‘Hamlet’ is a widely produced show, including a famous performance at one prison

A theater group staged 'Waiting for Godot' at San Quentin prison in 1957

The play, about being stuck, resonated with inmates. Critics noted that the incarcerated audience empathized with its hopeless characters much more than those at the show's North American premiere in Miami, who'd walked out in disgust.

Shakespeare’s American productions have often reflected the state of the country

Shakespeare’s works have been used to interpret moments in US history, from the Astor Place Riot in 1849 and Lincoln’s frequent quotations of “Macbeth,” to the use of Shakespeare in nationwide classrooms today.

Sarah Bernhardt was the first actress to play Shakespeare's iconic Hamlet on film

Bernhardt was a popular 19th- and 20th-century actress with a knack for self-promotion. Case in point: When she took over the Théâtre de Ville in Paris, she renamed it Théâtre Sarah-Bernhardt. Her production of "Hamlet" at the theater starred her, naturally, as the titular character. A recording of the performance is believed to be the first woman to play Hamlet caught on film.

The Oregon Shakespeare Festival is the largest repertory theater in the US

Based in the small hamlet of Ashland, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival produces works both by the Bard and more contemporary writers, attracting thousands to the town's three theaters.

Adaptations of Hamlet's most famous soliloquy often change its meaning

The directors of the many "Hamlet" film adaptations have used setting, context, and tone to reframe the "To be, or not to be" monologue. Laurence Olivier's 1948 version presents it as a meditation on suicide; Kenneth Branagh's 1996 version interrogates surveillance. Lucy Zhao's 2025 film "Hamnet," although not a true adaptation of the play, utilizes the soliloquy twice to illustrate how characters grapple with grief.

One Connecticut prison is using pickleball for rehabilitation

The Pickleball for Incarcerated Communities League started in 2023 at the MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution in Hartford, Connecticut, but has already expanded to other facilities across the state. Inmates say it's been transformative. The program has plans to expand to other states.

One actor made a career out of playing Mark Twain

Hal Holbrook toured in the one-man show “Mark Twain Tonight!” for over six decades. In the performances, Holbrook wore Twain’s iconic white suit and offered witticisms similar to Twain’s famous lectures. Holbrook won a Tony Award in 1966 for a Broadway run of the show.

One '$64,000 Question' winner went from police officer to Shakespearean scholar overnight

Redmond O’Hanlon was a police officer living on Staten Island, New York, when he competed on “The $64,000 Question.” His knowledge of Shakespeare earned him $16,000, which was four times his annual salary. After appearing on the show, he became a minor celebrity, and created a Shakespeare-themed set of playing cards and established the O'Hanlon Shakespeare Service, a consultancy on the Bard, all while continuing to work for the NYPD.

Whitman's words have appeared in numerous shows and movies

Whitman's poems have had significant screen time in movies like “Dead Poets Society” and television shows like “Breaking Bad.”

'The Shawshank Redemption' flopped in theaters

The Tim Robbins movie, based on Stephen King's short story "The Body," did poorly at the box office when released in 1994. It took off on the video rental market, though, after it was nominated for seven Oscars.

Nonprofit theaters are incubators for new theater

Unlike commercial Broadway theaters, ticket sales account for only a fraction of nonprofit theaters' income. This lets them take chances on new playwrights and innovative shows, including Lin Manuel Miranda's "Hamilton" and Stephen Sondheim's "Sunday in the Park with George."

'Harold and Maude' became a cult classic thanks to a one-screen theater in Minnesota

The 1971 movie flopped when it was first released, due in no small part to its bleak comedy and taboo subject matter. It became a cult hit, though, after the Westgate Theater, outside Minneapolis, ran the film on its single screen for over two years.

People in certain states can now work remotely from prison

Prisoners in Maine can now use their laptops in their cells—not only for academic classes and homework, but also to work remotely for employers outside of the prison. One person in prison working as a software engineer was paid at least a six-figure salary.

'Dead Man Walking' (2000) is the most-performed new American opera

Based on a true story, Jake Heggie's modern masterpiece tells the story of a Catholic nun who fights for the life of a man on death row. The opera has been staged over 70 times worldwide since its premiere.

'Show Boat' redefined the American musical

The 1927 musical—penned by Oscar Hammerstein II, who would go on to create, with Richard Rodgers, other titanic shows like "Oklahoma!" and "Carousel"—used its songs to advance the plot and build character rather than simply entertain.

Soaps launched the careers of countless Hollywood A-listers

Soap operas may not be considered high culture, but many actors who would go on to win television and film’s highest honors got their start with soaps. That includes Julianne Moore (“As the World Turns”), Morgan Freeman (“Another World”), Leonardo DiCaprio (“Santa Barbara”), and Michael B. Jordan (“All My Children”).

More than a third of America's incarcerated population has a mental illness

Fueled in part by America's deinstitutionalization movement and gaps in mental health support, an estimated 44% of those in jail and 37% of those in prison have a mental illness, according to figures from 2012, the latest available. Population-wide, only 18% of the general population is estimated to have a mental illness.

The fabulous prison escapes of Japan's Yoshie Shiratori

Between 1936 and 1947, Japan's Harry Houdini escaped from prison four times, each more daring than the next. Even as the walls grew taller and the windows smaller, Siratori found ways to free himself from captivity.

