Theater

Shawn co-starred in and co-wrote the movie, "My Dinner With Andre," and also appeared in "Manhattan," "The Princess Bride," and "Radio Days." Now Shawn is performing a one-man monologue called "The Fever," about a well-to-do man coming to grips with the world's poverty.

In the new thriller, Hopkins plays Doctor Hannibal Lecter, a brillant psychiatrist turned sociopath killer, who also holds the key to the identity of another crazed killer. He tells Terry how he developed the character, including his distinctive voice. Earlier in his career, Hopkins was a stage actor.

Stoppard wrote the award-winning plays "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead," "The Real Inspector Hound," and "The Real Thing;" and the screenplays for "Empire of the Sun," "Brazil," and "The Russia House." He's just made his debut as a film director in the movie adaptation of "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead." During his early life, he lived in India and Singapore.

Television critic David Bianculli reviews "Darlings of the Gods," a TV miniseries about the real life romance between two of this century's greatest actors; Lawrence Oliver and Vivian Leigh.

Stephen Schiff reviews the new film starring Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins. He says that, despite its macabre premise, the movie is oddly comforting and fairy-tale like.

In honor of Saint Valentine's Day, film critic Owen Gleiberman reviews the 1946 romance, "Humoresque," with Joan Crawford and John Garfield. He says no recent romance films capture Hollywood's early edginess.

Film critic Stephen Schiff reviews the new movie, "Not Without My Daughter." It stars Sally Field and Alfred Molina and is based on the true story of an American woman and her daughter who are trapped in Iran after the Iranian revolution. Among the movie's many problems is its demonization of Muslims -- which, in light of the Gulf crisis, couldn't have come at a worse time.

The 60's soap opera "Dark Shadows" returns from the dead this weekend. Television critic David Bianculli says the original, like a vampire, bites and sucks. The reboot remains, at best, a guilty pleasure.

Durang is best-known for his controversial play, "Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You." A new collection of six of his plays has just come out called "Christopher Durang Explains It All For You." He joins Fresh Air to talk about some of his successes and failures, and his frustrations with New York theater.

Television's "second season" is underway, and television critic David Bianculli reviews a couple of new shows: "Sons and Daughters" and "Undercover."

Magnuson starred in the movies, "Making Mister Right," and "A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon," and on the TV series, "Anything But Love." She's had numerous one woman monologue shows in Manhattan. She joins Fresh Air for an interview, and shares an excerpt of one of her life performances, about groupies following Doors' frontman Jim Morrison.

Film critic Stephen Schiff review the new film, in which the muscled actor plays a cop who goes undercover as a teacher to capture a drug kingpin. Schiff says the movie tries to be all things to all people, but it somehow works.

Television critic David Bianculli reviews the new Masterpiece Theatre series, "Scoop," based on the Evelyn Waugh novel of the same name. It's about a young, inexperienced foreign correspondent in 1935.

Film critic Stephen Schiff reviews what he says is Coppola's best movie since the last Godfather. He says it's not perfect, but it's better than anything else in theaters right now.

Kevin Whitehead, who normally reviews jazz for Fresh Air, looks at the new movie "The Russia House," an adaptation of the recent John LeCarre spy novel. Whitehead says it's neither good nor bad, but he likes Sean Connery's performance.

Film critic Stephen Schiff reviews Sydney Pollack's new movie, a love story that's supposed to be steamy, but, according to Schiff, lacks both passion and political sophistication.

Classical Music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews the Great Performances telecast of Peter Sellars' production of "The Marriage of Figaro." It airs this Friday night on PBS.

Luft is featured on the new complete recordings of the 1930 musical Girl Crazy -- she sings the part that gave Ethel Merman her start on Broadway. Luft's mother was Judy Garland, and her sister is Liza Minnelli.

Critic Owen Gleiberman reviews Edward Scissorhands, the new movie directed by Tim Burton, starring Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder. Gleiberman says the film shows Burton's artistry taking a new leap.

Writer Wendy Smith is author of Real Life Drama, about the Group Theater, which was founded in the early thirties to bring social realism to the Broadway stage. The ensemble of actors and directors stayed together for ten years and had a lasting effect on American theater.