News & Views

As the Free Library of Philadelphia continues its celebration of A Year of  Dickens, WRTI's Susan Lewis considers the lasting appeal of the 19th-century writer - 200 years after his birth.

The exhibition AT HOME ON THE STAGE: Charles Dickens and Theatre  is at the Rare Book Department of the Parkway Central Library through January 3rd, 2013.  A variety of Dickens-related programming is also scheduled, including literary salons that are considering a different Dickens novel each month. 

Trumpet virtuoso, singer and bandleader Louis Armstrong propelled jazz onto the mainstream stage, shaping the music with his own distinctive style.  Jazz documentary producer Ken Burns says “Armstrong is to music what Einstein is to Physics, and the Wright Brothers are to travel.”

Yet,  the man behind the legend is less well known.  The Wilma Theater is now staging Satchmo at the Waldorf, a one-man show by Terry Teachout, who is also the Wall Street Journal drama critic and the author of Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong.  Both the book and the play are informed by audio tapes Armstrong made of his private conversations with friends and family.

Susan Lewis talks with playwright Terry Teachout, actor John Douglas Thompson, and WRTI's Maureen Malloy about Armstrong and his life, and about how the tapes, the book, and the play reveal a different, lesser-known side of the jazz icon.

A long war between France and Spain winds down with a peace treaty.  A cross-border royal marriage solidifies the deal.  Over the course of the next several hours, Italian composer Guiseppe Verdi tests the limits of a king’s power, the good intentions of a jealous princess, and the loyalty of a dear friend. Underscoring it all, are the righteous fury of the Spanish Inquisition and the unfulfilled love of Spain’s Don Carlo and the virtuous Elizabeth of France, culminating in one puzzling conclusion.   

In the midst of a still rocky financial landscape, one suburban Philadelphia county is investing in the arts as a path to a more vibrant local economy. This fall, Montgomery County unveiled “Creative Montco” – an initiative created by a collaboration of  cultural groups, county government, community planners, and business, education, and foundation leaders.