News
Margaret Cho returns to Iowa with ‘Choligarchy’
3+ hour, 20+ min ago (185+ words) Margaret Cho returns to Iowa with "Choligarchy'Iowa Public Radio Margaret Cho returns to Iowa with "Choligarchy Margaret Cho was just 14 years old when she began performing standup. More than 40 years later, shes widely recognized as a trailblazer, using humor to…...
From coal mining to the Vaudeville stage
2+ week, 3+ hour ago (257+ words) A new book uncovers the story of two Vaudeville performers from an Iowa coal mining town who rose to fame on the national stage. Dan Henderson is the author and the great-nephew of the book's subjects. He shares their how…...
Would you go to a play by yourself? Theaters are hoping so
2+ week, 6+ day ago (637+ words) Nearly 20% of Broadway theater tickets are now being purchased by solo attendees " double the rate from just a couple of years ago, according to audience data for the 2024-25 season from the Broadway League. One major theater company is taking action....
At a clown school near Paris, failure is the lesson
1+ mon, 3+ week ago (1106+ words) TAMPES, France " The man in control tonight is named Carlo Jacucci. You're on the stage. He's the audience. And there's almost no chance you're going to please him " which, somehow, is exactly why you're here. "The games begin," Jacucci, a…...
Julian Barnes' playful new book is also his 'official departure"
1+ mon, 4+ week ago (941+ words) Departure(s) explores several of Barnes' lifelong obsessions " mortality, memory, and time. It's slim but weighty, digressive yet incisive. Barnes, who just turned 80, says it will be his last. Julian Barnes' playful new book is also his 'official departure' In Departure…...
As Dick Van Dyke turns 100, 99-year-old comedian and friend Mel Brooks pays tribute | Iowa Public Radio
3+ mon, 1+ week ago (826+ words) On Saturday, comedic legend Dick Van Dyke will celebrate his 100th birthday. The legendary screen and stage actor's 60-plus-year career includes TV's "Dick Van Dyke Show," Broadway's original production of "Bye Bye Birdie," and the now iconic "Mary Poppins" movie " as…...
Johnny Carson reached millions of people every evening on ‘The Tonight Show’
5+ mon, 1+ day ago (343+ words) Born in a small home in Corning on Oct. 23, 1925, Johnny Carson would have been 100 years old today. The shy boy grew up to become the king of late night television, having hosted The Tonight Show on NBC for 30 years. He…...
Aparna Nancherla jokes that she took a break from standup to stage a 'big comeback"
3+ mon, 1+ week ago (73+ words) NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with the comedian Aparna Nancherla about her first full-length comedy special, Hopeful Potato, and the anxiety and depression that once kept her off stage. Aparna Nancherla jokes that she took a break from standup to stage…...
Rob Reiner and Michael McKean discuss 'Spinal Tap II: The End Continues"
6+ mon, 1+ week ago (1119+ words) A fake documentary about a fake band is getting a real sequel - one that's long overdue. More than 40 years ago, the mockumentary "This Is Spinal Tap" followed the ups and downs of a once-famous heavy metal group as it launched…...
Johnny Carson and other Iowa late-night connections
5+ mon, 3+ day ago (217+ words) We discuss the Midwest origins of the "King of Late Night," plus the time a whole Iowa town came on Letterman's show. Then, we speak to a current producer for Seth Meyers. The late Johnny Carson would ... Johnny Carson and…...