Person Place Thing with Randy Cohen

When this graphic designer worked at Sony Music, the handwriting was already on the wall, the tiny, tiny wall: “It was no longer LPs; it was CDs. The canvas kept shrinking.” And now with digital musi…

Does use determine design, or does design shape behavior? This architect asserts the latter: “A certain object does make you behave a certain way or do certain things.” For example, a simple lime-squ…

Among his many productions, he directed A View from the Bridge and West Side Story on Broadway and collaborated with David Bowie on the musical Lazarus. “It turned out to be—I didn’t know, of course,…

This singer-songwriter has been admired for fifty years, and yet: “I always wanted a Collings guitar, but it was too expensive, and I just didn’t feel worthy.” If she’s not worthy of the tools of her…

Composers not only create something non-corporeal but also enjoy bringing an actual object into the world. “One of my great great moments was when I finally had a recording of my own in a bin at Towe…

He is the producing artistic director of the Classical Theatre of Harlem, focusing on work from Sophocles to Shakespeare—the big S playwrights—to explore fundamental ideas. “These are living argument…

He served in Iraq as a Marine and is now commissioner of New York City’s Department of Emergency Management. “We are always activated. We’re always responding to stuff.” How to prepare for the worst.…

Even as a child, this actor loved Shakespeare. “I would listen every night to John Gielgud’s Ages Of Man or Laurence Olivier’s Henry V or Richard III. I was just sort of marinated in it.” He’s since …

GLUCK+ architects designed and constructed a building for the WHIN Music Community Charter School, led by Ortiz. How do architects know if a design works well? It’s not their call, says Tom Gluck. “T…

He was recently honored by the American Library Association for his work at the Queens Public Library on programs to assist migrants. “Over 200 languages are spoken in Queens,” he says. “We have coll…

It can be a challenge for even terrific actors like him to stay fresh and focused night after night. Here’s how he does it: “I’ll make up, you know, Gandhi is in the fourth row; do a great show.” Not…

How did we allow the ruin of the Colorado River? “We think that water comes from the tap,” says this photographer of wild places. “We’ve lost the idea that water comes from natural systems.” See the …

This environmental epidemiologist knows the dismal effects of pesticides on the young, yet she loves to take her students to the neonatal intensive care unit. “The NICU is a place of hope, and little…

Her solo performance of Hamlet—yes, all the parts (Rosencrantz and Guildenstern)—should be accessible to everyone. “Shakespeare is presented to people these days as 'this is good for you.' I’ve heard…

“I don’t like dance,” says this choreographer, “but we saw the bull riders at Madison Square Garden and, boy, I really wanted to get on that bull.” Her combination of disdain and desire results in ex…

This expert on affordable housing asks challenging questions: “Would you want greater-density boxy buildings to replace brownstones in Park Slope, and if not, where do we put them?” Now my head hurts…

“I am Juan de Pareja,” says this choreographer about the subject of his new piece, the Afro-Spanish painter enslaved by Velazquez. Multiple identities? No. One artist fascinated by the life of anothe…

The esteemed translator of Elena Ferrante and Pier Paolo Pasolini says of her work, “It is an impossible task, but nevertheless, it has to be done.” And she does it wonderfully.  Presented with Rizzo…

When Europeans take one of his tours, do they seek the Harlem of today or of the Harlem Renaissance? “They’ve got a kind of fable of Harlem,” says this preservationist, and then he goes to work and r…

“I had dreams of playing basketball then going to law school and doing what Perry Mason did.” Those dreams came true. The Knicks. Harvard Law. The Brooklyn DA’s office. And now he teaches at Columbia…