Jerry Herman Doc Continues Preview Screenings Prior to PBS

Since January of this year, the soon-to-be-seen NJN/PBS documentary Words and Music by Jerry Herman, a film by Amber Edwards has been greeted with applause and standing ovations at preview screenings around the country at The Lambs Club, The Players Club, The Actors Home, The Actors Fund in Palm Springs and Los Angeles, the Sarasota Film Festival, Oklahoma City's deadCenter Film Festival, NY's Museum of Television and Radio and the 92nd St Y.

Words and Music by Jerry Herman, chronicles the life and career of one of the American Musical Theater's legendary figures: Jerry Herman, the composer and lyricist of the smash hit shows Hello, Dolly!, Mame and La Cage Aux Folles.  WORDS AND MUSIC BY Jerry Herman will be aired on PBS in 2008.

The 90-minute film by award-winning filmmaker Amber Edwards of NJN Public Television, chronicles Jerry Herman's rise from witty off-Broadway revues during the 1950s, to his first Broadway triumphs in the 1960s (Milk and Honey, followed by Hello, Dolly! and Mame), through the 1970s (Dear World, Mack & Mabel, and The Grand Tour) to his 1983 triumph La Cage Aux Folles, which also made social and political history.  Nearly five years in the making, the film incorporates a remarkable collection of photographs and archival footage.

The star-studded "supporting cast" of the documentary includes Carol Channing, Angela Lansbury, Charles Nelson Reilly, Marge Champion, Arthur Laurents, Michael Feinstein, Charles Strouse, Fred Ebb, George Hearn, Phyllis Newman, Musical Director Donald Pippin, Francine Pascal, Leslie Uggams, Jason Graae, and theater historians Miles Kreuger and Ken Bloom.

Here are opportunities for the public to see Words and Music by Jerry Herman prior to the national PBS broadcast in January 2008:

Monday, September 17, University of Miami, Jerry Herman Ring Theater
6 PM screening followed by Q&A with filmmaker Amber Edwards, Musical Director Don Pippin, and La Cage Aux Folles producer, Barry Brown. More information and to reserve tickets, visit www.festivalmiami.com, or call 305-284-4940.

Wednesday, September 19, The Kennedy Center, Terrace Theater
6 PM.  Free admission, but arrive early as seating is limited.  Screening followed by Q&A with Jerry Herman and filmmaker Amber Edwards. More information at www.kennedy-center.org/programs/millennium/schedule/html

Monday, September 24, The Brooklyn Academy of Music's Rose Cinema
7 PM screening followed by Q&A with filmmaker. Free to BAM Cinema Club members. More information at www.bam.org/events/film

Mill Valley Film Festival, San Rafael, CA - October 4 – 14
October 7 at 1PM and October 8 at 7:15PM.  For tickets (on sale Sept. 12) or more information at http://mvff.com

For those you can't attend any of the screenings, log on to the 3-minute trailer at www.njn.net/television/specials/wordsandmusicbyjerryherman