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Home , Allen Toussaint, Cady Huffman, Jay Armstrong Johnson, Laurence Fishburne, Liev Schreiber, Live from Lincoln Center

Date: July 22, 2014 at TCA: Betsy Vorce 917-287-3122 [email protected]

Contact at : Eric M. Gewirtz 212-875-5049 [email protected]

LIVE FROM LINCOLN CENTER CELEBRATES 40TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON

Season Kicks Off with Broadcast of Sondheim’s Starring , Emma Thompson and the , September 26, and Starring on October 10, As Part of PBS Arts Fall Festival

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — — the pioneering, award-winning performing arts series showcasing the best of the wide-ranging programming from the 30 iconic stages of the world’s largest performing arts center — today announced its 40th anniversary season on PBS. The milestone season launches with two major theatrical events as part of the annual PBS Arts Fall Festival. The opening broadcasts feature ’s iconic musical thriller Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, starring Bryn Terfel, Emma Thompson and the New York Philharmonic on September 26, followed by The Nance starring Nathan Lane on October 10. Six-time Tony Award-winning actress and singer Audra McDonald will continue as host of Live From Lincoln Center for a third season, as well as play a featured role in Sweeney Todd.

With its premiere broadcast in 1976, Live From Lincoln Center started a new chapter in performing arts broadcasting. Suddenly, arts lovers across the were given a front row seat to the world-class performances seen by audiences at Lincoln Center in New York, including classical music, , dance, and theater, by some of the cultural greats from around the world, such as , Yo-Yo Ma, , Renee Fleming, , , and Audra McDonald. Through the high quality of these broadcasts, Lincoln Center became a national and international destination for the performing arts.

“Live From Lincoln Center has been a regular in American households for four decades,” said series executive producer Andrew C. Wilk. “We’re thrilled that the 40th anniversary season of this iconic series continues its tradition of presenting opportunities to experience the breadth and depth of performances found nowhere else in the world but at Lincoln Center.”

Live From Lincoln Center is made possible by a major grant from MetLife

Live From Lincoln Center 40th Anniversary Season (partial list)

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street Friday, September 26, 2014 PBS Arts Fall Festival Live From Lincoln Center presents the New York Philharmonic’s critically acclaimed staged production of Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s musical thriller Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. These sold out engagements, staged in March 2014 at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall, tell the story of the eponymous barber who seeks vengeance on what he sees as a merciless world, along with his romantically inclined landlady. The remarkable cast features stars from various spheres of entertainment, including classical music, theater, television and film. Bass-baritone Bryn Terfel stars in the title role, with Academy Award-winning actress Emma Thompson as Mrs. Lovett. Jeff Blumenkrantz portrays The Beadle; Tony Award winner , Pirelli; Kyle Brenn, Tobias Ragg; , Anthony Hope; Erin Mackey, Johanna; Audra McDonald, Beggar Woman; and Olivier Award winner Philip Quast, Judge Turpin. New York Philharmonic Music Director Alan Gilbert conducts the Philharmonic and actors on stage, with help from assistant conductor Grant Sturiale. Sweeney Todd was directed for the stage and screen by . This celebrated musical theater work’s original production received eight in 1979 — including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, and Best Original Score.

The Nance Friday, October 10, 2014 PBS Arts Fall Festival Douglas Carter Beane’s acclaimed drama The Nance, produced by Lincoln Center Theater, stars stage and screen actor Nathan Lane. The play tells the story of Chauncey Miles (Lane), a headline nance (a parody of a gay man) in the twilight of New York burlesque’s era, who is homosexual. Integrating burlesque sketches into his drama, Beane paints the portrait of a homosexual man, living and in the secretive and dangerous gay world of 1930s New York, whose outrageous antics on the burlesque stage stand in marked contrast to his offstage life. The New York Daily News called the play “refreshingly original” and USA Today praised Lane’s standout performance “as heartbreaking as he is hilarious.” The Nance is directed for the stage by celebrated Broadway veteran Jack O’Brien. Rounding out the cast is Jenni Barber, Andréa Burns, Cady Huffman, Mylinda Hull, Geoffrey Allen Murphy, Jonny Orsini and Lewis J. Stadlen. The production was nominated for five Tony Awards, including Best Actor – Nathan Lane, and two Drama Desk Awards (Outstanding Actor in a Play – Nathan Lane and Outstanding Music in a Play – Glen Kelly). The Nance won two Outer Critics Circle Awards for Outstanding Actor in a Play – Nathan Lane, and Outstanding Director of a Play – Jack O’Brien, and Nathan Lane won the 2013 for Distinguished Performance of the Season. The Nance is directed for the screen by Matthew Diamond.

