Audra McDonald

The rise of Aretha Franklin’s career from a child singing in her father’s church’s choir to her international superstardom.

A repressed gay man develops an unlikely friendship with a young masseur who teaches him to embrace life.

Activist Bayard Rustin faces racism and homophobia as he helps change the course of Civil Rights history by orchestrating the 1963 March on Washington.

While investigating the global phenomenon of caste and its dark influence on society, a journalist faces unfathomable personal loss and uncovers the beauty of human resilience.

The Gershwins’ modern American masterpiece has its first Met performances in almost three decades, starring bass-baritone Eric Owens and soprano Angel Blue in the title roles. Director James Robinson’s stylish production transports audiences to Catfish Row, a setting vibrant with the music, dancing, emotion, and heartbreak of its inhabitants.

Featuring a 40-piece orchestra and international stars of the stage and screen, My Favorite Things: The Rodgers & Hammerstein 80th Anniversary Concert was filmed on 12 December 2023 at London’s newly restored Theatre Royal Drury Lane – the same venue that premiered the original West End productions of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!, Carousel, South Pacific and The King and I.

The film is set at Aztec Corp., a company that auctions off ancient antiquities and semi-distinct wild exotic animals.

Celebrate the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Ragtime with this once-in-a-lifetime reunion concert featuring original cast members, including Audra McDonald, Brian Stokes Mitchell, and Peter Friedman, joined by Kelli O’Hara.

Event OverviewWhat: A one-hour virtual celebration looking back at the storied history of the Lincoln Center Theater.Features: Archival performance footage, iconic video excerpts, behind-the-scenes anecdotes from favorite artists, and a preview of the upcoming theater season.Platform:

This feature length documentary tells the story of Mahani Teave who grew up on Rapa Nui (Easter Island) and left at age 9 to pursue her dream of being classical pianist-a journey that takes her from mainland Chile to The Cleveland Music Institute to Berlin and the great concert halls of Europe. At the age of 30, on the brink of international success, Teave gives up her career to pursue a new dream, coming back full circle to Rapa Nui to found a free music school for the island's children. The resulting school-named Toki, after the basalt tool once used to shape Easter Island's iconic sculptures-is a model of sustainability, incorporating tons of tires, bottles and Pacific Ocean plastic; surrounded by agri-environmental gardens to grow food. With Toki, Mahani hopes to shape a bold new future for Rapa Nui and inspire hope and change on Earth, our island home.

Echoing "An American Pageant for the Arts," the 1962 event conducted by Leonard Bernstein, this special celebration and re-launch of live, in-person performing arts in America will be hosted by six-time Tony Award® winner Audra McDonald with special guest Caroline Kennedy and feature the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO).

The winner of a record-breaking six Tony Awards as well as two Grammy awards and an Emmy, Audra McDonald performs a repertoire of classic Broadway songs, including "I Am What I Am", "Summertime", "Everything's Coming Up Roses", and many more.

Experience the magnificent voice and luminous stage presence of Audra McDonald—winner of a record-breaking six Tony Awards and the first performer to win all four acting categories—as she makes her debut at City Center in this special digital Gala presentation filmed live on our stage.

Dive into the love affair between Hollywood and Broadway in this episode celebrating classic songs from Broadway musicals and classic cinema. Enjoy selections from Leonard Bernstein’s love letter to New York City, "On the Town," performed by Sutton Foster and Brian Stokes Mitchell.

Ohio State Murders is an unusual look at the destructiveness of racism in the U.S. When Suzanne Alexander, a fictional African American writer, returns to Ohio State University to talk about the violence in her writing, a dark mystery unravels.

From her stage and concert performances to her television and film roles, six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald is recognized for both her artistry and her activism, lending her voice to champion a variety of causes and organizations. Since her Carnegie Hall debut in 1998, she has been an audience favorite, returning for many of the Hall’s most celebrated events. This afternoon she is joined by music director Andy Einhorn for a varied selection of songs, as well as a conversation with Mo Rocca about the role of artistic expression in times of social change.

