Menzel, Mitchell, Lane et al. Set for White House Arts Initiative 7/19 for PBS Broadcast

Next week, the President and the First Lady will host White House events celebrating the arts, innovation and creativity while at the same time encouraging continued outreach to students and the community.

On Monday, July 19th, the President and First Lady will continue the White House music series celebrating the arts and demonstrating the importance of arts education by featuring Broadway music and its prestigious performers. During the day, 20 dance students from Duke Ellington School of the Arts and the Joy of Motion Dance Center will participate in an educational workshop and rehearse a segment from the Broadway show Hairspray, led by choreographer Jerry Mitchell, at the Atlas Performing Arts Center in Washington, DC. At 2:00 PM, the students will come to the White House to perform in a special dress rehearsal for the First Lady and their parents and teachers in the East Room. This dress rehearsal will be open press. Media interested in covering this event should RSVP to firstladypress@who.eop.gov by Friday, July 16th at 5:00 PM.

In the evening, this youth ensemble will join the ranks of major Broadway artists and new talent who will perform selections from American musicals that reflect the spirit, energy and ambition of America. Participants include Nathan Lane, Idina Menzel, Audra McDonald, Brian D'Arcy James, Chad Kimball, Tonya Pinkins, Marvin Hamlisch, Karen Olivo, and Assata Alston. President Obama will make opening remarks at this pooled press event, which will be held in the East Room and streamed live on www.whitehouse.gov starting at 7:00 p.m. ET. "A Broadway Celebration: In Performance at the White House" will be televised on public broadcasting stations nationwide on October 20, 2010 at 9:00 p.m. ET as part of the PBS music series "In Performance at the White House."

On Wednesday, July 21st, national design award recipients of the prestigious Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum honor will attend the White House's annual luncheon hosted by the First Lady, and they will also engage with Washington, DC area students in a free educational program at the American Art Museum's Renwick Gallery. The National Design Awards were launched at the White House in 2000 to celebrate design in various disciplines from Architecture to Product Design. First Lady Michelle Obama will host the annual luncheon at the White House on Wednesday, July 21st at 12:30 PM honoring the award recipients. She will make brief remarks in this East Room event which will be open to pooled press. In support of the First Lady's emphasis on arts education, prior to the luncheon, the award winners will participate in discussions about their work and their careers with Washington, DC area students at the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Renwick Gallery from 8:30-11:00 AM.