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Broadway musical Illinoise’s sound mixer and designer Garth MacAleavy does his preparation for the evening show at the St. James Theatre in New York, on Wednesday, June 12, 2024.

Broadway musical Illinoise’s sound mixer and designer Garth MacAleavy does his preparation for the evening show at the St. James Theatre in New York, on Wednesday, June 12, 2024. Marco Postigo Storel for NPR hide caption

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Marco Postigo Storel for NPR

When you can hear every word, thank the sound mixers

They sit behind a console that looks like the bridge of a spaceship and use complicated technology to bring words from the actors mouth to the audience's ears.

When you can hear every word, thank the sound mixers

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Conservatives want to burn flags too; plus, the power of a singing POTUS

An American flag flown upside down near the U.S. Capitol. Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images/Getty Images hide caption

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Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images/Getty Images

It's Been a Minute

Conservatives want to burn flags too; plus, the power of a singing POTUS

Flags have been making a lot of headlines lately, and it's not because today is National Flag Day. The upside down flag that was flown outside of Justice Samuel Alito's house after January 6th is back in the headlines again. Plus the Colorado Republican Party has been making news for their post on X to "burn all the #pride flags this June." Host Brittany Luse is joined by Nick Capodice and Hannah McCarthy - hosts of NHPR's Civics 101 - to get into why both liberals and conservatives get so riled up by a piece of fabric.

Conservatives want to burn flags too; plus, the power of a singing POTUS

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Cole Escola literally changes history in 'Oh, Mary!'

Cole Escola as Mary Todd Lincoln in 'Oh, Mary!' Emilio Madrid hide caption

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Emilio Madrid

It's Been a Minute

Cole Escola literally changes history in 'Oh, Mary!'

Cole Escola is the star and creator of Oh Mary!, an upcoming Broadway play about Mary Todd Lincoln, the wife of President Abraham Lincoln. But there's a twist: Mary is reimagined as a raging alcoholic with cabaret dreams and Lincoln is portrayed as an evil closeted gay man plotting on her misery. On the cusp of the show's Broadway debut, Brittany chats with Cole about the inspiration behind Oh Mary!, their favorite joke and why it's fun to play older women.

Cole Escola literally changes history in 'Oh, Mary!'

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Tony nominee Jocelyn Bioh puts braiders centerstage

Somi Kakoma and Lakisha May in Jaja's African Hair Braiding on Broadway Matthew Murphy/Manhattan Theatre Club hide caption

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Matthew Murphy/Manhattan Theatre Club

It's Been a Minute

Tony nominee Jocelyn Bioh puts braiders centerstage

This week, Brittany Luse sits down with playwright Jocelyn Bioh, whose new play, Jaja's African Hair Braiding, is up for five Tony Award nominations, including Best Play. The two discuss Bioh's unique approach to comedy, what it took to bring a hair affair to Broadway, and how to find humor in dark situations.

Tony nominee Jocelyn Bioh puts braiders centerstage

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Playwright Paula Vogel is known not just for her work on Broadway — but for the generations of famous playwrights whose careers she has nurtured. Above, Jessica Lange in Paula Vogel's Mother Play.

Playwright Paula Vogel is known not just for her work on Broadway — but for the generations of famous playwrights whose careers she has nurtured. Above, Jessica Lange in Paula Vogel's Mother Play. Joan Marcus/Second Stage hide caption

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Joan Marcus/Second Stage

In honor of Mother's Day, here's 'Mother Play' — which gestated for 40 years

Playwright Paula Vogel is known not just for her work on Broadway — but for the generations of famous playwrights whose careers she has nurtured. Mother Play is about her own mother.

In honor of Mother's Day, here's 'Mother Play' — which gestated for 40 years

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Judi Dench reflects on a career built around Shakespeare

English actress Judi Dench at a dress rehearsal of 'Hamlet', making her London debut as Ophelia in 1957. Bob Haswell/Getty Images hide caption

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Bob Haswell/Getty Images

Consider This from NPR

Judi Dench reflects on a career built around Shakespeare

Dame Judi Dench has played everyone from the writer Iris Murdoch to M in the James Bond films. But among the roles the actress is most closely associated, are Shakespeare's heroines and some of his villians.

Judi Dench reflects on a career built around Shakespeare

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A new play peers into a band's life, from the inside

To help the group feel like a band, Will Butler had them open for him in Brooklyn. Julieta Cervantes/Stereophonic hide caption

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Julieta Cervantes/Stereophonic

A new play peers into a band's life, from the inside

Stereophonic, a new play on Broadway with music by Arcade Fire's Will Butler, tracks the volatile creation of a rock and roll album over the course of a year in the 1970s.

A new play peers into a band's life, from the inside

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'Lempicka' showcases a little-known queer artist's dazzling life

Amber Iman and Eden Espinosa in Lempicka. Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman/Lempicka hide caption

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Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman/Lempicka

'Lempicka' showcases a little-known queer artist's dazzling life

Once the toast of 1920s Paris, Tamara de Lempicka's story is now on Broadway. She was a modernist art deco artist who's better known in Europe than in the U.S.

'Lempicka' showcases a little-known queer artist's dazzling life

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'We want to help': Why climate activists are trying something new

Activists from Extinction Rebellion, left and center, protest during a performance of An Enemy of the People on Broadway, starring Jeremy Strong, right. Extinction Rebellion NYC hide caption

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Extinction Rebellion NYC

'We want to help': Why climate activists are trying something new

A recent disruption at An Enemy of the People on Broadway by Extinction Rebellion shows a new approach to climate change activism.

