Sneak Peek - Stephen Schwartz on THIRTEEN's American Songbook at NJPAC, 4/17

Stephen Schwartz and Friends will air on THE AMERICAN SONGBOOK AT NJPAC on Sunday, 4/17 at 1pm on THIRTEEN; and 3:30pm on WLIW21. Watch a preview clip HERE

The award-winning composer and special guests perform selections from his catalog of stage and screen favorites like "Magic to Do" from Pippin; "When You Believe" from the DreamWorks' animated feature, The Prince of Egypt; "Day By Day" from Godspell and several selections from the Broadway hit Wicked, including "Defying Gravity." He is joined on stage by award-winning vocalists Scott Coulter, Debbie Gravitte, Kelli Rabke and Michael McCorry Rose.

Stephen Schwartz has won many major awards, including three Oscars, three Grammys, four Drama Desk Awards, one Golden Globe Award, and the Richard Rodgers Award for Excellence in Musical Theater. He has received six Tony Award nominations, for Wicked, Pippin, and Godspell, Rags, and Working. In 2015, he was awarded the Isabelle Stevenson Award for his commitment to serving artists and fostering new talent.

WNET and the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) announced that the third season of the award-winning American Songbook at NJPAC series will be broadcast on New York public television stations THIRTEEN and WLIW21 beginning Sunday, April 17, 2016 (check local listings). These performances offer viewers a unique opportunity to see some of today's top Broadway and cabaret performers interpret the songs that form the bedrock of our American standards canon.

The six-part series, taped before a live audience at NJPAC's intimate 500 seat Victoria Theater this fall, boasts a star-studded lineup filled with top-tier entertainers: cabaret great Marilyn Maye, Wicked composer and legendary Broadway composerStephen Schwartz & Friends, Beautiful's Tony-award winner Jessie Mueller and Tony nominee Jarrod Spector, jazz royalty Catherine Russell, cabaret veterans KT Sullivan & Jeff Harnar, and Sirius XM Broadway host/pianist Seth Rudetsky & two-time Tony Award-winner Christine Ebersole.

American Songbook at NJPAC will debut Sunday, April 17th at 1 p.m. on THIRTEEN and 3:30.p.m. that day on WLIW21, and will continue to air on each of the following Sundays; a full schedule follows below. The series previously aired on NJTV, New Jersey's public television network this winter.

Performances are coupled with Q&A sessions conducted by host and theater insider, Ted Chapin, president and executive director of Rodgers & Hammerstein: An Imagen Company.

"WNET and public television are dedicated to making the arts accessible to everyone, delivering exciting live performances such as these directly into local living rooms and classrooms," said John Servidio, WNET's Vice-President of Subsidiary Stations and General Manager of NJTV. "This series assures a front-row seat for everyone to enjoy and appreciate this timeless musical genre."

"American Songbook at NJPACis the gold standard for artful and inspiring performances of classic popular song by our finest interpreters," said John Schreiber, President and CEO of NJPAC. "NJPAC couldn't be prouder to be the home of original television that is both entertaining and historically important."

"NJPAC recently embarked on a campaign to enhance its broadcast capabilities and expand its outreach by joining forces such as this one with NJTV to take performances from our stage and sharing them with a wider, national audience," explained David Rodriguez, Executive Vice President & Executive Producer at NJPAC.

American Songbook at NJPAC is a production of New Jersey Performing Arts Center and Public Media NJ, Inc. John Servidio is the Executive in Charge of Production; Mike Kostel is the series executive producer, along with John Schreiber and David Rodriguez; Will Friedwald, is writer and producer; David Stern is director and Annette Jolles is Associate Director.

The series, which launched in 2013, received accolades in its first two seasons. Most recently, the series was nominated for a 2015 Mid-Atlantic Emmy® Award. Its first season was awarded a New York State Broadcasters Association award for Outstanding Locally Produced Television Program.

Sneak-peek clips of this season and previous episodes and can be viewed online athttp://www.njtvonline.org/programs/american-songbook-at-njpac/

The American Songbook at NJPAC series follows on the success of several other television events from the NJPAC, including One-on-One at NJPAC with Steve Adubato, BET's Black Girls Rock, HBO's special Ghetto Klown with John Leguizamo, and NBC's America's Got Talent.

Major support for the American Songbook at NJPAC television series is provided by Ellen and James S. Marcus and The Thomas and Agnes Carvel Foundation. Additional funding has been provided through the generous support of The Joan and Allen Bildner Family Fund, The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation and the David S. Steiner and Sylvia Steiner Charitable Trust.