sat Down With Broadway's Longtime Ushers

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Arts & Life

'Such A Magical Time': Harry Potter Fans Recall Growing Up Alongside Wizard

A new play about Harry Potter, written by J.K. Rowling, begins previews this week with Harry as a grown up. Grown, too, is the "Potter Generation," the kids who were the first to read the books when they came out. Their experience — maturing alongside Harry — was unique.

'Such A Magical Time': Harry Potter Fans Recall Growing Up Alongside Wizard

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National

Chicago's Fine Arts Building Has 10 Floors But Innumerable Stories

On a prime block of Chicago's Michigan Avenue stands the Fine Arts Building. Producer and violinist David Schulman takes us on an audio tour with the people who know the building the best.

Chicago's Fine Arts Building Has 10 Floors But Innumerable Stories

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Broadway Producer Scott Rudin: 'I'm A Complete Product Of Mentorship'

Adrienne Warren and company perform "I'm Just Wild About Harry" in the musical Shuffle Along, one of five shows Scott Rudin is currently producing on Broadway. Julieta Cervantes/Courtesy of O+M Co. hide caption

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Julieta Cervantes/Courtesy of O+M Co.

Broadway Producer Scott Rudin: 'I'm A Complete Product Of Mentorship'

Fresh Air

Rudin, who started in theater at age 15, owes a lot to the producers who taught him his craft. "They were giants," he says. All five of Rudin's current shows have been nominated for Tony Awards.

Broadway Producer Scott Rudin: 'I'm A Complete Product Of Mentorship'

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'Hamilton' Fans Pilgrimage To Founding Father's Once-Forgotten Grave

Trinity Church archivist Anne Petrimoulx stands in front of Alexander Hamilton's grave in New York City. The site has seen a surge in visitors following the popular Broadway musical, Hamilton. Melissa Block/NPR hide caption

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National

'Hamilton' Fans Pilgrimage To Founding Father's Once-Forgotten Grave

The smash Broadway hit Hamilton is bringing legions of new fans to the grave sites of Alexander Hamilton and his wife, Eliza, both at Trinity Church in Lower Manhattan.

'Hamilton' Fans Pilgrimage To Founding Father's Once-Forgotten Grave

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Performing Arts

In 'The Dresser,' Anthony Hopkins Brilliantly Comes Undone

Anthony Hopkins says his turn as an aged and increasingly faulty actor performing King Lear in a small theater during World War II is one of his favorite roles in a career full of memorable ones. He stars in the BBC adaptation of the play, The Dresser, along with Ian McKellan. Hopkins, who seized pop culture fame in 1991 for his portrayal of the psychopathic psychiatrist Hannibal Lector, started his career in the British theater and has no sense of lingering romance about it.

In 'The Dresser,' Anthony Hopkins Brilliantly Comes Undone

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