Arts
Theater
William Shakespeare started writing plays in an era when popular theater was exploding and cementing its place in culture. Audiences spanned economic classes, professions and educational backgrounds, and he was keenly aware of the need to write for all attendees. He frequently wrestled with topics that retain relevance for society across centuries, such as power struggles,...
HBO’s hit show “Succession” is the latest example of how well the themes of tragedy, betrayal, ambition, and love — which Shakespeare depicted for the stage centuries before even the most basic technology — are capable of being magnificently transformed for the screen. Brian Cox, renowned Shakespearean actor and star of “Succession,” and Simon Godwin, Shakespeare Theatre C...
While Shakespeare’s themes are timeless, it may not always be easy for 21st century Americans to see themselves in his work. Join a director, a scholar, and the 2022 Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright of Fat Ham for a discussion of why and how the Bard still speaks to all of us.
Join Public Theater Artistic Director and Aspen Institute Harman/Eisner Artist in Residence Oskar Eustis and Saheem Ali, The Public’s associate artistic director and resident director, as they mark the reopening of one of its most storied venues — the Delacorte Theater in New York City’s Central Park — for The Public’s Free Shakespeare in the Park. Speaking from the Delaco...
Playwright Anna Deavere Smith and opera director Yuval Sharon explore how this extraordinary moment in our history will both influence their work as artists and compel all of us to reinterpret art from the past. While social change has emboldened artistic expression throughout history, evident in ancient Greek plays and centuries-old Shakespearian dramas, artistic expressi...
At the 2020 Aspen Ideas Festival, five of America's premier artists in classical music, jazz, and ballet bring virtual audiences works of art intended to deepen thought.
How is art confronting a racist system in America? Artists are using their craft to push the country forward in a critical moment.
Women's History Month is an opportunity to honor the indelible contributions women have made in societies around the world. But don't wait until remarkable women are in history books to celebrate them! Learn about contemporary women making their mark on the world.
How do you preserve a legacy? How do you make it thrive? For over a decade, August Wilson’s landmark ten-play Century Cycle has been the basis for not only award-winning productions and adaptations but an inspirational competition for young people across the nation. Acclaimed playwright, actress, and Aspen Institute Trustee Anna Deavere Smith discusses the profound impact...
Common, an Oscar, Golden Globe, Emmy, and Grammy award-winner, will open the Afternoon of Conversation with Arthur Brooks, the president of the American Enterprise Institute. They will discuss Common’s recent book, Let Love Have the Last Word, which explores love as an action and a tool for self-betterment and healing humanity. Harvard Professor Cass Sunstein talks to Face...
Carl and Marilynn Thoma Provostial Professor in the Arts and Humanities, Stanford University; Author, Summoning Pearl Harbor
Broadway producer Jeffrey Seller talks about working on Rent, Hamilton, and other shows.
A hip-hop musical about America’s founding fathers with a virtually all minority cast. A reimagining of La bohème as a rock musical uncovering the AIDS crisis in New York City. A coming-of-age musical about the anxieties of entering adulthood told through cartoons. These are just a few of the radically relevant and compelling concepts that Tony Award-winning producer Jeffr...
Wonder what you ever did before Hamilton came along? So do we! Join us for a lively and informal behind-the-scenes look at all things "A.Ham" with the show’s producer and the host of the Hamilton fan podcast The Room Where It’s Happening. We’ll explore how it came to be, what the creation process was like, challenges the producers faced, and whether the team that made it h...
In 1957, George Balanchine and his fellow Russian émigré Igor Stravinsky astonished audiences with their revolutionary ballet Agon for the New York City Ballet. With a score combining French Renaissance dance melodies and twelve-tone invention, Agon's diverse cast wore simple black-and-white practice clothes and performed with unadorned clarity on a spare stage, laying bar...
Any city would be lucky to have an artist in its corner like 2016 Harman-Eisner Artist-in-Residence Theaster Gates, whose work embraces activism, cultural preservation, and community development. Since he began work on his now famed Dorchester Projects in 2009, Gates’s transformation of a once-neglected South Side neighborhood into a thriving cultural hub has yielded an en...
In this “Extra” episode, Eric Liu talks to David Henry Hwang, Tony-winning American playwright, screenwriter, and opera librettist.