May 5, 2026 - Boston Pops conductor Keith Lockhart, Masquerade, and the National Baseball Poetry Festival

About this episode

The episode features Boston Pops conductor Keith Lockhart discussing the upcoming spring season, Diane Paulus on the immersive production 'Masquerade', and insights from the National Baseball Poetry Festival organizers.

Boston Pops conductor Keith Lockhart joins The Culture Show with a preview of the Pops’ spring season, running May 8 through June 6 at Symphony Hall. The season includes appearances by Ray Chen, Jon Batiste, Leslie Odom Jr., St. Vincent and more, along with film nights, Pride Night and Gospel Night. To learn more, go here . Tony Award–winning director Diane Paulus, Artistic Director of the American Repertory Theater, joins us to talk about “Masquerade,” an immersive reimagining of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “The Phantom of the Opera.” Set in a five-story former department store on West 57th Street, the production turns the Paris Opera House into a candlelit maze of salons, staircases, and hidden rooms, bringing audiences in masks inches from the show’s spectacle and romance. To learn more go here Steve Biondolillo, founder and president of the National Baseball Poetry Festival, and Sarah Connell Sanders, teacher, writer and organizer of the festival’s youth poetry contest, join us ahead of the festival’s return to Worcester. Running May 7 through 10 at Polar Park, the festival brings together poets, baseball fans, students and families for readings, workshops, open mics, WooSox games…

People in this episode

Guests: Keith Lockhart, Diane Paulus, Steve Biondolillo, Sarah Connell Sanders

Topics covered

• Boston Pops
• Theater
• Baseball Poetry
• Cultural Events
• Music
• Immersive Experiences

Keywords

• Boston Pops
• Keith Lockhart
• Masquerade
• Diane Paulus
• National Baseball Poetry Festival
• poetry
• theater
• cultural events
• Worcester
• music

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Boston Pops, American Repertory Theater, National Baseball Poetry Festival

Books & works: Masquerade, The Phantom of the Opera

Places: Worcester, Symphony Hall

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