Out, Brief Candle: 15 Singular James Earl Jones Stage Performances
Some of the late James Earl Jones's greatest accomplishments as an actor were in performances nobody will ever see again.
James Earl Jones Was More Than Just the Voice
Sadly, the only person who could bring enough magnitude and gravitas to announcing the news of James Earl Jones’s death is James Earl Jones.
To Celebrate the 460th Birthday of Legendary Writer William Shakespeare, We’re Stealing His Stories
At some point in April 1564, William Shakespeare was born. 460 years later, we're still recycling his ideas.
Remembering Christopher Durang, the Playwright Who Explained it All For Us, Only Funny
When Christopher Durang sat down to write a play about something, it's like he asked "Am I allowed to make this funny?" and if the answer was no, he did it anyway.
65 Years Ago, “A Raisin in the Sun” Changed American Theatre
Sixty-five years ago this month, Lorraine Hansberry’s pivotal play A Raisin in the Sun opened on Broadway, and it’s exerted a gravitational pull on American culture ever since.
The Curtain Comes Down on Two of Broadway’s Legendary Dancers
No one else could move like them, but plenty wanted to try. Chita Rivera and Hinton Battle were true Broadway originals.
70 Years of Waiting: Happy Birthday, Godot
The title character of Samuel Beckett's absurdist classic is 70 years old. But maybe don't wait for him to show up before you cut the cake.
You Never Forget Your First Folio: How William Shakespeare Invented Books
Shakespeare invented a lot of things, including, apparently, book culture. Thou art welcome, BookTok.
Six Tons of Sand and a Dream: Remembering Playwright Tina Howe
Tina Howe was a playwright, which is to say, she wasn't a household name. But she was a beloved and respected artist whose body of work resonates through the careers of any number of artists that you've definitely heard of.
Remembering Alan Arkin, an Everyman With a Side of Chaos
The funniest grandpa in Little Miss Sunshine was also the scariest guy in Wait Until Dark and the saddest salesman in Glengarry Glen Ross. Alan Arkin could play almost anyone while always being unmistakably himself.
15 Tony Award Winners
This Sunday night is the 76th Tony Awards, the biggest night in American theater. Or at least the biggest night in a certain fourteen-square-block section of American theater.
Going Back to Rydell High: Grease and the Rise of the Pink Ladies
A 1970s musical set in the 1950s, Grease is a double helping of nostalgia. But a new generation of creators thinks Rydell High and streaming television might go together like rama lama lama ka dinga da dinga dong.
10 of the Best Angela Lansbury Movies
Jessica Fletcher, a talking teapot, Sweeney Todd's enterprising neighbor -- Angela Lansbury was different things to different people, but she was always beloved.
9 Asian-American Playwrights You Should Know
The American theater's representation of Asian experiences has often been problematic. These writers have tried to change that.
More Plays by Black Playwrights
Much of the most vital writing in the American theater today is coming from Black playwrights. Let the library acquaint you with a few
Music and Dancing and All That Jazz
If it weren't for iconic dancer and choreographer Ann Reinking, there'd be an Ann Reinking-shaped hole in the middle of American culture -- and in the middle of the movie "Annie."
Resources on Shakespeare for High School Learners
Are you overwhelmed with the number of resources to help your students learn? Let the Library help! Using trusted resources and expert knowledge, our resourceful librarians have gathered a collection of credible and reliable resources – both electronic and books on Shakespeare, specifically for High School learners.
So You Still Say You Hate Musicals
Thanks to the new streaming movie, everyone's talking about Hamilton again. But you feel left out of the conversation because you hate musicals. Let us help.
So You Say You Hate Musicals
We've heard your grumbles. We don't accept them. We bet we can change your mind.
Plays by African-American Playwrights
For decades, African-American playwrights have pushed the American theater to embrace bold, daring and popular new forms and have, in the process, contributed some of the most enduring stories and characters in the American literary canon. The library has on its shelves an assortment of scripts from this robust tradition.
Theater Nerds Unite
Celebrating the 60th anniversary of the musical West Side Story by exploring library materials that might be of interest to theater geeks.
