Musical theater--Production and direction

Producers Neil Meron and Craig Zadan take us inside the world of Smash, the new NBC musical drama about the people putting together a Broadway musical.

Trey Parker and Matt Stone talk about their blasphemous, hilarious and oddly endearing Broadway hit, which led the Tony nominations field this year — and will probably go down in history as the only Broadway musical ever to combine Mormons, Uganda, filthy language and a chorus line.

Laurents, best known for writing the books for the landmark musicals Gypsy and West Side Story, died Thursday. Fresh Air remembers the writer and director with excerpts from a 1990 interview.

The legendary composer and lyricist -- who collaborated on tunes like "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head," "I Say a Little Prayer" and "What's New Pussycat?" -- discuss their 50-year relationship and some favorite tunes from the Broadway revival of their musical, Promises, Promises.

On May 5, 2010, Burt Bacharach and Hal David spoke to Terry Gross about their 50-year musical relationship and their lengthy careers in the music industry.

The frontman for the pop-punk band Green Day details the group's early days in Berkeley an describes what it's been like to see American Idiot, a new Broadway musical based on one of his albums.

A new recording of Allegro, a 1947 musical by Rodgers & Hammerstein, has just been released on CD. Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization President Ted Chapin joins Fresh Air to discuss the musical.

As artistic director of the Encores series at New York's City Center, Jack Viertel is the go-to guy for one of New York's hottest musical-theater tickets. It's just the latest phase, though, in an impressive theatrical career.

Stephen Sondheim about singers

Brooks has made some of the funniest films in movie history, including The Producers, Young Frankenstein, and Blazing Saddles. His film The Producers was turned into the hottest musical now on Broadway. The Producers won 12 Tony Awards in 2001. Brooks won Tony Awards for Best Book (with Thomas Meehan) and Best Score. Now, Brooks is one of the few people who have won a Tony Award, an Academy Award, a Grammy Award and an Emmy Award.

Composer Stephen Sondheim from an interview recorded in 2000. This interview first aired September 14, 2000.