Broadway's best are headed to TV screens across the nation! Great Performances: Celebrating 50 Years of Broadway's Best premieres via PBS May 12, when the special begins airing on TV and streaming via the PBS video app.
Marking the 50th anniversary of the PBS series, the special concert was filmed at Lincoln Center's David H. Koch Theater March 23 with two-time Tony winner Sutton Foster hosting and performing a medley of songs she's performed on the Main Stem. The all-star line-up also includes Corbin Bleu, Donna McKechnie, Robyn Hurder, André De Shields, Sara Bareilles, Chita Rivera, Shoshana Bean, Raúl Esparza, James Monroe Iglehart, Ledisi, Norm Lewis, Rob McClure, Patina Miller, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Jessie Mueller, Mamie Parris, Solea Pfeiffer, Britton Smith, Jessica Vosk, and Vanessa Williams. The evening was staged by Warren Carlyle with Patrick Vaccariello serving as music director. The concert is written by Dave Boone.
Originally launched as Theatre in America, Great Performances has long been one of the premiere television destinations for filmed theatrical performances. Past broadcasts have included the 1979 Broadway revival of The Most Happy Fella, the 1984 revival of You Can't Take It With You, the original production of Sweeney Todd filmed during its first national tour, Paper Mill Playhouse's 1989 revival of Show Boat, and a stage capture of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats, among any others.
The 50th anniversary concert is part of the series' 2023 season, and will be followed May 19 by Richard III, filmed last year at the Public Theater's Free Shakespeare in the Park with Danai Gurira in the title role. To see the series' full schedule, visit PBS.org.
