Arts

At L.A.'s UnCabaret, 25 Years Of Letting It All Hang Out

editor — Mon, 20 May 2013 21:28:00 +0000

A lot of the stand-up comedy that gets done in Los Angeles is really just comics auditioning for parts in TV or movies.

Not at UnCabaret: For 25 years, it's been a place to hear unvarnished, rough-edged ideas being tried out — mostly for the first and possibly only time.

Michael Patrick King, co-creator of the sitcom 2 Broke Girls, has worked out some issues there. So has comic, actor and Twitter titan Patton Oswalt, who took the stage to tell a tale about a date that changed his life.

Brooks: "I'm An EGOT; I Don't Need Any More"

editor — Mon, 20 May 2013 17:40:00 +0000

Over the 60 years that Mel Brooks has been in the entertainment business, his name has become synonymous with comedy.

Reaction Saturation And Sunday Night Television

Linda Holmes — Mon, 20 May 2013 12:57:00 +0000

Consider what goes on in your brain when you, for instance, you watch an episode of Mad Men.

First, you have a reaction. "That's weird" is a reaction. So is "yuck." So is "wow." "This doesn't make sense" is a reaction, "that's a great dress" is a reaction, and "WHAT?" is a reaction.

Next, you might choose to push on your reaction until it matures into a thought. "I didn't buy that conflict because I don't think Joan would take that position on this issue, based on past events" is a thought.

Book News: J.K. Rowling Tells 'Harry Potter' Backstories

Annalisa Quinn — Mon, 20 May 2013 11:22:00 +0000

The daily lowdown on books, publishing, and the occasional author behaving badly.

J.K. Rowling, Seamus Heaney, Hilary Mantel, Tom Stoppard and Ian McEwan, together with dozens of other well-known authors, have annotated first editions of their novels for an auction on Tuesday to benefit English PEN, an organization that promotes freedom of expression.

May 20-26: A Coup, An Ancient Battle And One Steamy Diary

editor — Mon, 20 May 2013 11:03:00 +0000

* Some of the language in the summaries above has been provided by publishers.

Nostalgia For Sale As Captain Kangaroo's Pals Are Auctioned Off

Mandalit del Barco — Mon, 20 May 2013 07:06:00 +0000

The classic children's show Captain Kangaroo aired on TV for nearly 30 years, starting in 1955. After its creator and star, Bob Keeshan, died in 2004, his estate donated a few of his beloved hand puppets to the Smithsonian.

But if you're like me and grew up in the 1960s and '70s, you have hazy memories of Captain Kangaroo telling stories, drawing pictures and palling around with a whole cast of sidekicks, including the bespectacled Mr. Bunny Rabbit, a dancing bear, farmhand Mr.

Decade Later And Across An Ocean, A Novel Gets Its Due

NPR Staff — Sun, 19 May 2013 20:09:00 +0000

Sometimes you need some distance to appreciate a classic.

That was certainly the case for John Williams' novel Stoner. When it was originally published in 1965, the only publication to mention the book at all was The New Yorker, in its "Briefly Noted" column. The novel received admiring reviews over the years, but sold just 2,000 copies and was almost immediately forgotten.

Fast forward to today and the book is experiencing a renaissance of sorts.

The Movie Katie Aselton Has 'Seen A Million Times'

editor — Sun, 19 May 2013 20:09:00 +0000

The weekends on All Things Considered series Movies I've Seen A Million Times features filmmakers, actors, writers and directors talking about the movies that they never get tired of watching.

Actor-director Katie Aselton's credits include the TV show The League, and the films Jeff, Who Lives At Home and Black Rock— currently in theaters and on VOD.

Unacceptable Anger From 'The Woman Upstairs'

editor — Sun, 19 May 2013 20:09:00 +0000
The main character of Claire Messud's novel, The Woman Upstairs, is a good woman. Nora is a 37-year-old elementary school teacher — responsible, kind and reliable. She is also very, very angry.
Her dreams of being an artist have been suppressed; she is seething inside with rage and resentment. But she keeps her anger in until she meets another woman who has everything she does not: a husband, a child and a successful art career. And then everything begins to unravel.

Giant Renaissance Food People Descend Upon New York

editor — Sun, 19 May 2013 12:05:00 +0000
It takes a lot of chutzpah to reduce one of the most powerful men on Earth to a pile of fruits and vegetables.
Luckily for art lovers, Giuseppe Arcimboldo had nerve to spare.
Arcimboldo created this unorthodox produce portrait of Holy Roman Emperor Rudolph II back in 1590. By that time, the Italian artist had been painting for the emperor and his powerful Habsburg family for more than 25 years, so presumably, they'd grown used to his visual jokes.