Jun 3rd, 2005 · Shakespeare was not only a poet and a playwright but a songwriter as well. The famous bard wrote songs for most of his comedies. But fortunately for the Barenaked Ladies, only the lyrics survived. Celeste Headlee of Detroit Public Radio reports.
Mar 11th, 2005 · NPR's Ed Gordon speaks with Denzel Washington about his return to theater acting, this time as Brutus in the new Broadway performance of Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar.
Feb 13th, 2005 · By day, Mary Bly is a respectable English professor at New York's Fordham University. But she has a secret -- one might even say romantic -- double life. As Eloisa James, she's the author of best-selling romance novels like Duchess in Love, and Much Ado About You.
Feb 8th, 2005 · Melissa Block talks with John Beatty, who teaches a course on Shakespeare's Macbeth at Brooklyn College, about his efforts to rehabilitate the Scottish king's image. Macbeth is portrayed in Shakespeare's play as bloodthirsty, but Beatty says history suggests he was a respected king.
Jan 24th, 2005 · On the eve of the announcement of Oscar nominations, Miramax founders Bob and Harvey Weinstein are about to split from corporate owner Disney. Now, the brothers are likely to lose the name and film library of the company behind Shakespeare in Love, The English Patient, and other Oscar magnets.
Dec 29th, 2004 · Oscar-winning actor Jeremy Irons talks about his latest role as the title character in a film adaptation of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice -- a play some consider to be anti-Semitic for its portrayal of the vengeful Jewish moneylender Shylock.
Dec 29th, 2004 · NPR's Bob Mondello reviews the first full-length feature film of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. He says director Michael Radford's adaptation features stunning performances from Al Pacino and Jeremy Irons.
Nov 17th, 2004 · How did Shakespeare become the greatest playwright in the world? Harvard Professor Stephen Greenblatt tackles that question in his new biography of the bard. Will In The World has been nominated for a National Book Award. Hear Greenblatt and NPR's Steve Inskeep.