RAVINIATV Airs Eleventh Episode This Friday

The eleventh episode of RaviniaTV airs this Friday, September 11, at 7 p.m. CDT on Ravinia's YouTube channel and Facebook page.

The latest episode features an exclusive interview with Ravinia President and CEO Welz Kauffman in which he reflects on his 20 years successfully running the festival. Kauffman departs Ravinia this month, leaving a legacy that includes expanding and diversifying Ravinia's programming as well as spearheading $65 million in infrastructure improvements, such as the RaviniaMusicBox Experience Center. Echoing numerous occasions during his tenure, a series of exclusive performances see Kauffman on the piano alongside musical theater star Hollis Resnik as well as soprano and Ravinia's Steans Music Institute alumna Michelle Areyzaga on the Bennett Gordon Hall stage.

The episode will also bring viewers a spotlight on actor and comedian Tom Dreesen, who illuminates his journey from being an eight-year-old shining shoes in bars to 50 years in show business, opening for Frank Sinatra at clubs and making 61 appearances on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson." A "Zoom in on Highland Park" explores the in-the-moment, artistic doodles of nationally published editorial cartoonist, illustrator, and educator Jonathan Plotkin, who shares how his sketches are an extension of his way of communicating and perceiving the world around him. Acclaimed tenor Rodrick Dixon and soprano Alfreda Burke close the show with an exclusive performance of musical theater favorites on the festival's stage.

New episodes of the Exelon-sponsored weekly series are released every Friday at 7 p.m. CDT on Ravinia's Youtube channel and Facebook page.