Performing Arts

Comedy legend Margaret Cho talks about returning to her roots in political comedy and why she calls this her most brutally honest show yet. She is coming to the Englert Theatre in Iowa City on March 27. Then, the Millennial Stone Cleaner shares how restoring gravestones has turned into a powerful way to honor forgotten lives. (A portion of this episode was originally produced Oct. 10, 2024)

The groups, which include the American Institute of Architects, are asking for compliance with historic preservation laws and to secure approval from Congress.

Scott Simon and former director Deborah Rutter look out over a soon-to-be shuttered Kennedy Center.

Graham was a creative force in the performing arts. She wanted dance to express authentic, human emotions — a revolutionary idea in the late 1920s.

Cartoonist Lauren Haldeman talks about her new collection, Wild That We’re Alive. Then a dance theater performance explores the emotional and physical toll of infertility and pregnancy loss.

A new documentary, Simon Estes: A Heart and A Voice tells the remarkable story of a Centerville native who shattered the color barrier for Black men in opera, and has used his acclaim and devout faith to give back as a philanthropist and humanitarian. Then and interview with Council Bluffs-based author, John T. Price, about his latest work, Goethe’s Oak: A Holocaust Story.

The Kennedy Center board voted Monday to close the complex for renovations. The vote follows President Trump's announcement that he plans to replace the venue's president Richard Grenell.

NPR's Scott Simon speaks with playwright Wallace Shawn and director André Gregory about their newest play, "What We Did Before Our Moth Days." They've been working together for five decades.

In a post on Truth Social, President Trump announced Friday afternoon that Richard Grenell is leaving the Kennedy Center. The arts complex is scheduled to close in July for renovations.

While commuters race through New York's Moynihan Station, dancers rehearse all down the corridor before they film their performances for social media.