Theater

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews a new reissue of the 1932 recording of "Show Boat," on CD. It includes performances by Paul Robeson and Helen Morgan. (It's part of the CBS Special Products Series).

Writer, producer, and director Arthur Laurents. Laurents wrote the stories for the plays "Gypsy" and "West Side Story" and the screenplays for the movies "The Way We Were" and "The Turning Point." Laurents is currently directing the Broadway revival of "Gypsy," starring Tyne Daly.

Critic Laurie Stone reviews comic Jim Turner, member of Duck's Breath Mystery Theater.

Actress Elaine Stritch. She appears this week on public television's "American Playhouse" series, starring in Richard Nelson's story of three aging friends. Elaine Stritch is an established Broadway star, who appeared on Broadway in "Company," "Pal Joey," "On Your Toes," and "Bus Stop." She currently stars on Broadway with Jason Roberts in "Love Letters," and she plays Mrs. McGee on "The Cosby Show." (Interview by Sedge Thomson)

Actor and Director William H. Macy. He's been associated with playwright and film director David Mamet for over 15 years. He appeared in the original productions of Mamet's American Buffalo and The Water Engine. He's appeared in Mamet's films, "House of Games," and "Things Change." Now he's directing the theatrical debut of Mamet's play, "Squirrels," at the Philadelphia festival of New Plays. One of Macy'S earliest acting roles was in the workshop production of "Squirrels" in the 1970's in Chicago.

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews the soundtrack of the new Broadway revival of Anything Goes.

Film critic Stephen Schiff picks the best movies of 1989.

Actress and comedienne Lily Tomlin. For years she's been doing her impressions of such characters as Ernestine, the nasal telephone operator on "Laugh-In." Now she's doing a whole cast of characters in the revival of her one-woman show, "The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe."

Actor Jerry Orbach. Orbach has had a long career on Broadway, starring in shows such as "The Three Penny Opera," "Promises, Promises," and "42nd Street." More recently he's appeared on TV and in films. His latest role is in the new Woody Allen movie, "Crimes and Misdemeanors."

Film critic Stephen Schiff reviews "Steel Magnolias," starring Dolly Parton, Olympia Dukakis, Shirley McLain, and Darrell Hannah as a group of friends in a small Southern town.

Choreographer Eliot Feld. He founded the Feld Ballet in 1974 as a place where classical ballet and modern dance could exist together. The company is still going strong, touring throughout America and overseas. Feld has also created ballets for many of the world's great companies, among them the American Ballet Theatre, the National Ballet of Canada, and the New York City Ballet.

John Malpede and Kevin Williams of the Los Angeles Poverty Department, a performance group comprised primarily of homeless and formerly homeless people. The LAPD tries to show the reality of life on the streets. John Malpede is a former performance artist and founder of LAPD (in 1985). He now serves as the group's director and a legal advocate for the homeless. Kevin Wiliams is LAPD's assistant director and former resident of Skid Row.

Songwriters Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane. They wrote the songs for the 1944 Judy Garland film classic, "Meet Me in St. Louis," including "The Trolley Song" and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." A musical based on the film is opening on Broadway this week.

Dancer and choreographer Murray Louis. He's spent 40 years pioneering modern dance, and recently he merged his company with that of his mentor, Alwin Nikolais (nik-oh-lie).

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz has a review of a never-before-recorded Kurt Weill (Vile) opera. Weill is best-known for his collaborations with playwright Bertolt Brecht, such as "The Threepenny Opera" and "The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahogany".

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews a new release of Mozart's comic opera, "The Abduction from the Seraglio." It's a 1961 performance of a little known German comedy by Mozart, but Lloyd says it compares favorably with his best known Italian works.

Film Critic Stephen Schiff reviews "Shirley Valentine," the adaptation of the hit Broadway play. The film stars the British actress Pauline Collins, who also starred in the play.

Classical Music Critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews the final three performances of the PepsiCo Summerfare Arts Festival at Purchase, New York. For ten years, the Pepsi-Cola company has underwritten an annual international arts festival that will best be remembered for its ambitious presentations of operas by Mozart and Handel that were directed by Peter Sellars. In this segment, Lloyd reviews performances of Mozart's three great Italian operas, "The Marriage of Figaro," "Don Giovanni" and "Cosi fan tutte."

Actor AVERY BROOKS. He reached stardom with his TV portrayal of "Hawk," the strong, almost silent partner in the detective series "Spenser for Hire." He took that character into its own series last season. Brooks brings to his TV work the same concern for African-American culture that has marked his stage career and his life. He won acclaim for his reinterpretation of the Harriet Beecher-Stowe character "Uncle Tom" in a production on the Showtime cable channel, and for his stage portrayal of Paul Robeson.

Unlike other film critics, Stephen Schiff isn't so troubled by the ambiguous ending of Spike Lee's third movie. Schiff admires the way Do the Right Thing smartly grapples with race relations, but he's frustrated by how inconsistent the characters are, a directorial flaw that serves the sometimes twisting plot.