Arts Jul 22 Watch 6:27 Branden Jacobs-Jenkins on the inspiration for ‘Purpose,’ his Tony-winning family drama It’s been a successful few months for 40-year-old writer Branden Jacobs-Jenkins and his play, “Purpose,” which won both the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play. Senior arts correspondent Jeffrey Brown spoke with him recently at… By Jeffrey Brown, Simon Epstein, Sam Weber
Arts Oct 04 WATCH: Norwegian writer Jon Fosse awarded 2023 Nobel Prize in literature One of his country’s most-performed dramatists, Fosse, 64, has written some 40 plays as well as novels, short stories, children’s books, poetry and essays. By David Keyton, Mike Corder, Associated Press
Health Apr 02 How George Bernard Shaw brought the drama of health care to the stage In his comic "The Doctor's Dilemma," Shaw poses a far deeper question: How does one quantify the value of another person’s life and who is even qualified to do so fairly and justly?… By Dr. Howard Markel
Arts May 17 How ‘Raisin in the Sun’ author Lorraine Hansberry defined what it meant to be ‘young, gifted and black’ Before her early death of pancreatic cancer, the groundbreaking writer made history with "A Raisin in the Sun."… By Dr. Howard Markel
Apr 23 Why Shakespeare’s own finale remains a closed book By Dr. Howard Markel In "Hamlet," William Shakespeare contemplated the fact that once a person dies, no living person knows where that departed soul goes. That same uncertainty hovers around the final hours of the Bard of Stratford-upon-Avon. Continue reading
Oct 16 How a serious illness gave Eugene O’Neill his dark literary power By Dr. Howard Markel Long before he sat down to compose the dramas that have long enlightened and haunted audiences, Eugene O’Neill contracted tuberculosis, and it forever changed him. Continue reading
Jul 31 Watch 6:47 Remembering Sam Shepard, playwright who gave voice to drama of the heartland By PBS News Hour Continue watching
Feb 18 Watch 3:09 When Danai Gurira couldn’t find complex stories about African women, she wrote her own By PBS News Hour Danai Gurira is a playwright and performer who wants to make sure women of color don’t search in vain for stories they can relate to. Her latest play, "Eclipsed," is premiering on Broadway, and she also has a starring role… Continue watching
Feb 10 Watch 6:26 Steelworkers’ stories of disappearing jobs come to life onstage in ‘Sweat’ By PBS News Hour “Sweat,” a new play by Lynn Nottage, is a humorous and harrowing look at the decline of the Rust Belt in modern America. Inspired by stories from Reading, Pennsylvania -- once home to one of the richest corporations in the… Continue watching