Phelelani Ndakrokra completes an aerial act at a Zip Zap circus show in Cape Town, South Africa. Aurélie Marrier d'Unienville and Tommy Trenchard for NPR hide caption
Performing Arts News, interviews, and commentary on theater, the arts, music, and dance.
Performing Arts
(L-R): Charlotte Caffey, Gina Schock, Belinda Carlisle, Kathy Valentine and Jane Wiedlin perform in 1981. Cassy Cohen/Showtime hide caption
The inside of xBk, Tobi Parks' music venue in Des Moines, Iowa. Without help, hers and thousands of other small, independent spaces across the country are at risk of closing. Tobi Parks hide caption
Lin-Manuel Miranda and members of the hip-hop group Freestyle Love Supreme perform at the Greenwich House Theater. Bryant Fisher/Hulu hide caption
'We Are Freestyle Love Supreme' Is An Accidental 'Hamilton' Cast Origin Story
Actress, model and singer Diahann Carroll. Bee Harris hide caption
Nick Cordero attends the 68th Annual Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on June 8, 2014 in New York City. Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions hide caption
'Never Known A Kinder Person': Actor Nick Cordero Dies Of COVID-19 At 41
London's Lyceum Theatre is wrapped in pink tape bearing the words "Missing Live Theatre," part of a campaign by a group of British stage designers. Keith Mayhew/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images hide caption
Julian Bass went viral for his superhero video with special effects. Julian Bass/Screenshot by NPR hide caption
A Theater Student Gets Supersized Attention After Superhero Video Goes Viral
Students examine artworks on display at the Heritage Center at Red Cloud. The Heritage Center at Red Cloud hide caption
Leslie Odom Jr. originated the role of Aaron Burr on Broadway in Hamilton. Like the rest of the original cast, he's available to watch at home in the film, which arrives Friday on Disney+. Disney+ hide caption
The Richard Rodgers Theater, closed due to the coronavirus, is pictured above on April 8 in New York City. Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images hide caption
Lin-Manuel Miranda and Phillipa Soo return as Alexander and Eliza Hamilton, the roles they played in the original Broadway production of Hamilton. A film production of the show, taped in 2016, debuts on Disney+ on Friday. Disney+ hide caption
'The Past Isn't Done With Us,' Says 'Hamilton' Creator Lin-Manuel Miranda
The cast of Hamilton, including its composer and creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda, center, receive a standing ovation in San Juan, Puerto Rico on Jan. 11, 2019. The musical is set to stream on Disney+ this week. Carlos Giusti/AP hide caption
Lin-Manuel Miranda Sees The 'Language Of Revolution' In 'Hamilton' And Today
A 2005 portrait of actor Ian Holm, taken in London. Holm died Friday at age 88. Cambridge Jones/Getty Images hide caption
Frozen in time: Theater Director David Miller returned to Zeeland High School in western Michigan weeks after his students' scheduled performance, to find the set still up. Courtesy of David Miller hide caption
American actor, producer and director Orson Welles speaks into a microphone during a broadcast of his CBS radio program 'First Person Singular' circa 1938. Hulton Archive/Getty Images hide caption
Theaters Return To An Old Art Form — The Radio Drama — With A Twist
Writer and activist Larry Kramer, here in 1989, was an unapologetically loud and irrepressible voice in the fight against AIDS. Sara Krulwich/Getty Images hide caption
A view of Shakespeare's Globe on the banks of the River Thames in London in 2016. The theater faces the threat of closure after the coronavirus lockdown has dried up its streams of revenue. Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP hide caption
Nick Cordero, here in January on opening night of Rock of Ages in Hollywood, has emerged from a coma during a difficult fight with COVID-19, according to his wife. Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for Rock of Ages hide caption
A common street scene in New York's Theater District: a completely empty street, shot on May 6. Broadway theaters will remain shuttered until at least early September. Spencer Platt/Getty Images hide caption
Phillipa Soo (from left), Christopher Jackson, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Anthony Ramos attend Miranda's final performance of Hamilton on Broadway, on July 9, 2016. Nicholas Hunt/Getty Images hide caption
Comedy Clubs Are Closed, So To Reach Audiences, Comics Have To Improvise
Faced with financial issues, the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater closed its Chelsea location in 2017. Andrew Toth/Getty Images hide caption
Broadway star Brian Stokes Mitchell — who has recovered from the coronavirus — sings from his window to show appreciation for New York City's healthcare workers and first responders. "People need this, too," he says. "They need that connection. They need to be reconnected to themselves, to their own center, to each other, you know, to feel that we're all in this together." Rob Kim/Getty Images hide caption