With a record-breaking six Tony Awards, alongside two Grammy Awards and an Emmy, Audra McDonald is a powerhouse of musical theatre. Filmed at the iconic London Palladium, bring the electric atmosphere of live theatre to your home. Sing along to musical theatre classics including "I Am What I Am", "Summertime", and "Rose's Turn", performed by one of Broadway's most celebrated stars.

A live-action adaptation of Disney's version of the classic tale of a cursed prince and a beautiful young woman who helps him break the spell.

Meryl Streep stars as Ricki Rendazzo, a guitar heroine who made a world of mistakes as she followed her dreams of rock-and-roll stardom. Returning home, Ricki gets a shot at redemption and a chance to make things right as she faces the music with her family.

The story follows veteran police officer Dave Brown, the last of the renegade cops, as he struggles to take care of his family, and fights for his own survival.

Join us for a rousing celebration of the life and works of one of Broadway's greatest legends — the one and only Stephen Sondheim. For the master composer and lyricist's 80th birthday, many of musical theater's brightest stars gathered in March of 2010 to perform more than two dozen sensational numbers from Sondheim's illustrious career, and several of these enduring songs are performed by the original Broadway cast members. David Hyde Pierce hosts this magical event with Stephen Sondheim's longtime collaborator Paul Gemignani conducting the New York Philharmonic. Originally broadcast as an episode of the PBS series "Great Performances" (season 38, episode 2).

This intimate documentary explores the life and career of the stage legend Stephen Sondheim through six of his best-known songs.

The life of Tony-winning playwright Terrence McNally (Master Class, Ragtime): 60 years of groundbreaking plays and musicals, the struggle for gay rights, addiction and recovery, finding true love, and the relentless pursuit of inspiration.

The Sound of Music Live! is a television special that was originally broadcast by NBC on December 5, 2013. Produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, the special was an adaptation of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Broadway musical The Sound of Music, starring country singer Carrie Underwood as Maria von Trapp, performed and televised live from Grumman Studios in Bethpage, New York. Meron felt that if the telecast were successful, the concept could become "another kind of entertainment that can exist on TV." By her request, Underwood's casting as Maria was personally endorsed by Julie Andrews, who starred in the 1965 film.

Ten lost souls slip in and out of one another's arms in a daisy-chained musical exploration of love's bittersweet embrace. A film adaptation of Michael John LaChiusa's celebrated musical, originally based on Arthur Schnitzler's play, La Ronde.

In 1846, Anthony Hope sails into London with the mysterious Sweeney Todd, a once-naive barber whose life and marriage was uprooted by a corrupt justice system. Todd confides in Nellie Lovett, the owner of a local meat pie shop, and the two become partners, as Todd swears revenge on those that have wronged him and decides to take up his old profession. (Filmed live at the Lincoln Center with the New York Philharmonic from March 5–8, 2014.)

This holiday special goes back in time to show how Elmo's ancestors--not to mention those of Grover, Big Bird, Bert, Ernie, Oscar the Grouch and Cookie Monster--helped transform "the most unfriendly street in town" into the bright, kind, music-filled place it is today.

In honor of Leonard Bernstein’s 100th birthday, Tanglewood—the famed summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra—dedicated its entire 2018 season to the iconic composer, conductor, performer, educator and humanitarian. The festivities culminated on Bernstein’s centennial birthday on August 25, 2018, in a special celebrity-studded gala concert. Directed for the stage by James Darrah, The Bernstein Centennial Celebration at Tanglewood illuminates the breadth of Bernstein’s incredible life and career, which inspired generations of music lovers around the globe – from his talent as a composer to his generosity in mentoring other composers and musicians, his inimitable role as a driving musical force at Tanglewood for over 50 years and more.

