Julie Taymor Chats THE LION KING Milestone on NYC-ARTS Today

NYC-ARTS, THIRTEEN's weekly arts and culture multi-platform showcase, brings artslovers an all-access pass to the interesting, unusual and unique cultural offerings of the greater New York City region.

Today, November 16, the series will feature the program's co-host and New York Emmy winner Paula Zahn in conversation with Tony Award-winning director of theater, opera and film, Julie Taymor.

Taymor's revival of David Henry Hwang's M. Butterfly, starring Clive Owen, which opened on October 26, marks her first return to Broadway since Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. The drama, inspired by a true story, won the 1988 Tony Award for best new play when it starred John Lithgow and B.D. Wong. Taymor's revival, which features a revised script by Hwang, is the first time the musical has returned to Broadway since its original, and successful 777 performance run.

Taymor is best known as the creative mind behind the stage adaptation of "The Lion King," for which she won two TONY AWARDS in 1998, for direction and costume design. She holds the distinct honor as the first woman to win a Tony Award for "Best Director of a Musical." November 15, 2017 marks the 20th anniversary of the Broadway production, which has become the most successful musical in history.

Co-hosted by New York Emmy Award winners Philippe de Montebello and Paula Zahn, with events around town reported by Ha, NYC-ARTS showcases both world-renowned and local, community-based arts organizations.

See below for a full detailing of November's NYC-ARTS lineup.

The program airs on Thursday nights at 8 p.m. on THIRTEEN and is also available to stream on NYC-ARTS.org on Friday mornings. Encore presentations generally follow on Sundays at 12 noon on THIRTEEN; Tuesdays at 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on WLIW21; and Sundays at 8:30 p.m. on NJTV.

Thursday, November 2

8-8:30 p.m.

NYC-ARTS #365

Weekly magazine providing the tri-state audience with a unique overview of the city's unparalleled cultural offerings with co-hosts Philippe de Montebello and Paula Zahn. This week's program features a visit with Sam Zygmuntowicz, a violin-maker based in Brooklyn. Also featured is Stiletta, an all-female acapella sextet who perform in the subway as part of the MTA's Music Under New York program. Correspondent Christina Ha, based at the Asia Society Museum, reports on the "After Darkness: Southeast Asian Art in the Wake of History" exhibit on view there; "The Vietnam War: 1945 - 1975" exhibition at the New-York Historical Society; New York Festival of Song's presentation of "Take Care of This House: A Bernstein Celebration" at Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Music Center; "Things of Beauty Growing" British Studio Pottery exhibition at Yale Center for British Art; and Complexions Contemporary Ballet performances at The Joyce Theater.

Thursday, November 9

8-8:30 p.m.

NYC-ARTS #366

Weekly magazine providing the tri-state audience with a unique overview of the city's unparalleled cultural offerings with co-hosts Philippe de Montebello and Paula Zahn. This week's feature/profile is de Montebello's conversation with Susan Weber, founder and director of the Bard Graduate Center, and co-curator of the exhibition

"John Lockwood Kipling: Arts & Crafts in the Punjab and London." The program also visits the Bowne Print Shop at the South Street Seaport.

Thursday, November 16

8-8:30 p.m

NYC-ARTS #367

Weekly magazine providing the tri-state audience with a unique overview of the city's unparalleled cultural offerings with co-hosts Philippe de Montebello and Paula Zahn. This week's program features Paula Zahn in conversation with Julie Taymor, a Tony Award-winning director of theater, opera and film. . Correspondent Christina Ha, based at the Neue Galerie, reports on "Wiener Werkstätte 1903-1932: The Luxury of Beauty" on view there; "Expedition: Fashion from the Extreme" Special Exhibitions Gallery at The Museum at FIT; Trisha Brown Dance Company performances at the Joyce;"Rodin at The Met" at The Met Fifth Avenue and "Rodin at the Brooklyn Museum: The Body in Bronze;" and the Big Apple Circus at Lincoln Center.

Thursday, November 23

8-8:30 p.m.

NYC-ARTS #368

Weekly magazine providing the tri-state audience with a unique overview of the city's unparalleled cultural offerings with co-hosts Philippe de Montebello and Paula Zahn. This week's feature/profile is on Ballet Hispanico, America's premiere Latino dance organization. The curator's choice segment focuses on the exhibition "Wiener Werkstätte 1903-1932: The Luxury of Beauty," now on view at the Neue Galerie New York.

Thursday, November 30

8-8:30 p.m.

NYC-ARTS #369

Weekly magazine providing the tri-state audience with a unique overview of the city's unparalleled cultural offerings with co-hosts Philippe de Montebello and Paula Zahn. This week's program explores the "War and Pieced: The Annette Gero Collection of Quilts from Military Fabrics" exhibition at the American Folk Art Museum. "Generation Wealth by Lauren Greenfield" on view at the International Center of Photography is the subject of the choice segment. The program also profiles MTA: Music Under New York multi-instrumentalist, Marc Mueller, who performs under the name StreetMule.

NYC-ARTS is a production of THIRTEEN Productions LLC for WNET, one of America's most prolific and respected public media providers. Executive Producer: David Horn. Editorial Director: Joan Hershey. Supervising Producer: Mitch Owgang. Senior Producer: Bob Morris. For the digital platforms, Chief Digital Officer: Dan Greenberg. Director of Digital Production: Chris Mather. Visit the NYC-ARTS Web site at NYC-ARTS.org for additional information.

WNET is America's flagship PBS station and parent company of THIRTEEN and WLIW21. WNET also operates NJTV, the statewide public media network in New Jersey. Through its broadcast channels, three cable services (KidsThirteen, Create and World) and online streaming sites, WNET brings quality arts, education and public affairs programming to more than five million viewers each week. WNET produces and presents such acclaimed PBS series as Nature, Great Performances, American Masters, PBS NewsHour Weekend, Charlie Rose and a range of documentaries, children's programs, and local news and cultural offerings. WNET's groundbreaking series for children and young adults include Get the Math, Oh Noah! and Cyberchase as well as Mission US, the award-winning interactive history game. WNET highlights the tri-state's unique culture and diverse communities through NYC-ARTS, Theater Close-Up, NJTV News with Mary Alice Williams and MetroFocus, the daily multi-platform news magazine focusing on the New York region. In addition, WNET produces online-only programming including the award-winning series about gender identity, First Person, and an intergenerational look at tech and pop culture, The Chatterbox with Kevin and Grandma Lill. In 2015, THIRTEEN launched Passport, an online streaming service which allows members to see new and archival THIRTEEN and PBS programming anytime, anywhere: www.thirteen.org/passport.

NYC-ARTS aims to increase awareness of New York City's nonprofit cultural organizations, whose offerings greatly benefit residents and visitors-from children to adults, and teenagers to senior citizens. NYC-ARTS promotes cultural groups' activities and events to tri-state, national and international audiences through nonprint media, using new technologies as they develop. Through television, Web sites, mobile applications and social media, NYC-ARTS nurtures New York City's position as a thriving cultural capital of the world, one that has both world-renowned institutions and those that are focused on local communities.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos