Theater

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead says the movie star had a range of about six notes, but he had personality and a swinging house band. Yet Astaire deserves praise for making famous several songs which later became standards.

Harnick collaborated with composer Jerry Bock on hit musicals like Fiorello! and Fiddler on the Roof. One of their earlier works, She Loves Me, has found newfound success; the original cast album has just been reissued on CD.

Film critic Stephen Schiff says the movie turns the story of murdered civil rights workers into a stiff police procedural with a reductionist view of race relations.

The new Barry Levinson movie, also starring Tom Cruise, tells the story of two brothers, one of whom is severely autistic -- and the inheritor of three million dollars. Film critic Stephen Schiff says, despite Hoffman's masterful performance, Rain Man lacks focus.

Harvey Fierstein wrote and stars in the new movie Torch Song Trilogy, which is based on his play of the same name. Fierstein in openly, and hopes his visibility in the acting community will help normalize homosexuality.

Film critic Stephen Schiff talks with Terry Gross about this years movies. He says 1988 was an unusually good year for American films, though his favorite Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, by Spanish director Pedro Almodovar. His least favorite movie was Willow.

Critic Ken Tucker lauds the VHS release of Letter from an Unknown Woman, a 1948 drama about a philandering pianist and the mother of his child. Tucker also recommends Floating Weeds, License to Drive, and Monkey Shines.

Director Stephen Frears directed the adaptation of the play, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, about a contest of sexual conquest and infidelity. Film critic Stephen Schiff praises how it handles eroticism. Despite some casting missteps, he believes it's "a brilliant tarentella" of a movie.

TV critic David Bianculli says the drama, set it in a restaurant, took a while to find its footing, but is now on solid ground. But poor ratings have led NBC to retool the show as a half-hour program -- a decision Bianculli hopes won't diminish Tattinger's quality.

Film critic Stephen Schiff says January isn't the best month for movies; screenwriter John Patrick Shanley's latest cop drama is no exception -- the January Man is so quirky that it's hard to take seriously.

Conductor John McGlinn says that his decision to bring back the controversial language of Jerome Kern's classic musical posed some challenges, but was necessary to recapture the poignant and insightful nature of the work. McGlinn's efforts can be heard on a new CD on the EMI label.

Film critic Stephen Schiff says that the World War II-themed The Dressmaker masterfully follows in the European tradition of what he calls "intimate filmmaking" -- something no American director has yet been able to replicate.

Critic-at-large Laurie Stone reviews the actor and playwright's latest performance piece, about growing up and a teenage stint in a juvenile home.

Director Michael Crichton's latest, a cop thriller called Physical Evidence, stars Burt Reynolds and Theresa Russell, who fail to breathe life into the film's clumsy script. Critic Stephen Schiff wonders if Crichton was having an out-of-body experience when he directed the movie.

Television critic David Bianculli says that viewers have lost their taste for westerns and miniseries. But he recommends the star-studded show Lonesome Dove, which is both. The story follows the lives of three sheriffs in the untamed west.

Lawrence of Arabia has recently been remastered, and a new 70mm print has just been released theatrically. Film critic Stephen Schiff says watching the movie as a child inspired him to become a film critic; watching it again as an adult, he's impressed by its enduring, powerful themes.

Critic Ken Tucker reviews the home video release The Sweet Smell of Success, which he says features gorgeous shots of 1950s New York City, and an unrelenting narrative intensity.

The World War II-themed Christabel airs at the same time as Glory! Glory!, about the relationship between a televangist and a punk rocker. Since the latter will play repeatedly on HBO, TV critic David Bianculli recommends first watching the more substantive Christabel.

New performers-in-residence, singer Joan Morris and pianist William Bolcom, play two of their favorite Rodgers and Hart songs.

The new PBS show dramatized news program Timeline features on-the-ground reporting of historical events in order to give viewers a new way of thinking about the past. TV critic David Bianculli praises the show's accuracy, and it's respect for its audience.