MAKING WAR HORSE Special Airs Tonight

Making War Horse goes behind the scenes of The National Theatre of Great Britain's epic show, now a Tony® Award-winning hit on Broadway with rehearsal and backstage footage, interviews with the original production team, actors and puppeteers, and extracts from show.

The documentary airs tonight, August 10 at 8 p.m. on THIRTEEN.

Making War Horse is a presentation of THIRTEEN for WNET New York Public Media, one of America's most prolific and respected public media providers. For nearly 50 years, WNET has been producing and broadcasting national and local arts programming to the New York community.

Making War Horse is the story of how Michael Morpurgo's young adult novel became one of the most popular and acclaimed productions in The National Theatre of Great Britain's history.

From its early development at the NT, the film shows how Handspring Puppet Company created the ground-breaking techniques that brought a lifelike horse to the stage. Taking you behind the scenes and into the rehearsal room, and featuring interviews with the original cast and creative team, Making War Horse documents this unique theatrical collaboration and the creation of a stage classic.

War Horse received its World Premiere in a limited engagement at the National's Olivier Theatre in 2007. The play returned to The National Theatre for a second run in 2008-2009 before transferring to the West End's New London Theatre in the spring of 2009 where it continues to play an open-ended run. War Horse has been seen by over 1 million people in the UK alone.

Lincoln Center Theater and The National Theatre of Great Britain in association with Bob Boyett, are the producers of the American premiere of War Horse, which opened April 14 at the Vivian Beaumont Theater where it is currently playing an open-ended run.

War Horse is the recipient of five 2011 Tony® Awards, including Best Play. A Special Tony Award was given to Handspring Puppet Company for their integral work on the production. War Horse will embark on a national tour of the U.S. in June 2012, bringing the hit play to 20 U.S. cities during the 2012-2013 season. A new production will also be mounted at Toronto's Princess of Wales Theatre in February 2012 for an open-ended run.

Making War Horse was the first documentary commissioned by The National Theatre and was produced by The National Theatre and Seventh Art. It was written, filmed and directed by David Bickerstaff and Phil Grabsky, and produced by Phil Grabsky, David Sabel and Toby Coffey.