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Space
5:02 am
Sun June 10, 2012

NASA Fishes For Tools To Tackle Asteroid

Credit Miami Herald / MCT via Getty Images
Astronauts Shannon Walker and David Saint-Jacques test a probe in the waters off Key Largo, Fla. Their research may help NASA set foot on an asteroid someday.
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Originally published on Sun June 10, 2012 7:32 pm

NASA may have retired its shuttles, but it has its sights on sending astronauts deeper into space than ever before.

These voyages are years away, but on Monday, astronauts are heading underwater to take part in a simulation that will help them figure out how they might explore one possible new destination: a near-Earth asteroid.

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Around the Nation
5:00 am
Sun June 10, 2012

Farm Bill More Than Just Peanuts For Some Farmers

Credit Kathy Lohr / NPR
Georgia farmer Donald Chase says the Senate's proposed farm bill favors farmers in the Midwest and leaves Southern farmers without a safety net.
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Originally published on Sun June 10, 2012 3:58 pm

Southeast of Macon, Ga., near Oglethorpe, rows of peanuts planted six weeks ago have sprouted. Tiny yellow flowers dot the rich-green plants. Donald Chase, his father and grandfather have owned this farm since the 1950s.

Like many southern farmers, Chase objects to the version of the farm bill kicking around in the Senate this week. The bill aims to do away with direct payments to farmers by expanding crop insurance programs.

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Theater
11:03 pm
Sat June 9, 2012

Behind The Stars, The Sets That Help Them Shine

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Credit Mike Coppola / Getty Images
The idea behind Ost's design was to keep the set out of the way of the storytelling --€” and of Newsies' kinetic ensemble.
Credit Nathan Johnson
Ostling's finished set for the play's first half varies a bit from his initial design; note the higher stairway opening.
Credit Donyale Werle
For Peter and the Starcatcher, set designer Donyale Werle wanted to suggest the found-object serendipity characteristic of kids at play.
Credit Bob Crowley
Designer Bob Crowley modeled the set for Once on a pub — because the play's original venue had a built-in bar.
Credit Joan Marcus
All of the performers in Once play their own instruments; the onstage bar serves wine and beer before the show and at intermission.
Credit d
The finished Starcatcher set.
Credit Tobin Ost
Designer Tobin Ost conceived a modular set to represent the multitude of Manhattan locations in Newsies.
Credit Daniel Ostling
In Clybourne Park, a 1950s Chicago bungalow is as much a character as any of the people. Daniel Ostling's first-act set model, above, shows how the designer conceived the space and its furnishings.
Credit Tobin Ost
The mobile metal scaffoldings in Ost's design stand in for the cityscape and also support screens for the production's video projections.
Credit Mike Coppola / Getty Images
The idea behind Ost's design was to keep the set out of the way of the storytelling --€” and of Newsies' kinetic ensemble.
Credit Nathan Johnson
In the second act, the Clybourne Park house has seen substantial wear and tear. The play's story of a neighborhood's decline and rebirth is made tangible in Ostling's design.
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Originally published on Sun June 10, 2012 2:50 pm

Broadway caps off its 2011-2012 season June 10 at the 66th annual Tony Awards, and while the focus will mostly be on the nominated shows and actors, some attention must be paid to the set designers — the people who help create the environments that let those shows and actors shine.

Take Daniel Ostling: When he read Bruce Norris' script for Clybourne Park, a play that takes place in a very realistic Chicago bungalow, the veteran scenarist quickly came to a realization: "The house is actually a character."

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Theater
11:03 pm
Sat June 9, 2012

Tony Predictions From A Record-Breaking Season

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Credit Brigitte Lacombe / New York Magazine
Philip Seymour Hoffman (center) and Andrew Garfield (left) with Finn Wittrock and Linda Emond in the revival of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman. The play received seven nominations in total.
Credit Brigitte Lacombe / New York Magazine
Philip Seymour Hoffman in Death of a Salesman, directed by Mike Nichols. The play, Hoffman and Nichols are favorites to take home awards.
Credit Joan Marcus
Steve Kazee and Cristin Milioti in Once, a musical based on the cult-favorite Irish indie movie. The show received 11 nominations, leading the Tonys pack this year.
Credit Nathan Johnson
From left, Damon Gupton, Annie Parisse, Crystal A. Dickinson and Jeremy Shamos in a scene from Clybourne Park's second act, set in a gentrifying neighborhood.
Credit Joan Marcus
Danny Burstein, as Buddy Plummer, performs "Buddy's Blues" in Follies with Jenifer Foote (left) and Kiira Schmidt. Burstein is nominated for best actor in a musical.
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Originally published on Tue June 12, 2012 6:43 pm

Let's get this out of the way: The most anticipated show of the past two Broadway seasons — Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark -- finally opened, after multiple delays, cast injuries, the firing of its writer-director Julie Taymor and the longest preview period in Broadway history, on June 14th, 2011, a few days after last year's Tony Awards.

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Politics
4:02 pm
Sat June 9, 2012

Could 'Taxmageddon' Crisis Create Compromise?

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Originally published on Sat June 9, 2012 5:35 pm

On Jan. 1, trillions of dollars in spending cuts and tax increases — called Taxmageddon — will take effect unless Congress and the White House can agree on a new plan. Many economists say the country will fall back into a recession if it happens. Former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin says Congress may actually be "forced to make a decision that affects taxes and spending."

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