Oregon Public Broadcasting

John Frohnmayer, a liberal arts professor at Oregon State University, is running as the independent candidate to unseat U.S. Senator Gordon Smith.

He headed the National Endowment for the Arts under the first President Bush -- raising the ire of the religious right for grants to controversial artists such as Robert Mapplethorpe.

Now, Frohnmayer has written a musical, based on his experiences at the NEA. I asked him what made him decide to write a musical?

“Spin” the musical, will premier on Thursday May 8th at Oregon State University. Staring David Ogden Stiers, best know for his role on the sitcom M*A*S*H as Major Charles Emerson Winchester the III.