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Salman Rushdie's novel of war and religious intolerance, Midnight's Children, finds new life on the stage. The adaptation by the Royal Shakespeare Company makes its American premiere at the University of Michigan. Celeste Headlee reports.

As the nation celebrates National Poetry Month, NPR's Susan Stamberg interviews poet Dana Gioia, chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. They discuss the NEA's comeback from controversies and the outlook for arts funding. Hear Gioia read his poem, "Unsaid," at npr.org.

The documentary film Rivers and Tides focuses on the "wilderness art" of Andy Goldsworthy -- enhanced dramatically by the big screen. Goldsworthy uses natural elements to create work that is often ephemeral in nature. Los Angeles Times film critic Ken Turan offers a review.

Contract negotiations between Broadway producers and the musicians' union are stuck over how many musicians must be employed by each show. Producers are threatening virtual pit bands. Musicians are threatening to strike. Jeff Lunden reports.

Nigerian drummer Babatunde Olatunji dies Sunday at age 76. Olatunji recorded an album in 1959 called Drums of Passion, and it was for many Americans their first exposure to African drumming. While studying at Atlanta's Morehouse College, Olatunji learned about Africa, colonialism, slavery, and about being dark skinned in America in the '50s, and he became an ambassador for African Culture in America. We remember his music.

Director Neil Jordan brings a smoky, jazzy sensibility -- and some new twists -- to his remake of the classic 1955 French film, Bob Le Flambeur. But The Good Thief's best asset may be its star Nick Nolte, who portrays a "glorious wreck." NPR's Bob Mondello reports.

The prestigious Oak Room at New York's Algonquin Hotel has been filled with the sound of Peter Cincotti, the youngest singer ever to perform there. At 20, Cincotti refreshes a variety of American standards that were first popular decades before he was born. Karen Michel reports.

Using a bare outline discovered in historical documents, Dutch musicologist Jos Van der Zanden has reconstructed an oboe concerto that Beethoven wrote at age 22. Van der Zanden speaks with NPR's Susan Stamberg.

Walter Mosley is best known for his entertaining Easy Rawlins mysteries, but with his latest title the author decided to turn his sights on heavier stuff. His new book, a non-fiction essay on America and its role in the world, is called What Next: A Memoir Toward World Peace. In a talk with NPR's Juan Williams, Mosley discusses his views on the war on terrorism and the looming conflict with Iraq. Hear an extended version of the interview and read an excerpt of the book.

Fred Rogers, the host of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, dies of cancer at the age of 74. Rogers hosted the popular children's program on public television for more than 30 years. NPR's Bob Edwards has a remembrance.