Theater

The musical-theater titan tells the stories behind some of his most famous work, from West Side Story to Gypsy. And he offers some surprising criticisms of other theater greats, including his mentor Oscar Hammerstein.

Evening Primrose, Stephen Sondheim's made-for-TV musical about a poet and the girl he discovers living after hours in a department store hasn't been been televised since its 1966 premiere. David Bianculli says the musical, out Tuesday on DVD for the first time, showcases Sondheim's "early brilliance."

The fifth season of Dexter, which premieres Sunday night, is better than ever, says TV critic David Bianculli, who calls it "one of the most inventive and exciting shows on TV."

Director Oliver Stone turned down several offers to make a sequel to his 1987 hit Wall Street, for which Michael Douglas won an Oscar as hostile-takeover king Gordon Gekko. Then the market collapsed and it seemed a good time to revisit his old antihero.

Today is the official start of the 2010-11 TV season, and for the first time in many years, all of the major networks are unveiling most of their new and returning shows in a single, event-packed week. Our TV critic, David Bianculli, is impressed by the effort -- but not, this year, by the results.

The new series is set in Atlantic City in the 1920s -- where corruption and organized crime run as freely as the banned booze. Critic David Bianculli is impressed by the cast, which includes Steve Buscemi and Kelly Macdonald, and says the emotionally intense drama is worth adding to your must-see list this fall.

A couple of years back, the two-time Oscar nominee announced he was giving up acting to become a rapper. David Edelstein reviews Casey Affleck's film I'm Still Here, which tracks Phoenix's transformation -- and says there may be a real madness in Phoenix's method performance.

Anton Corbijn's paranoid thriller stars George Clooney as an anonymous international assassin constantly on the run. Critic David Edelstein says the spare movie "cast a spell" over the audience -- as they entered the mind of a man with no past or future.

Todd Solondz latest deadpan comedy, Life During Wartime, stars Shirley Henderson, Ally Sheedy and Allison Janney as three sisters struggling to find meaning in a bleak world filled with David Lynchian grotesques. Critic David Edelstein says it's the "feel-bad movie of the year.

The AMC cable channel premieres a modern spy series on Aug. 1; critic David Bianculli says the smart, suspenseful drama pays homage to the great conspiracy thrillers of the 1970s -- while providing a much needed update for a modern audience.

TV critic David Bianculli says watching television between June and August used to be a real chore. But these days, he says, it's anything but a bore -- if you know where and when t look. Bianculli details the highs and lows of summer 2010 -- and previews the new season of AMC's Mad Men.

Marilyn Mmiller was one of the most adored and charismatic Broadway musical stars of the 1920s and '30s. She also had a brief movie career -- before her death in 1936, at the age of 37. Critic Lloyd Schwartz review two of her movies, Sally and Sunny, just released on DVD.

Tilda Swinton stars as a wealthy wife and mother who gets involved with a younger man in Luca Guadagnino's acclaimed new film I Am Love. Fresh Air's critic-at-large John Powers says the movie offers grownup audiences something they've been missing.

Tuesday midnight sales of the latest Twilight movie, Eclipse, topped $30 million. Critic David Edelstein, who saw the film with his 12-year-old daughter, says he was hypnotized by the sexual tension and the flawless complexions -- but wonders about the lack of vampire blood.

Frank Loesser wrote the musicals Guys and Dolls and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying -- in addition to over 700 other songs. On today's Fresh Air, musical anthropologist Michael Feinstein discusses Loesser's musical legacy and plays some of his favorite Loesser tunes -- including several rare archival recordings.

The frontman for the pop-punk band Green Day details the group's early days in Berkeley an describes what it's been like to see American Idiot, a new Broadway musical based on one of his albums.

The film critic reports his impressions of this year's Canne Film Festival. On Powers' list of notable films: Apichatpong Weerasethakul's Palme d'Or-winning movie about a dying farmer, and a French film about Cistercian monks debating whether to stay put in a community full of terrorists.

The much anticipated conclusion of ABC's mystery-drenched serial drama didn't clear up everyone's questions. But to critic David Bianculli, it did make for a satsifying capstone to a story that captivated millions.

Rodrigo Garcia's film Mother and Child is his most formally daring, says critic David Edelstein. Starring Annette Bening, Kerry Washington and Naomi Watts, the film centers around the bonds between a birth mother and her children, even after that child is placed up for adoption.

The legendary composer and lyricist -- who collaborated on tunes like "Raindrops Keep Falin' on My Headd," "I Say a Little Prayer" and "What's New Pussycat?" -- discuss their 50-year relationship and some favorite tunes from the Broadway revival of their musical, Promises, Promises.