New PBS GREAT PERFORMANCES Documentary Goes Backstage Broadway's Comeback
The new documentary will air January 18 on PBS.
Great Performances - Reopening: The Broadway Revival pulls the curtain back on some of Broadway's most popular shows, revealing how the New York theater industry undertook the monumental process of turning the lights back on after its longest hiatus in history due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A music-filled, intimate production told by the people who've been achieving the entertainment industry's largest comeback, Great Performances - Reopening: The Broadway Revival premieres Tuesday, January 18 at 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings), pbs.org/gperf and the PBS Video app as part of #PBSForTheArts.
Offering exclusive behind-the-scenes access to shows including Wicked, Aladdin, Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, Jagged Little Pill, The Phantom of the Opera, Waitress and others, the film follows each production's journey as cast and crew reunite, rehearse and re-stage for their long-anticipated reopening nights.
Hosted by three-time New York Emmy Award-winning journalist and host of "On Stage" on Spectrum News NY1, Frank DiLella, the documentary is told by Broadway stars and legends, including 2021 Tony Award winner for Best Actress in a Musical Adrienne Warren ("Tina: The Tina Turner Musical"), 2021 Tony Award winner for Best Actor in a Musical Aaron Tveit ("Moulin Rouge"), Tony and Emmy nominee Sara Bareilles ("Waitress"), Michael James Scott ("Aladdin"), Tony nominee Elizabeth Stanley ("Jagged Little Pill"), Alexandra Billings ("Wicked"), Jawan M. Jackson ("Ain't Too Proud"), Jeanna de Waal ("Diana: The Musical"), Rachel Tucker ("Come From Away"), Tony nominee Andrew Rannells, Tony nominee Norm Lewis ("Chicken and Biscuits"), Olivier Award winner Sharon D. Clarke ("Caroline, or Change"), Tony winner Lea Salonga, Tony winner and Emmy winner Kristin Chenoweth, Tony winner Chita Rivera, Tony winner Laura Benanti, Tony winner David Rockwell and the legendary award-winning composer Andrew Lloyd Webber.
"Great Performances remains committed to telling the survival and now revival stories of how artists have been weathering the pandemic, which we initiated last spring with our first documentary in the #PBSForTheArts campaign, Great Performances: The Arts Interrupted," said Great Performances Executive Producer David Horn. "After this long performance shutdown, the return of Broadway is a beacon of hope for American arts and culture."
"When Broadway reopened this past fall, our cameras were granted unprecedented access to these incredible shows and the wonderful actors who bring them to life eight times a week. This hour will take viewers on a journey even we never saw coming," said Stu Weiss, chief creative officer at Studio City/PXL and executive producer of Great Performances - Reopening: The Broadway Revival.
A production of Emmy Award-winning marketing and original content producer Studio City/PXL, Great Performances - Reopening: The Broadway Revival is directed by Cody Williams; Stu Weiss, Frank DiLella and Williams are executive producers, Dudley Beene is co-executive producer. For Great Performances, Bill O'Donnell is series producer and David Horn is executive producer.
Support for Great Performances - Reopening: The Broadway Revival is provided by The Joseph & Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation, the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Arts Fund, the LuEsther T. Mertz Charitable Trust, Jody and John Arnhold, The Philip and Janice Levin Foundation, the Kate W. Cassidy Foundation, the Thea Petschek Iervolino Foundation, Rosalind P. Walter, The Starr Foundation, the Seton Melvin Charitable Trust, the Estate of Worthington Mayo-Smith, and Ellen and James S. Marcus. Additional support is provided by Sue and Edgar Wachenheim III and the Jack Lawrence Trust.
Throughout its nearly 50-year history on PBS, Great Performances has provided an unparalleled showcase of the best in all genres of the performing arts, serving as America's most prestigious and enduring broadcaster of cultural programming. Showcasing a diverse range of artists from around the world, the series has earned 67 Emmy Awards and six Peabody Awards. Previous Great Performances programs include Romeo & Juliet from The National Theatre, The Arts Interrupted, San Francisco Reopening Night, Coppelia and From Vienna: The New Year's Celebration 2022. The Great Performances website hosts exclusive videos, interviews, photos, full episodes and more.
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