Jeff Lunden

Grand Central, A Cathedral For Commuters, Celebrates 100

Jeff Lunden — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 08:40:00 +0000

Friday marks the day that 100 years ago, Grand Central Terminal opened its doors for business for the very first time. The largest railroad terminal in the world, the magnificent Beaux-Arts building is in the heart of New York City on 42nd St.

A Vet's Haunted Homecoming In 'Water By The Spoonful'

Jeff Lunden — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 08:47:00 +0000

The cliche about writers is they should write what they know, and that old saw has certainly worked for Quiara Alegria Hudes. The 35-year-old playwright has mined her Puerto Rican family's stories into a series of plays, a musical and even a children's book.

The Peony Pavilion: A Vivid Dream In A Garden

Jeff Lunden — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 09:03:00 +0000

The Peony Pavilion is one of China's most famous operas, but uncut performances of this romantic 16th century work can take more than 22 hours. Chinese composer Tan Dun, who's best known for his Academy Award-winning score for the film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, has adapted the work into a compact 75 minutes.

Philadelphia Orchestra Reboots With New Music Director

Jeff Lunden — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 06:03:00 +0000

Everywhere you look right now, it seems like American symphony orchestras are fighting for their lives — strikes, lockouts, bankruptcy. Perhaps the biggest example is the world-renowned Philadelphia Orchestra, which is just coming out of its own bankruptcy. Tonight, its new 37-year-old music director takes the podium as the venerable orchestra begins a reboot.

The Philadelphia Orchestra has been one of the world's greatest orchestras since it was founded in 1900.

'Oklahoma!' Actress Celeste Holm Dies At 95

Jeff Lunden — Sun, 15 Jul 2012 17:47:00 +0000

Academy Award-winning actress Celeste Holm has died. A star on both stage and screen, Holm was best known for roles in Gentleman's Agreement, All About Eve and Oklahoma! She was 95.

Holm died early Sunday morning in her Manhattan apartment with her husband, family and close friends by her side.

50 Years Later, Still Free, Still Battling The Weather

Jeff Lunden — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 07:49:00 +0000

On Monday evening, one of New York's most cherished cultural institutions celebrated an anniversary. The Delacorte Theater, home of the free annual Shakespeare in the Park, turned 50, and Meryl Streep and Kevin Kline led an all-star cast in a staged reading of Romeo and Juliet.

When Kline was still a student in the drama program at The Juilliard School, he made his professional debut at the Delacorte.

Requiem For A Cabaret: The Oak Room Closes

Jeff Lunden — Thu, 31 May 2012 07:28:00 +0000

New York's historic Algonquin Hotel has been famous for a lot of things: the roundtable where some of the greatest American wits, from George S.

'Carrie' Creators Resurrect A Legendary Flop

Jeff Lunden — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 05:01:00 +0000

Broadway history is littered with flop musicals — but if some shows are bombs, then Carrie, based on Stephen King's best-selling 1974 novel, was kind of a nuclear bomb.

The story of a teenager with telekinetic powers who wreaks bloody havoc on her small Maine town had already been successfully adapted as a film starring Sissy Spacek in 1976. But as a musical?

Frank Rich was theater critic for The New York Times when the show opened in April 1988.

Colonial History, Through The Eyes Of The Colonized

Jeff Lunden — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:01:00 +0000

Actor and writer Danai Gurira sometimes refers to herself as a "Zimerican": She was born in Iowa, but spent most of her childhood in Harare, Zimbabwe — where her new play, The Convert, is set.

"I grew up there from age 5 to 19," Gurira says.