Salamishah Tillet

Whether it’s Elphaba in “Wicked” or Celie in “The Color Purple,” the star doesn’t choose parts “frivolously”; she wants roles that stay with viewers.

As pop culture continues to fracture, our critic was drawn to art and performances that explored universal themes by way of specific settings.

By breaking the story into two movies, the emphasis in “Part One” shifts to a nation’s potential decline into authoritarianism. Sound familiar?

Walking around downtown Philadelphia, James Ijames reflected on his new play, “Good Bones,” gentrification and the absence that “haunts the cities.”

“Wicked,” which arrives to the big screen this fall, redeems the villain who is barely a character in L. Frank Baum’s classic novel.

“In the Arena: Serena Williams,” an eight-part documentary on ESPN+, revisits the highs and lows of the star’s career and considers her impact on tennis and beyond.

Unsubstantiated rumors that the star would appear at the Democratic National Convention, perhaps alongside Taylor Swift, created a daylong frenzy. Then the headliner took control.

The song is a driving force behind Vice President Kamala Harris’s latest campaign ad. But the song’s origins offer deeper significance for a candidate hoping to make history.

With her response to Donald Trump’s comments about her background, Kamala Harris showed that Blackness doesn’t need to be explained or defended — an idea underscored by her campaign theme song.

Delroy Lindo and Kerry Washington discuss their series, which finds humor and struggle in a father and daughter repairing their relationship after a long prison term.

The veteran and the newcomer each had their own fears as they joined the Broadway revival of the beloved all-Black musical.

Suzan-Lori Parks’s play is the latest work by a Black writer seeking to prioritize Hemings’s life and perspective to make her fully dimensional.

Lesa Cline-Ransome’s new novel in verse adds female voices to the late-19th-century Black homesteaders movement.

The movies explore what happens when authors who focus exclusively on racism in their work push back against political and commercial stresses.

A new adaptation shows how rich Alice Walker’s novel is and how the source material can lend itself to unconventional storytelling.

She is essentially one on the new film, but she has also demonstrated throughout her career just who is in charge of her art.

Global conflict and personal loss encouraged our critic to seek out art that gave her a better understanding of grief and healing.

Celebrating the 25th anniversary of “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill,” as well as her legacy with the Fugees, the singer and rapper reveled in the power of reinvention.

The co-creator and showrunner talked about why three seasons was just right, and why the show is likely to be the most important thing he ever makes.

The stars Leslie Odom Jr. and Kara Young and the director Kenny Leon discuss the revival, and why its satirical take on racism is still so timely.