Days after her release from prison, Billie Holiday sold out Carnegie Hall

The jazz icon was released early from federal prison on good behavior. Following her arrest, she was effectively prohibited from performing in New York's nightclubs, but she realized she could still perform, so long as it was in a venue that hadn't been deemed a "cabaret." The solution? The famous Carnegie Hall. The show sold out within a week, and the venue became a regular stop for Holiday, who performed there 22 times.

'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’ became an award-winning stage play

Premiering in 2016, the play continues the story beyond the original books and has run in London’s West End and on Broadway, winning nine Olivier Awards and six Tony Awards, including best play.

True crime content can influence the justice system

The 2014 podcast "Serial" inspired national doubt about the outcome and quality of a 1999 Baltimore murder case, resulting in overturned convictions (that were then reinstated). The series "In the Dark," whose second season pored over the murder trials of a Black Mississippi man, revealed crucial testimony was recanted, provided evidence of racial discrimination in jury selection, and was cited in case filings.

HBO’s biggest flops

Although HBO is known for its high-quality programming, that doesn’t mean it hasn’t missed the mark from time to time. Shows like “The Mind of the Married Man” and “John From Cincinnati” missed the mark in numerous ways, with both critics and audiences.

The 30 most important performance artists

Through centering on the human body, performance art can surprise and shock us. This rundown of 30 of its practitioners highlights their individual art and selects an image to showcase their specific style. While some are more clever or conceptual, many are viscerally shocking, including artistic nudity and, in some cases, graphic violence.

Cannes' Sainte-Marguerite was home to the 'Man in the Iron Mask'

Although his identity was never known, the man imprisoned under King Louis XIV and forced to wear a mask—reputedly made of iron, though likely to be velvet—was imprisoned on an island off the coast of Cannes.

Some 'Simpsons' fans believe the show exposed Jeffrey Epstein's private island

In a 2000 episode, Homer Simpson is captured by a cabal of powerful men and taken to a private island. After escaping, he posts online that "Some crazy creeps on an island somewhere are secretly running the world." Some believe the episode is referencing the private island operated by convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. In 2019, Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre alleged that she gave "Simpsons" creator Matt Groening a foot massage at Epstein's insistence.

Existentialist writer Jean-Paul Sartre coined the famous phrase 'Hell is—other people' in his play 'No Exit'

The distributor behind 'Rocky Horror' pulled the film from its scheduled national release, believing it would be a failure, though it eventually amassed a dedicated fanbase through midnight showings, a trend that continues over 50 years later.

The Ramones' 'Pet Sematary,' the theme song for the Stephen King novel of the same name, was written while the band was admiring the writer's collection of horror memorabilia.

Watch a 1934 short film starring jazz legend Cab Calloway, a major figure in the Harlem Renaissance's music scene

See 33 images that became central to huge scandals, including a young Charles and Camilla, Michael Jackson's baby on a hotel balcony, and Hugh Grant's mugshot.

Fish populations in the Great Barrier Reef have increased after installing waterproof speakers on the ocean floor that played recordings of sounds from healthy coral reefs.

After her fellow cult members tried to kill her with an LSD-infused hamburger, one member of the Manson Family, the murderous cult led by Charles Manson, decided to testify against the group's leader.

Search a massive database of over 4 decades of clues from the TV quiz show 'Jeopardy!'

Art theft is the third-largest source of criminal revenues worldwide, thanks in part to the subjective nature of valuing a work of art.

A small portion of The Winstons' 'Amen, Brother,' an obscure '60s gospel record, is the basis for thousands of hip-hop tracks, making it one of the most sampled records ever that's informally known as 'the Amen break.'

Comedy legend Catherine O'Hara, star of 'Schitt's Creek' and 'Home Alone,' quit 'Saturday Night Live' after just one week to return to her old job.

American short story writer Flannery O'Connor raised 40 peacocks, which became potent symbols for her fiction's elegant violence

NBA superstar Victor Wembanyama spent the 2025 summer training with monks in central China to enhance his body and mind.

Clever Hans was a 1900s horse that was believed to be able to solve math equations, tell time, and read and comprehend German, until a psychology student discovered how he got his answers.

Mark Twain spent decades feuding with the US Postal Service, convinced its costs and regulations were bureaucratic overreach.

The Brothers Grimm were lawyers before they were storytellers, but became interested in fairy tales as they began investigating how rules and customs had been passed down through cultures.

The US Constitution is widely regarded as the longest-standing written national constitution still in force—see how it has influenced rights worldwide.

Experimental hantavirus vaccines and therapies, still under development, have long been funded by the US military.

In 1939, baseball star Lou Gehrig delivered his inspirational 'Luckiest Man' speech after retiring due to the health condition that now bears his name.

Alzheimer's can lead to brain shrinkage, with an average of around 2% of volume reduction per year

Sunflowers have long been a symbol of nuclear disarmament because they can extract large amounts of radioactive cesium from soil.

The first line of 'immortal' human cells, which can divide indefinitely and are used in scientific research, was nonconsensually taken from a Black woman.

Telehealth demand for GLP-1s for weight loss is booming as consumers seek easier access.

For centuries, Niagara Falls has been a magnet for daredevils seeking to conquer one of nature's most powerful wonders, with its 200-foot drop and water rushing at 32 feet per second with 280 tons of force.

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