David Horn

In celebration of Great Performances’ 50th anniversary season, the series raises the curtain on a starry “Broadway’s Best” schedule of programs featuring dazzling musical numbers and high drama. The lineup kicks off with a star-studded concert celebrating Broadway during the series’ 50 years on PBS spanning from the early 1970s to the present day.

Hosted by Sutton Foster, the special features performances by André de Shields, Robyn Hurder, Jane Krakowski, Norm Lewis, Donna McKechnie, Betty Buckley, Jessie Mueller, Chita Rivera, Vanessa Williams and many more. The concert celebration is a living testament to why musical theater continues to resonate so powerfully.

National Youth Theater is set to present Seussical, a magical journey into the whimsical world of Dr. Seuss in March.

National Youth Theater will present Elf, The Musical, the smash hit Christmas musical based on the beloved film. The perfect way to celebrate the holiday season!

The season features the premiere of Great Performances: Intimate Apparel, which is available to stream now, and the premiere of Great Performances: Richard III from The Public Theater’s Free Shakespeare in the Park; Josh Groban’s Great Big Radio City Show with Cyndi Lauper, Deneé Benton, and Tiler Peck; and more.

A cross-disciplinary tour de force performed by Nashville Ballet, Great Performances: Black Lucy and The Bard explores the love life of William Shakespeare and his muses, the “Dark Lady” and the “Fair Youth,” presenting the idea that these subjects and inspirations in his love sonnets were a Black woman and a young man.

Set in turn of the century New York, Intimate Apparel tells the story of Esther (Kearstin Piper Brown), a lonely, single African American woman who makes her living sewing corsets and ladies’ undergarments. Featuring a libretto by Lynn Nottage, based on her play, and music by Ricky Ian Gordon, the opera is directed by Bartlett Sher.

Tonight's, Thursday, March 3, and the Saturday evening March 5 performances of Lincoln Center Theater's acclaimed production of the new opera Intimate Apparel will be recorded for future broadcast by Great Performances – on PBS as part of #PBSForTheArts – a multiplatform campaign that celebrates the arts in America. 

Follow celebrated violinist and conductor Scott Yoo as he travels the United States to uncover the musical influences of some of America’s most prominent composers — Amy Beach, Florence Price and Aaron Copland — in of the third season of Great Performances: Now Hear This.

Filmed over the course of two years, the documentary will feature rehearsal and performance footage, plus new interviews with Marianne Elliott, Katrina Lenk, Patti LuPone, Stephen Sondheim, and members of the original 1970 cast. The working title is Great Performances: Keeping Company with Sondheim.

'Great Performances – Reopening: The Broadway Revival' is hosted by NY1's Frank DiLella. Kristin Chenoweth, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Lea Salonga, Sara Bareilles and more are featured in the new documentary with and with exclusive footage from Aladdin, Wicked, Jagged Little Pill, Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, Phantom of the Opera, and Waitress.

National Youth Theater has announced their upcoming productions of Disney's The Lion King Jr., and The Wizard of Oz. Both shows are filled with phenomenal performers ages 8-19.

The film stars Josh O’Connor (The Crown, God’s Own Country) as Romeo and Jessie Buckley (Chernobyl, Judy) as Juliet, and will be available to screen across the UK and Ireland. 

Throughout its more than 40-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. 

In this contemporary rendering of Shakespeare’s beloved romantic tragedy, a company of actors in a shuttered theater bring to life the tale of two young lovers who strive to transcend a world of violence and hate.

An original film for television by the National Theatre, Great Performances: Romeo & Juliet premieres Friday, April 23 at 9 p.m. on PBS, pbs.org/gperf and the PBS Video app.

A first-look image has today been released for the National Theatre’s Romeo & Juliet, a feature film for broadcast on Sky Arts and PBS this April. The image features Romeo, played by Josh O’Connor (The Crown, God’s Own Country) and Juliet, played by Jessie Buckley (Chernobyl, Judy), as they meet by moonlight at Juliet’s balcony. The image was taken during filming at the National Theatre.  

The National Theatre has today announced it is creating a new filmed version of Romeo & Juliet for television, temporarily transforming the vast stage spaces of its Lyttelton theatre into a film studio to capture Shakespeare's timeless play for a new generation of audiences.

The Recording Academy® will honor its 2020 Special Merit Awards recipients with 'Great Performances: GRAMMY Salute To Music Legends®,' an awards ceremony and tribute concert hosted by Jimmy Jam tonight, Friday, Oct. 16, 2020, at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts presents a digital engagement of WIESENTHAL, the critically acclaimed Off-Broadway production based on the life of Simon Wiesenthal written by and starring Tom Dugan, available digitally from October 20 through 27, 2020.