Acclaimed playwright Tom Stoppard dies at 88 by Tom Vitale

The Czech-born British playwright is known for Arcadia, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead and The Coast of Utopia. Stoppard also wrote screenplays for Brazil and Shakespeare in Love.

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 2:06pm on November 29, 2025[SHARE]

A beloved music producer is dying. His clients came to his home for a farewell concert by Tom Vitale

Adam Abeshouse was diagnosed with bile duct cancer last spring. His star classical music clients, including Joshua Bell, Simone Dinnerstein, Jeremy Denk, and Lara Downes, wanted to say goodb…

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 8:42pm on October 2, 2024[SHARE]

Terence Blanchard's opera on the troubled life of boxer Emile Griffith premieres by Tom Vitale

Terence Blanchard's work based on the troubled life of boxing champion Emile Griffith premieres at the Metropolitan Opera.

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 9:42am on April 10, 2023[SHARE]

'Champion' is not your grandmother's Metropolitan Opera by Tom Vitale

Terence Blanchard made history last season when his opera Fire Shut Up in My Bones was the first work by a Black composer staged by the Metropolitan Opera. And the Met has asked for more.

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 9:03am on April 8, 2023[SHARE]

85-year-old bassist Ron Carter has no plans on slowing down by Tom Vitale

The roster of musicians Carter has worked with ranges from Ornette Coleman to Aretha Franklin, Roberta Flack and A Tribe Called Quest.

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 9:42am on May 4, 2022[SHARE]

How the late jazz great Charles Mingus is being remembered 100 years later by Tom Vitale

Regarded as one of the most important figures in jazz, tributes are planned across the world to honor the legacy of bassist, bandleader and pioneer Charles Mingus.

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 11:03pm on April 21, 2022[SHARE]

How the late jazz great Chick Corea is being remembered " in concert by Tom Vitale

Chick Corea loved to collaborate. His former bandmates are honoring his memory with two star-studded concerts.

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 8:03am on April 14, 2022[SHARE]

Terence Blanchard Makes History At The Metropolitan Opera by Tom Vitale

Fire Shut Up in My Bones, based on the Charles M. Blow memoir of the same title, is the first work by a Black composer to be staged by the Metropolitan Opera.

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 12:32pm on September 27, 2021[SHARE]

Hear Bach's Music Like You've Never Heard It Before: Upside Down by Tom Vitale

For most artists, 2020 was a year of forced isolation and few opportunities. But Dan Tepfer, a jazz pianist and composer, had a busy year, partly thanks to his technological acumen.

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 7:24pm on June 4, 2021[SHARE]

'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom' Shines A Light On August Wilson's Vision by Tom Vitale

The late August Wilson's first Broadway hit, "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom," has been adapted for the screen, starring Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman in his final film role.

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 11:06am on December 18, 2020[SHARE]

On Broadway, 'Network' Goes From Satire To Tragedy by Tom Vitale

The 1976 movie Network struck a nerve with its darkly comic predictions about celebrity news anchors and the rise of infotainment. Now, a stage adaptaion is one of the hottest tickets on Bro…

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 7:32am on January 19, 2019[SHARE]

After Decades On Stage, Arthur Miller's Works Defy The Final Curtain by Tom Vitale

The great American playwright was born a century ago Saturday. An activist as much as he was a writer, Miller challenged social ills in playscripts " and set a new standard for the citizen-a…

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 12:34pm on October 17, 2015[SHARE]

Günter Grass, Who Confronted Germany's Past As Well As His Own, Dies At 87 by Tom Vitale

In 2006, the Nobel prize-winning author of The Tin Drum admitted that as a teen during World War II, he had served with the Waffen-SS " the combat unit of the Nazi Party's elite military pol…

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 7:30am on April 13, 2015[SHARE]

'A Salesman' Lives On In Philip Seymour Hoffman by Tom Vitale

When Philip Seymour Hoffman took the stage on March 15 in the new revival of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, he became the fifth actor in 63 years to walk the boards of Broadway in the …

SOURCE: WNYC at 3:00pm on March 18, 2012[SHARE]