Other highlights to come in Live From Lincoln Center’s 40th broadcast season include:

School of American Ballet in Performance For the first time, the curtain will be drawn back on one of the world’s premier ballet academies — the School of American Ballet — with a Live From Lincoln Center presentation of the School's 50th Annual Workshop Performance, taped in June 2014, featuring an all-Balanchine program. The annual Workshop Performances demonstrate the continuing tradition of the excellence fostered at this prestigious ballet academy and showcase the talented dancers of the future.

New York Philharmonic: Live on New Year’s Eve Continuing a broadcasting tradition, Live From Lincoln Center will broadcast the New York Philharmonic’s New Year’s Eve celebration . This year’s gala concert will ring in 2015 with George Gershwin favorites, led by conductor Bramwell Tovey, and featuring Dianne Reeves and .

Richard Tucker Opera Gala Live From Lincoln Center will broadcast one of the most highly anticipated events for opera lovers, the Music Foundation’s Gala Concert from Avery Fisher Hall. Each year the Richard Tucker Music Foundation, which provides much-needed support in the form of awards and grants to young American opera singers, stages a star-studded tribute to the late Brooklyn-born featuring many of the biggest names in opera. Headlining this year’s concert, among others, are , Joseph Calleja, Ildar Abdrazakov and 2014 Richard Tucker Award winner, Michael Fabiano. Broadcast date and further details will be announced at a date.

Lincoln Center’s American Songbook In recent years, Live From Lincoln Center has presented some electrifying programming from Lincoln Center’s annual American Songbook series, celebrating the best in American singing and songwriting. Recent broadcasts have included Kristen Chenoweth, Patina Miller, Jason Isbell and more. Details about this season’s American Songbook will be announced at a later date.

Notable appearances on Live From Lincoln Center Artists who have appeared in the past 40 years include: o o Patti LuPone o Joshua Bell o Yo-Yo Ma o o o Leonard Bernstein o Peter Martins o Chris Botti o Audra McDonald o o o o Edgar Meyer o o Kelli O’Hara o o Luciano Pavarotti o Aaron Copland o Itzhak Perlman o Placido Domingo o o Renee Fleming o Isabella Rosselini o Sir o o o o o Live Schreiber o o Kyra Sedgewick o Barbara Hendricks o Beverly Sills o Megan Hilty o John Slattery o o o Helen Hunt o o o o o

Live From Lincoln Center milestones January 30, 1976: The premiere broadcast of Live From Lincoln Center featuring pianist Van Cliburn with the New York Philharmonic and conductor Andre Previn, from Avery Fisher Hall.

April 21, 1976: Opera’s first appearance on the series, featuring Douglas Moore’s The Ballad of Baby Doe, from the New York State Theater (now called the David H. Koch Theater)

June 30, 1976: American Ballet Theatre’s first appearance, featuring Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake with Natalia Makarova and Ivan Nagy, and hosted by .

February 12, 1978: Luciano Pavarotti’s first performance on the series, a solo recital from the House. This would be the first of Pavarotti’s 11 performances on Live From Lincoln Center.

May 5, 1980: Live From Lincoln Center broadcast the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s tribute to John Huston, including speeches by Lauren Bacall, , Paul Newman and , among others.

February 2, 1981: During a live performance of The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center with Itzhak Perlman, one of Perlman’s strings broke, and the performance stopped. Perlman vamped on air until the string was fixed and the performance could continue.

December 31, 1984: The first broadcast on New Year’s Eve featuring the New York Philharmonic, now a popular tradition.

November 14, 1985: Two American music legends were featured as Leonard Bernstein led a performance of music by Aaron Copland celebrating the latter’s 85th birthday.

June 24, 1987: Lincoln Center Theater’s first production on the series–Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors from the .

May 12, 1989: Ray Charles performed in concert with the in a program choreographed by Peter Martins.

August 30, 1998: Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night at Lincoln Center Theater, starring Paul Rudd, Daniel Sunjata, Helen Hunt and Kyra Sedgwick, among others.

July 19, 2001: Lincoln Center Festival is showcased, including events featuring , Harold Pinter, and John Slattery. Isabella Rossellini served as host.

September 20, 2001: Following the events of September 11, Live From Lincoln Center broadcasted the New York Philharmonic’s memorial concert, featuring Brahms German .

May 5, 2004: Sarah Jessica Parker hosts Lincoln Center’s tribute to Balanchine’s 100th birthday, including appearances by Kevin Kline, Wynton Marsalis, Placido Domingo, and several Lincoln Center organizations, including New York City Ballet and the School of American Ballet.

September 17, 2005: In a special raising money for victims of , the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis led a performance featuring Renée Fleming, Herbie Hancock, Bette Midler, , , Allen Toussaint, , , , , Robin Williams, , , Toni Morrison, Billy Cosby and . hosted with help from .

