Arts & Life

For some critics, too, the musical is a symbol of how commercialism has increasingly and clumsily encroached on the country’s cultural heritage, once seen as a sacred bastion for research and learning. Photo Giorgio Adamo plays the emperor in “Divo Nerone.” Credit Andrea Leonetti di Vagno “There’s the growing idea …

• The prosecution rested its case on Friday. Now the defense must decide whom to call as witnesses to defend Bill Cosby — or perhaps decide not to call anyone at all. • There was some speculation Mr. Cosby himself might testify. • Judge Steven T. O’Neill said that the …

Photo The Cliburn winner, Yekwon Sunwoo, center, with the bronze medalist Daniel Hsu, left, of San Francisco, and the silver medalist Kenneth Broberg, right, of Minneapolis. Credit Ralph Lauer Yekwon Sunwoo won the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition on Saturday, besting 29 rivals over two weeks of playing to become …

Photo Kevin Spacey with an impersonation of Bill Clinton at the Tony Awards. Credit Sara Krulwich/The New York Times Despite the hyperpartisan times, the Tony Awards skirted politics, for the most part. While recent awards shows have featured full-blown attacks on President Trump, including Meryl Streep’s speech at the Golden …

Photo Dillon Freasier, left, and Daniel Day-Lewis in “There Will Be Blood.” Credit François Duhamel/Paramount Vantage “There Will Be Blood” tops The New York Times movie critics’ list of the best films of the 21st century. “Lake Bodom” recreates an unsolved murder in Finland. And Oliver Stone interviews Vladimir V. …

Photo Kevin Spacey doing a Bill Clinton impression at the Tony Awards. Credit Sara Krulwich/The New York Times Maybe it’s time for another hostless Tony Awards. Sunday night’s broadcast of Broadway’s annual celebration of itself had trouble figuring out what to do with Kevin Spacey, the evening’s host, making use …

Photo Carrie Preston, left, and Niecy Nash in the first episode of “Claws.” Credit Wilson Webb/TNT Perhaps you’ve been waiting for a mash-up of “Steel Magnolias” and “Breaking Bad.” TNT apparently thinks so, because it’s giving you one: “Claws,” a nail salon thriller that begins its 10-episode first season on …

Photo Stephen Colbert, left, and Kevin Spacey at the Tony Awards. Credit Sara Krulwich/The New York Times In a tap-dancing, costume-changing opening, Kevin Spacey began the Tony Awards with parodies of several nominated musicals, with surprise appearances from Stephen Colbert, Whoopi Goldberg and Billy Crystal. In a medley with modified …

Photo Cynthia Nixon was awarded a Tony for her performance in “The Little Foxes.” Credit Sara Krulwich/The New York Times Here are edited excerpts from some of the acceptance speeches at the Tony Awards on Sunday night. Winners paid tribute to parents, friends and educators. A couple made political points. …

Photo Edith Shiffert in 2005 in Kyoto, Japan. Her poetry was influenced by her many years living there. Credit Micah Gampel Edith Shiffert, an American poet whose work was profoundly influenced by the half-century she spent in Japan, died on March 1 in Kyoto, where she had long made her …