Search results for

Cinematic teachers have spent decades hacking through blackboard jungles and dashing up down-staircases. But there may never have been a teaching movie quite like School of Rock, with overgrown kid Jack Black taking out his arena-rock frustrations on elementary school students. NPR's Bob Mondello reviews director Richard Linklater's newest film.

Jazz singer Stacey Kent's story would make a good Hollywood movie -- born in New Jersey, studied in Europe, hit the jazz club circuit in London and found love and success. She's back with a new CD that pays tribute to the American singers and songwriters she calls her childhood heroes. Listen to samples from the CD.

Herbie Mann, who helped introduce Afro-Cuban and Brazilian music to the United States and popularized the flute as a jazz instrument, died Monday night of prostate cancer. He was 73. NPR's Neda Ulaby reports.

Martha Woodroof of member station WMRA profiles author Mark Haddon, whose novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time features a 15-year-old math whiz with Asperger's Syndrome who tries to discover who killed a dog with a garden fork.

In the second of a two-part performance chat, NPR's Bob Edwards talks to songwriter and pianist Randy Newman, who plays and sings some of his kinder, gentler compositions.

Marking the start of the World Series -- and a heartbreaking week for fans of the Boston Red Sox -- NPR's Steve Inskeep reads selected baseball prose.

Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi tells the story of a pizza delivery man in Tehran, in his newest movie, Crimson Gold. It's making its debut at the New York Film Festival tonight, but the acclaimed director won't be there. David D'Arcy reports.

An exhibit called "Petra, Lost City of Stone" is opening at the American Museum of Natural History. The city of Petra, cut into the cliffs of what is now Jordan, was a great trading crossroads of the ancient world. Hear NPR's Steve Inskeep and Craig Morris, co-curator of an exhibit.

Avenue Q, a sexually explicit puppet stage show, is bringing normally musical-resistant 20-somethings into the theater. The small show featuring some very adult felt characters has moved from an off-Broadway theater to Broadway, thanks to rave reviews. NPR's Jeff Lunden reports.

The family and record company of the late poet-songwriter Jacques Brel release five previously unpublished songs. The music appears on a commemorative set issued to mark the 25-year anniversary of Brel's death. Fans and purists are dismayed over the release of the music that Brel asked never be published. NPR's Nick Spicer reports.