'We want to help': Why climate activists are trying something new

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Tony-winning playwright Christopher Durang dies at 75

Playwright Christopher Durang appears on stage with producers to accept the award for best play for "Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike" at the 67th Annual Tony Awards, on June 9, 2013, in New York. Also on stage are actors, background from left, Shalita Grant, Kristine Nielsen and Billy Magnussen. Evan Agostini/Evan Agostini/Invision/AP hide caption

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Evan Agostini/Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

Obituaries

Tony-winning playwright Christopher Durang dies at 75

Durang was a master of satire and black comedy who won a Tony Award for "Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike" and was a Pulitzer Prize finalist with "Miss Witherspoon."

As theaters scramble to reach new audiences, three get $1 million each

Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, Conn., celebrated leaving its home of nearly 60 years with a community parade on Oct. 15, 2022. "The entire city is now our stage," said artistic director Jacob Padrón. Lotta Studio/Long Wharf Theatre hide caption

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Lotta Studio/Long Wharf Theatre

As theaters scramble to reach new audiences, three get $1 million each

The Mellon Foundation announced grants of $1 million to three theaters: Actors Theatre of Louisville, Long Wharf in New Haven and Portland Center Stage.

Teacher Leslie Jones, center, poses with students from Alexandria City High School's drama department students in northern Virginia.

Teacher Leslie Jones, center, poses with students from Alexandria City High School's drama department students in northern Virginia. Alexandria City High School hide caption

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Alexandria City High School

Black History Month 2024

Virginia high school students take center stage for Black History Month celebration

High school students in Alexandria, Va., honor Black history with art, dance and theater.

Virginia high school students take center stage for Black History Month celebration

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The Groundlings Theatre celebrates 50 years of wild and wacky characters

The Good, Bad, & Groundlings cast photo (2023) David Crabb, Emily Pendergast, Lyric Lewis, Julian Gant, Leonard Robinson, Greg Worswick, Matt Cook, Chris Eckert, Lauren Burns, Eliot Schwartz, Jay Renshaw, Allison Dunbar, Patty Guggenheim, Tru Valentino, SHAWN BISHOP/The Groundlings hide caption

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SHAWN BISHOP/The Groundlings

The Groundlings Theatre celebrates 50 years of wild and wacky characters

The Groundlings has served as an incubator for comedy stars including Jennifer Coolidge, Jimmy Fallon and Will Ferrell. To get in, you first have to pass several improv and comedy writing classes.

The Groundlings Theatre celebrates 50 years of wild and wacky characters

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Chita Rivera, Broadway's 'first great triple threat,' dies at 91

Chita Rivera in May 1977. Evening Standard/Getty Images hide caption

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Evening Standard/Getty Images

Obituaries

Chita Rivera, Broadway's 'first great triple threat,' dies at 91

The three-time Tony Award-winning Broadway legend created indelible roles: Anita in West Side Story, Rose in Bye Bye Birdie and Velma Kelly in Chicago.

Chita Rivera, Broadway's 'first great triple threat,' dies at 91

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'Days of Wine and Roses,' a film about love and addiction, is now a spirited musical

Brian d'Arcy James and Kelli O'Hara star in a new Broadway adaptation of the 1962 film Days of Wine and Roses. Joan Marcus hide caption

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Joan Marcus

'Days of Wine and Roses,' a film about love and addiction, is now a spirited musical

The classic 1962 movie tells the story of a relationship buckling under the weight of addiction. The new Broadway adaptation stars Kelli O'Hara and Brian d'Arcy James.

'Days of Wine and Roses,' a film about love and addiction, is now a spirited musical

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How a West Bank Palestinian theater went from symbol of hope to casualty of war

A bench is seen at the entrance of the Freedom Theatre in the Jenin refugee camp 10 days after a raid by Israeli forces, Dec. 23, 2023. Marco Longari/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Marco Longari/AFP via Getty Images

Middle East crisis — explained

How a West Bank Palestinian theater went from symbol of hope to casualty of war

Jenin's Freedom Theatre was ransacked by Israeli soldiers, its staff thrown in jail. Once celebrated as a peace initiative, it's the latest casualty of near-daily military raids on the West Bank.

How a West Bank Palestinian theater went from symbol of hope to casualty of war

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An ancient Egyptian temple in New York inspires a Lebanese American musician

Singer and composer H. Sinno is bringing a site-specific opera to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Temple of Dendur. Derrick Kakembo/The Metropolitan Museum of Art hide caption

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Derrick Kakembo/The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Culture

An ancient Egyptian temple in New York inspires a Lebanese American musician

H. Sinno, former lead singer of the pioneering Lebanese rock band Mashrou' Leila, pairs their own history with that of the Metropolitan Museum's Temple of Dendur in their new opera.

An ancient Egyptian temple in New York inspires a Lebanese American musician

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Jacqueline Novak's 'Get On Your Knees' will blow you away

Jacqueline Novak in her new comedy special, Get on Your Knees. Emily V. Aragones/Netflix hide caption

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Emily V. Aragones/Netflix

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Jacqueline Novak's 'Get On Your Knees' will blow you away

In her smart and funny comedy special Get On Your Knees, performer Jacqueline Novak delivers a kind of Ted Talk on the subject of oral sex. It's also a passionate and thoughtful coming-of-age tale delivered in language that's been finely honed to accomplish its very funny purpose. Directed by Natasha Lyonne, the Netflix special began as an off-Broadway show.

Jacqueline Novak's 'Get On Your Knees' will blow you away

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