Remembering musical theater historian Robert Kimball

Remembering musical theater historian Robert Kimball

July 10, 2026 · 47 min

About this episode

The episode remembers musical theater historian Robert Kimball and features reviews of recent television adaptations.

Kimball, who died July 2, was artistic advisor to Ira Gershwin. He wrote books about the Gershwins, Cole Porter and Irving Berlin, and helped unearth unknown songs and manuscripts by them and other early 20th-century songwriters. Kimball also rescued and rediscovered the music of the Black Broadway team of Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake. He spoke with Terry Gross in 1994. David Bianculli reviews the remake of ‘Little House on the Prairie,’ and John Powers reviews the second season of ‘Sugar,’ starring Colin Farrell. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

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Host: Terry Gross

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Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Little House on the Prairie, Sugar

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