Terry Gross

A revival of Ain't Misbehavin', featuring the original cast, is now playing on Broadway. Critic-at-large Laurie Stone says she jumped at the chance to see it. Overacting and exaggerated choreography plagued the first act, but the cast showed restraint during the last half.

The hit songwriter sang bass with the doo-wop group The Crowns; he switched to lead vocals when they became The Drifters. King got his start at Harlem's Apollo Theater before finding national fame. As a solo performer, he had hits with original songs like "Stand by Me" and "Spanish Harlem."

New Fresh Air performer-in-residence Dick Hyman plays some of the music of Jelly Roll Morton. Hyman says the pianist and composer bridged the gap between ragtime and jazz, incorporating the phrasing and style of wind and reed players.

Eight Men Out, about a 1919 baseball scandal, is directed by John Sayles. Film critic Stephen Schiff says there are some good performances, but the movie is more of a moralistic argument than a story; it could have used some of the wit Sayles injected into his earlier B-movies.

The actor left India to study in England; he says there were no opportunities to hone his craft in his home country. Despite personal discrimination and early difficulties finding race-approriate roles, Saeed refused to become bitter; he says harboring that emotion would have hurt his acting. He stars in the new film The Deceivers.

Edward Hirsch was an All-American football player in college -- at the same time he became interested in poetry. He talks about how insomnia, sports, and restlessness affect his life and writing. He reads several poems for Fresh Air listeners.

Father Ralph Beiting's ministry serves the poor of the Appalachian region, which he says was overlooked by the reforms and social programs of the 1960s. He links poverty to the degradation of family life. Despite the difficulties associated with his work, Beiting has fallen in love with the area and its people.

The Israeli author's new novel is about a man descended from both a Jewish Holocaust survivor and a Palestinian aristocrat. While Kaniuk fought for the Israeli War for Independence, he also signed -- along with other Israeli and Arab intellectuals and artists -- an agreement advocating for Palestinian independence.

Baker stars opposite Michael Keaton in the new movie Clean and Sober. Previously, she played a sex worker in Street Smart, which gained popularity after its home video release. Baker didn't start acting until she was in her thirties.

Hesseman played disc jockey Dr. Johnny Fever in WKRP in Cincinnati, and now stars as a high school teacher in the comedy Head of the Class. He tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross about how his performances and personal experiences inform each other. Early in his career, Hesseman sold two ounces of marijuana to an undercover police officer; he later had his record expunged.