Entertainment

Book critic Maureen Corrigan takes a look at Bram Stoker's 19th century novel, "Dracula," and finds it weirder than any Hollywood version of the vampire tale. She considers it's place in literary and film history.

Film critic Stephen Schiff reviews the new film version of Bram Stoker's novel. Schiff says the director's vision of the story dominates over the author's. The movie, he claims, is lacking in almost every respect -- except for a unique insight on love.

O'Hara is one of the co-founders of the comedy series, "SCTV," and started her acting career with Toronto's Second City comedy troupe. She's best known for her role as the distraught mom in "Home Alone." There's now a sequel, "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York," in which O'Hara reprises her roles as the mother.

Actor and playwright Vernel Bagneris and pianist Morten Gunnar Larsen perform selections from their show, "Jelly Roll Morton: A Me-morial," with music written by Morton, and a script taken from Library of Congress tapes of Morton from 1938. The New Yorker calls it, "an experimental study, done within a traditional Broadway-musical framework, of the life and death of a black misanthrope. . . a psychomusical."

Reiser was a stand-up comedian for years and was in the sit-com "My Two Dads." He's the creator and co-star of a new show, "Mad About You," a Seinfeldesque comedy on NBC, about a married couple. Helen Hunt plays Reiser's wife.

Part two of our Al Franken interview. He talks about his roles with Saturday Night Live, and his work with the Comedy Channel paroyding the presidential campaign.

Buscemi's list of movie credits include "Parting Glances," "Slaves of New York," "Mystery Train," and "Reservoir Dogs." His newest film is "In The Soup," a low budget film directed Alexandre Rockwell. Before becoming an actor, Buscemi was a fire fighter.

Actor Rocky Carrol, who plays Joey Emerson on the popular sitcom, talks about the show's recent change to a live broadcast format. He says it works because Carroll and his costars have ample experience in theater.

English actress Helen Mirren. She stars in "Prime Suspect," a three-part thriller premiering this week on public television's "Mystery" series. Mirren has preformed with the Royal Shakespeare Company, and the films "The Comfort of Strangers," "Age of Consent," "The Long Good Friday," and "Excalibur."

Stiller is the son of the comedy team of Jerry Stiller & Anne Meara. He's acted in the Lincoln Center's revival of "House of Blue Leaves," and appeared in the films, "Fresh Horses," "Stella," and "Empire of the Son." He's got a new comedy show "The Ben Stiller Show," which grew out of his work as a writer-performer with "Saturday Night Live."

Sinise was a founding member of Chicago's Steppenwolf Theater Company and is best known for his starring role in the Tony-award winning production of "The Grapes of Wrath." Sinise's latest project is as producer, director, and star of the new film "Of Mice and Men," which also stars John Malkovich. The screenplay, written by Horton Foote, is based on the John Steinbeck novel.

Many listeners will know Clennon from his role as Miles Drentell on the ABC TV show "thirtysomething." He received and Emmy nomination for the part. Now he plays a drug dealer in the new Paul Schrader film "Light Sleeper" along with Willem Dafoe and Susan Sarandon. He's also been in the films "Missing," "the Right Stuff," "Sweet Dreams," "The Thing," "The Paper Chase," and many others. Offscreen, he's very active in Central American politics.

Isaacson has just written an extensive book about the life of Secretary of State and Nobel Prize Laureate. The writer takes us from Kissinger's boyhood in Germany, his family's flight to America in 1938, through his army career, his years at Harvard as a student and later a professor, and his rise to political power. Isaacson notes Kissinger's many accomplishments, but also portrays him as secretive, paranoid and duplicitous.

A concert and interview with Louisiana born singer/songwriter Lucinda Williams. She's joined by guitarist Gurf Morlix. Her influences include Bob Dylan, Delta Blues man, Robert Johnson, Van Morrison, and writers Flannery O'Connor and Eudora Welty. In the late 70s she made two obscure folk albums. But she didn't really find her own voice until 1988 when she produced her self-titled album. Her new record is called "Sweet Old World."

Dafoe was once pigeonholed as a villain, but he's since earned a wide variety of film roles. He's starred in "Platoon," "The Last Temptation of Christ," "Mississippi Burning," and "Wild at Heart." He's currently starring in the new Paul Schrader film, "Light Sleeper," along with Susan Sarandon.

Joel Forrester, composer of Fresh Air's theme music, is back. Today he'll talk to Terry about writing music for different groups and ensembles.

The musician and composer will perform from his repertoire of avant garde polkas. He's played with the Brooklyn Philharmonic, the Kronos Quartet, has headlined the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Next Wave Series, and recorded several albums.

Pizzareli has played with musicians as diverse as Benny Goodman, Zoot Sims, Bud Freeman, Dionne and the Belmonts, as well as his son, John Pizzarelli. He peforms a few tunes for a live Fresh Air audience.

Playwright and director George C. Wolfe. He wrote and directed the hit Broadway musical Jelly's Last Jam, starring Gregory Hines, about Jelly Roll Morton. Wolfe also wrote the play The Colored Museum, a satire about the black experience in America. Jazz pianist and composer Joel Forrester joins the interview to perform some of Morton's music.