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Tharp, Twyla

(Encyclopedia)Tharp, Twyla twīˈlə [key], 1941–, American dancer and choreographer, b. Portland, Ind. An eclectic, innovative choreographer and dancer, she danced (1963–65) with Paul Taylor. For more than 20 ...

Comédie Française

(Encyclopedia)Comédie Française tāäˈtrə fräNsāˈ [key], state theater of France. Also known as La Maison de Molière, it was officially established by Louis XIV in 1680. His decree merged the two French com...

Gilbert, Sir William Schwenck

(Encyclopedia)Gilbert, Sir William Schwenck, 1836–1911, English playwright and poet. He won fame as the librettist of numerous popular operettas, written in collaboration with the composer Sir Arthur Sullivan. Wh...

Vanbrugh, Sir John

(Encyclopedia)Vanbrugh, Sir John vănbro͞oˈ, vănˈbrə [key], 1664–1726, English dramatist, architect, soldier, and adventurer, b. London, of Flemish descent. In 1686 he obtained a commission in the army. He w...

Pyongyang

(Encyclopedia)Pyongyang pēyŭngˈyängˈ [key], Chin. Pingyang, Jap. Heijo, city (1993 pop. 2,741,260), capital of North Korea, SW North Korea, on a high bluff above the Taedong River. It is a special city with th...

Olivier, Laurence Kerr, Baron Olivier of Brighton

(Encyclopedia)Olivier, Laurence Kerr, Baron Olivier of Brighton ōlĭvˈē-āˌ [key], 1907–89, English actor, director, and producer. He made his stage debut at Stratford-upon-Avon in 1922 and soon achieved reno...

Bullins, Ed

(Encyclopedia)Bullins, Ed, 1935-2021, American playwright, b. Philadelphia, Pa., as Edward Artie Bullins, Antioch Univ. of San Fransico (B.A., 1989), San Francisco S...

Work Projects Administration

(Encyclopedia)Work Projects Administration (WPA), former U.S. government agency, established in 1935 by executive order of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt as the Works Progress Administration; it was renamed th...

Zeffirelli, Franco

(Encyclopedia)Zeffirelli, Franco frängˈkō zāf-fērĕlˈlē [key], 1923–2019, Italian opera, stage, and film director and designer, b. Florence as Gianfranco Corsi Zeffirelli. Zeffirelli had his first successe...

Blum, René

(Encyclopedia)Blum, René blo͝om [key], 1878–1942, French ballet impresario, brother of Socialist leader Léon Blum. He edited (1903–13) the journal Gil Blas and arranged (1913) for the publication of Proust'...