October 12, 2006: Audra McDonald’s first appearance on Live From Lincoln Center, singing an variety of songs at Lincoln Center’s American Songbook series. She also appears in the next episode, on New Year’s Eve with the New York Philharmonic.

May 3, 2007: Live From Lincoln Center presents a special concert event to close its Alice Tully Hall venue before coming renovated. The Gala concert included Wynton Marsalis, Philip Glass, Laurie Anderson, Kelli O’Hara, and musicians from The Juilliard Orchestra and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, among others.

2010: Live From Lincoln Center content available online including excerpts and select complete episodes.

2012: Audra McDonald is named host of Live From Lincoln Center.

Andrew C. Wilk, Executive Producer, Live From Lincoln Center Andrew C. Wilk is an Emmy Award-winning producer and director, whose career has encompassed leading roles in many areas of commercial and educational content. Since his arrival at Lincoln Center in 2011, he has served as Executive Producer of Live From Lincoln Center episodes ranging from classical music to dance to theater. Prior to his work at Lincoln Center, Wilk served as Chief Creative Officer at Sony Music Entertainment, where he oversaw all visual content for Sony’s label groups and spearheaded Sony’s digital expansion. He also served as founding programmer and Executive Vice President of Programming, Production and News for the National Geographic Channel, where he launched the channel and developed its initial programming, as well as scheduled and commissioned new programs including specials with PBS and NBC. Wilk has won four and has received 12 nominations. Over the course of his career, he has produced or directed more than 1,000 television shows ranging from children’s programming to news to commercial entertainment.

About Live From Lincoln Center Live From Lincoln Center is a cornerstone of performing arts broadcasting, presenting the world’s greatest artists and performances in music, dance and theater from Lincoln Center’s renowned stages. Now in its 40th season on PBS, the pioneering series—produced by Lincoln Center—has been seen by hundreds of millions of viewers since its debut and celebrated by 13 Emmy Awards and other honors for its broadcasting excellence. Additional Live From Lincoln Center content is accessible online at PBS.org and watch.lincolncenter.org.

About Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (LCPA) serves three primary roles: presenter of artistic programming, national leader in arts and education and community relations, and manager of the Lincoln Center campus. A presenter of more than 3,000 free and ticketed events, performances, tours, and educational activities annually, LCPA offers 15 series, festivals, and programs including American Songbook, Avery Fisher Artist Program, Great Performers, Lincoln Center Books, Lincoln Center Festival, Lincoln Center Out of Doors, Midsummer Night Swing, Martin E. Segal Awards, Meet the Artist, Mostly Mozart Festival, Target Free Thursdays, and the White Light Festival, as well as the Emmy Award- winning Live From Lincoln Center, which airs nationally on PBS. As manager of the Lincoln Center campus, LCPA provides support and services for the Lincoln Center complex and 11 resident organizations: Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, The Film Society of Lincoln Center, Jazz at Lincoln Center, The , Lincoln Center Theater, The Metropolitan Opera, New York City Ballet, New York Philharmonic, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, the School of American Ballet and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. For more information: aboutlincolncenter.org

About PBS PBS, with its over 350 member stations, offers all Americans the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television and online content. Each month, PBS reaches nearly 109 million people through television and over 28 million people online, inviting them to experience the worlds of science, history, and public affairs; to hear diverse viewpoints; and to take front row seats to world-class drama and performances. PBS’ broad array of programs has been consistently honored by the industry’s most coveted award competitions. Teachers of children from pre-K through 12th grade turn to PBS for digital content and services that help bring classroom lessons to life. PBS’ premier children’s TV programming and its website, pbskids.org, are parents’ and teachers’ most trusted partners in inspiring and nurturing curiosity and love of learning in children. More information about PBS is available at www..org, one of the leading dot-org websites on the Internet, or by following PBS on Twitter, Facebook or through our apps for mobile devices. Specific program information and updates for press are available at pbs.org/pressroom or by following PBS PressRoom on Twitter.

Live From Lincoln Center is made possible by a major grant from MetLife.

In addition to underwriting from MetLife, the series is also made possible with generous support from the Robert Wood Johnson 1962 Charitable Trust, Thomas H. Lee and Ann Tenenbaum, The Robert and Renée Belfer Family Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.

MetLife National Sponsor of Lincoln Center

Movado Official Sponsor of Lincoln Center

United Airlines Official Airline of Lincoln Center

WABC-TV Official Broadcast Partner of Lincoln Center

William Hill Estate Winery Official Wine of Lincoln Center

Live From Lincoln Center website http://www.pbs.org/live-from-lincoln-center/home/

Further information about Live From Lincoln Center, along with photos and videos can be found at: Lincoln Center Press Room: http://aboutlincolncenter.org/press-room/subject/18 PBS Press Room: http://pressroom.pbs.org/Programs/l/LIVE-FROM-LINCOLN-CENTER.aspx

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