Photos: Lilli Cooper, Adam Jacobs, Kate Rockwell & More Take Part in THE EYES OF THE WORLD

Last night, in celebration of Veterans Day, historian John Monsky brought his groundbreaking American History Unbound series to Carnegie Hall's Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage with The Eyes of the World: From D-Day to VE Day.

Check out photos below.

This musically driven lecture tells the dramatic story of the final 11 months of World War II in
Europe through archival photos, video, and personal letters. Broadway stars Lilli Cooper
(Tootsie), Adam Jacobs (Aladdin), Kate Rockwell (Mean Girls) and Daniel Yearwood
(Hamilton) brought the era's popular music to life, performing songs from Glenn Miller and Edith Piaf to Woody Guthrie and more. Ian Weinberger (music director of Hamilton on
Broadway) served as music supervisor and led the 58-piece Orchestra of St. Luke's,
performing his arrangements of music from Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers, as well
as original arrangements created for this performance.

Special guests at the Veterans Day Eve performance included:

• 101-year-old Veteran Private Cresencia Garcia, who served in WW2 as part of the allblack 6888
• Veteran Lieutenant Colonel Patricia Jackson-Kelley, President of the National
Association of Black Military Women
• 50 Cadets from West Point Academy

Directed by Peter Flynn, The Eyes of the World is also told through the words and images of Ernest Hemingway, LIFE magazine war photographer Robert Capa, Vogue model-turnedphotojournalist Lee Miller, and a young soldier named Jerry, who landed on Utah Beach on June 6, 1944. The journeys of these four remarkable figures intersect and intertwine as they serve as the "eyes for the world" from D-Day to eventual victory. Along the way, their stories cross paths with such remarkable characters as Pablo Picasso and Hemingway's estranged wife, war correspondent Martha Gellhorn.

Several American flags that landed on the beaches of Normandy help drive the production's narrative, a use of material culture to connect us to our past, which is a hallmark of the American History Unbound productions.The performance is dedicated to America's veterans and their families who have sacrificed for all of us, and to the late Nick Cordero. The Broadway star had long been associated with these productions and was scheduled to perform in The Eyes of the World at Carnegie Hall in 2020, but tragically lost his life to COVID-19 at the age of 41.

The Eyes of the World was developed in close cooperation with the American Battle Monuments Commission and the New-York Historical Society.

Photo credit: Sam Hollenshead