Musicals

Broadway composer John Kander of the songwriting team Kander & Ebb. They wrote the music for "Cabaret" and such songs as "New York, New York," and "And the World Goes 'Round."

Comedian and filmmaker Mel Brooks. Brooks has made some of the funniest films in movie history, including "The Producers," "Young Frankenstein," and "Blazing Saddles." In his new movie, "Life Stinks," Brooks plays a billionaire who accepts a wager to spend a month living on the street.

Film critic Stephen Schiff reviews "The Commitments," the new movie about a struggling R 'n' B band in Dublin, Ireland. The film's directed by Alan Parker, who made the movie "Mississippi Burning" and "Fame."

Film critic Maureen Corrigan reviews the new Disney animated film "Beauty and the Beast."

In case you're spending New Year's Eve at home, we've asked a couple of experts to recommend some good home videos to rent...

First, Los Angeles Times film critic Peter Rainer ("RAIN-er") suggests some home videos you might have overlooked.

Then Michael Barson shares his picks for the best "B" movies, rock and roll films, and 50s sci-fi films.

Playwright, lyricist, and novelist Joe Keenan. His new book, "Putting On the Ritz," follows the further misadventures of the Broadway characters he first created in the book "Blue Heaven." (It's published by Viking).

Composer Alan Menken. With his partner, the late lyricist Howard Ashman, Menken wrote the music for the Disney movies "Beauty and the Beast" and "The Little Mermaid." The pair also collaborated on the Broadway musical "Little Shop of Horrors." (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane).

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews the restored score of Voltaire's "Candide," conducted by Leonard Bernstein a year before his death.

TV critic David Bianculli reviews two shows that highlight two veteran performers: James Taylor and Bob Newhart. One is on Disney and the other on Showtime. With Newhart, this is his first full-length standup act in 25 years. They'll be broadcast on Sunday.

Singer Angelina Réaux. She's gained international recognition for her interpretation of Kurt Weill music. She performed in a one-woman show, "Stranger Here Myself," a collection of Weill music, dramatically linked. (A recording of the show is on the Koch Classics International label). Réaux also performs in Opera and Concert engagements and collaborated with Leonard Bernstein in a some of his final projects: recordings of "West Side Story" and "A Quiet Place." She began her career in Broadway musicals.

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews a new box set of Cole Porter's music--which Schwartz says remains fresh all these years later.

Actor and playwright Vernel Bagneris and pianist Morten Gunnar Larsen perform selections from their show, "Jelly Roll Morton: A Me-morial," with music written by Morton, and a script taken from Library of Congress tapes of Morton from 1938. The New Yorker calls it, "an experimental study, done within a traditional Broadway-musical framework, of the life and death of a black misanthrope. . . a psychomusical."

Newman joins Terry in the studio for music and conversation. Known for his satiric songs, he has sung from the perspective of a racist, a rapist and even God in songs like "Suzanne" and "Rednecks." He is currently working on a musical based on "Faust."

Music archivist Joseph Weiss recently wrote the liner notes on "An Evening With Frank Loesser," a CD featuring the late Broadway composer performing his own songs.

As part of a retrospective of his work by the Film Society of Lincoln Center, The Department of Cinema Studies at Tisch School of the Arts presented "An Evening With Martin Scorsese," a wide-ranging question and answer session taped live before an audience at New York University. We play portions of this discussion, where Scorcese examines the art of cinema and his own body of work.

Behind the scenes during the golden age of the Broadway musical: Susan Loesser, daughter of Frank Loesser, composer of the classic songs "Heart and Soul" and "Baby It's Cold Outside". He also wrote the score for "Guys and Dolls" which is now being revived on Broadway. Loesser's new memoir of her father is called "A Most Remarkable Fella."

McNally is best known for the script he wrote for "Kiss of the Spider Woman," based on the Manuel Puig novel which was made into a movie and has recently been made into a Broadway musical. His newest play is, "A Perfect Ganesh." McNally helped develop Off- and Off-Off Broadway in the early 70s.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews the original cast recording of the Broadway show "The Who's Tommy."

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews the original cast recording for Roger & Hammerstein's "South Pacific." (on Sony).

Stephen Schiff reviews Tim Burton's "Nightmare Before Christmas."