Fresh Air Weekend: ‘A Strange Loop’ Creator; ‘Ms. Marvel’ head writer

Iman Vellani stars as the titular superhero in the Disney+ series Ms. Marvel.

Marvel Studios

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Marvel Studios

Iman Vellani stars as the titular superhero in the Disney+ series Ms. Marvel.

Marvel Studios

Fresh Air Weekend highlights some of the best interviews and reviews from past weeks, and new program elements specially paced for weekends. Our weekend show emphasizes interviews with writers, filmmakers, actors and musicians, and often includes excerpts from live in-studio concerts. This week:

‘A Strange Loop’ writer and composer started out on Broadway as an usher: Michael R. Jackson’s Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical is about a young Black gay musical theater writer named Usher, who works as an usher at a Broadway show — just like Jackson once did.

‘The Poet’s House’ is a droll coming-of-age story — and an absolute keeper of a novel: Jean Thompson’s novel follows an insecure young woman as she’s drawn into a clique of poets. The Poet’s House is a story about the corrosive power of shame and the primal fear of sounding stupid.

‘Ms. Marvel’ head writer says the show is a deeply personal superhero story: Ms. Marvel is the first show or film in the Marvel universe to feature a Muslim hero. Head writer Bisha K. Ali drew on her own experiences growing up in England as the child of Pakistani-born parents.

You can listen to the original interviews and review here:

‘A Strange Loop’ writer and composer started out on Broadway as an usher

‘The Poet’s House’ is a droll coming-of-age story — and an absolute keeper of a novel

‘Ms. Marvel’ head writer says the show is a deeply personal superhero story