STAGE TUBE: 'A Broadway Celebration at the White House' Airs Tonight on PBS, 10/20
By: Jessica Lewis Oct. 20, 2010
Watch the full episode. See more In Performance at The White House.
As BroadwayWorld has previously reported, A BROADWAY CELEBRATION: IN PERFORMANCE AT THE WHITE HOUSE will premiere tonight, October 20 at 9:00 p.m. ET (check local listings) on PBS stations nationwide, followed by an encore presentation at 10:00 p.m. The sixty-minute television special is emceed by Nathan Lane and includes Idina Menzel, Brian D'Arcy James, Audra McDonald, Chad Kimball, Elaine Stritch, Marvin Hamlisch, Karen Olivo, Tonya Pinkins, Assata Alston and a youth ensemble from the Joy of Motion Dance Center and Duke Ellington School of the Arts, with Danielle Arci and Constantine Rousouli.
A BROADWAY CELEBRATION: IN PERFORMANCE AT THE WHITE HOUSE is a PBS music special in the East Room of the White House. President and Mrs. Obama hosted the event on Monday, July 19, 2010, featuring a series of performances by major Broadway artists and new talent presenting selections from American musicals that reflect the spirit, energy and ambition of America.
The program is as follows:
Opening Remarks from President Barack Obama
"Broadway Baby" (Elaine Stritch)
"Gimme Gimme" (Assata Alston)
"Blue Skies" (Brian D'Arcy James)
"America" (Karen Olivo, Yanira Marin, Shina Ann Morris, Jennifer Sanchez)
"Can't Stop Talking About Him" (Audra McDonald)
"Memphis Lives in Me" (Chad Kimball)
"Gonna Pass Me A Law" (Tonya Pinkins)
"Defying Gravity" (Idina Menzel)
"Free" (Nathan Lane, Brian D'Arcy James)
"Happiness Is A Thing Called Joe" (Audra McDonald)
"What I Did for Love" (Idina Menzel, Marvin Hamlisch)
"I'm Still Here" (Elaine Stritch)
"You Can't Stop the Beat" (Constantine Rousouli, Danielle Arci and the Joy of Motion Dance Center/Duke Ellington School of the Arts student ensemble)
The event was produced by WETA Washington, DC, in association with Margo Lion, Ltd. (Hairspray, Catch Me if You Can) and 101 Productions. The event was directed by George C. Wolfe (Angels in America, Caroline or Change) and the music director was Rob Berman.
"In Performance at the White House" has been produced by WETA since 1978 and spans every administration since President Carter's. The series began with an East Room recital by the legendary pianist Vladimir Horowitz. Since then, "In Performance at the White House" has embraced virtually every genre of American performance: pop, country, gospel, jazz, blues, theatre and dance among them. The series was created to showcase the rich fabric of American culture in the setting of the nation's most famous home. Past programs have showcased such talent as cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, dancer/choreographer Mikhail Baryshnikov, popular music singers Linda Ronstadt and Alison Krauss, jazz pianist and composer Thelonious Monk, the United States Marine Band, soul and jazz singers Natalie Cole and Aretha Franklin, leading Broadway performers, and the Dance Theatre of Harlem.
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