Art and Entertainment

Theater season has hit, bringing a variety of options to New York City. Discover some of the most hyped productions, including dramatic tales of marriage, strained work relationships and an unusual 1800s medical treatment. Hollywood stars have also flooded Broadway, performing in both classic and modern plays.

As suspicion builds about the legitimacy of the Heene family’s claims, we examine evidence suggesting the balloon boy story is a hoax, look at past media frenzies incited by false claims and explore the possible legal fallout against the family.

A new U.K. film points to a certain pesticide as the root cause of colony collapse disorder among honeybees, but some dispute the claim.

Autumn in New York City brings a full and varied cultural calendar with, perhaps most notably, a jam-packed theater season. Broadway and Off-Broadway productions run the gamut from musicals with star-studded casts, to stirring dramas written by renowned playwrights, while unique venues lend excitement to the scene. 

Atop a hill in North London sits leafy Hampstead, an elegant neighborhood teeming with open spaces, historic architecture and the former home of John Keats. The poet's love affair with Fanny Brawne is the subject of "Bright Star," a new film serving as inspiration for travelers to the British city. 

A documentary revealing Japan's annual dolphin slaughter will show at the Tokyo Film Festival in October, drawing attention to a practice both traditional and troubling.

The aggressive—and extremely expensive—approach to health care portrayed in medical dramas on TV is a far cry from what doctors recommend in real life.

A composer and a scientist have found that animals respond to music derived from their own vocal communication, a discovery that could make life for captive animals much more pleasant.

Wii is gearing up to introduce self-playing computer games and developers are creating AI to play the game “Infinite Mario Bros.,” illustrating how computers may replace a variety of human activities.

Ken Burns, whose PBS series "The National Parks: America's Best Idea" first airs in September, is set to appear on the Late Show with David Letterman tonight.

The historic four-day festival in Bethel, N.Y., looms large for a generation of Americans as a symbol of solidarity and love of music in the face of war, tragedy and generational rifts.

In September, a vast collection of Leonardo da Vinci’s writings and drawings will go on public display for the first time, adding to the intrigue surrounding the Renaissance artist.

U.K. music-streaming company Spotify has plans to enter the U.S. market later this year; some think it will be a threat to iTunes, but are the companies really competitors?

Austrian researchers have discovered two previously unknown piano pieces by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the 18th century Austrian composer who wrote more than 600 musical works in his lifetime.

The unauthorized use of songs during political campaigns has gained momentum in recent years as politicians try to exploit the power of music to draw support from voters.

A new documentary about Neil Armstrong delves into the astronaut’s humble decision to stay out of the spotlight, a choice that few modern celebrities seem to make.

The current onslaught of celebrity news coverage appears to follow Americans’ preferences. But some polls and experts suggest otherwise.

At its annual “What Teens Want” Conference on June 25, Nielsen revealed that teenagers are more invested in traditional media than widely believed.

Plaster replicas of the Elgin Marbles will be on display for the opening of the new Acropolis Museum, as Greece holds out hope that the British Museum will one day return the original statues.

Ottoman-inspired styles are popping up on runways in established fashion capitals around the globe. Istanbul has long been a source of textiles for the fashion world, but now the bi-continental city is becoming a hub of culture and design in its own right.

Though “Ulysses” is renowned in literary circles for its groundbreaking technique and psychological exploration, these accolades do little to explain the popularity of “Bloomsday,” the annual celebration in which the entire novel is read aloud.

Thousands came to the Bristol City Museum this weekend to find most of the museum’s original pieces removed and replaced by an exhibit of more than 100 of Banksy’s pieces.

Internet piracy is having a serious economic impact in Europe, and the courts of various countries are on the front lines of the battle.

These five musical acts—Extra Golden, Discovery, Grizzly Bear, John Vanderslice and Anjulie—may cater to five different moods, but they all have one thing in common: new albums tailored to a summer mood.

On June 14, 1938, Action Comics issue No. 1 presents Superman to a nation of readers in need of a hero.

After two years of waiting, all TV stations are now broadcasting digital TV signals instead of analog; many viewers are still unprepared for the change.

Some New Yorkers are starting summer with a throw back to their youth, spending June in a month-long water gun assassin tournament known as "StreetWars."

If you’re going on vacation this summer, you’ll want at least one book to throw in your bag, and even if you’re not, you might want to read a book in your backyard and just pretend you’re at the beach. We’ve picked five must-reads that are all quite different. Pick and choose or embrace the spectrum.

The 50th anniversary of Frank Lloyd Wright’s death this year provides us with an opportunity to recount his life and work. One could certainly visit the Frank Lloyd Wright: From Within Outward exhibit at the Guggenheim in New York, but simply setting foot inside the museum, or any of his masterworks, would probably suffice to reawaken his spirit.

Initially popular in post-World War II dance halls, large jazz bands are now reappearing in hip venues with arrangements designed to appeal to a contemporary audience.