STAGE TUBE: Menzel Brings 'Gravity' & 'Love' to the White House

A BROADWAY CELEBRATION: IN PERFORMANCE AT THE WHITE HOUSE was broadcast nationwide this week on PBS. The sixty-minute television special was emceed by Nathan Lane and includedIdina 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.

Below, BroadwayWorld brings you performances by Broadway favorite Idina Menzel singing her signature 'Defying Gravity' from Wicked and 'What I Did For Love' from A Chorus Line, accompanied by Marvin Hamlisch.

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 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.