It's 1959 in a seedy bar in Philadelphia, and Billie Holiday is giving one of her last performances interlaced with salty, often humorous, reminiscences to project a riveting portrait of the lady and her music 4 months before her death.

About the son of a Kennedy-esque family who leaves the priesthood and becomes a lawyer to prevent his politician sister from being assassinated.

Transferring the setting of a brooding Hungarian play, Carousel, to a remote fishing village, shaping their vision around themes of brutality, poverty and disappointment, Rodgers and Hammerstein composed some of the most glorious music ever written for the stage.

Recorded before a live audience at the historic Los Angeles Theatre, Josh Groban delves into his first love --Broadway musicals-- and brings some of the most iconic of these songs to life with timeless melodies and lyrics, including “All I Ask of You” (The Phantom of the Opera) and “Anthem” (Chess), among many others. In addition, the special, one-night only cinematic event features previously unreleased concert footage and a live Q&A with Groban, taking questions from fans in the audience and via social media before his performance.

Two-time Tony winner Sutton Foster brings her irresistible show-stopping talent and effusive charm to the intimate Appel Room for a special night featuring a special guest, two-time Tony nominee Jonathan Groff (Hamilton, Spring Awakening, Glee).

Stars from Broadway and television join the New York Philharmonic to ring in the New Year with a joyous celebration of the music of Marvin Hamlisch. Featured performers include Beth Behrs, Joshua Bell, Lilla Crawford, Raul Esparza, Michael Feinstein, Maria Friedman, Josh Groban, Megan Hilty, Brian d'Arcy James, Kelli O'Hara, and of course series host Audra McDonald. Conducted by Paul Gemignani.

Who can resist Bernstein on Broadway? Toast the New Year and our Laureate Conductor’s 100th with West Side Story’s star-crossed lovers, On the Town’s fun-loving sailors, and Wonderful Town’s bright-eyed New Yorkers as portrayed by Tony winner Annaleigh Ashford, Hamilton’s Christopher Jackson, Cinderella’s Laura Osnes, and Next to Normal’s Aaron Tveit. Audience favorite Bramwell Tovey conducts.

A renowned professor is forced to reassess her life when she is diagnosed with terminal ovarian cancer.

This is the story of a dysfunctional New York family, and their attempts to reconcile

Walter Lee Younger is a young man struggling with his station in life. Sharing a tiny apartment with his wife, son, sister and mother, he seems like an imprisoned man. Until, that is, the family gets an unexpected financial windfall.

A presidential debate, unconfirmed rumors and four reporters who take the political process into their own hands. With the election only a week away, the two candidates square off in a final debate. The televised event takes a dramatic turn when the moderator and three panelists confront one of the candidates with unconfirmed rumors and allegations. The debate quickly turns into a witch hunt and destroys one politician's career. They also give Tom Chapman, the up-and-coming reporter investigating the panel's ambush, the story of a lifetime: What went on behind the last debate.

Broadway royalty and Tony-winners Tommy Tune, Carol Channing, Robert Goulet, and Harvey Fierstein are your hosts for this third compilation of great musical performances from the archives of the Tony Award® broadcasts. Legendary stars from legendary shows strut their stuff in 23 performances that have become part of Broadway history.

Cast and crew discuss making "A Raisin in the Sun" for television.

Commemorating the centennial of Mercer's birth, this documentary is part biography, part archive, and part recontextualization, taking Mercer's tunes and putting them in the hands of modern singers like Jamie Cullum and Dr. John to show they are still relevant today. Host Clint Eastwood also interviews artists who collaborated with Mercer or performed his songs, including composer John Williams, Blake Edwards, Andre Previn, Tony Bennett, and Julie Andrews.

Four-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald and veteran movie and television star Peter Graves join with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square in an extraordinary musical Christmas celebration. This spectacular performance of the Choir's 2004 Christmas concert will be a holiday favorite for years to come.

Izzy, the youngest son of a troubled New York family, takes a shine to breaking into people's apartments as a way to get attention.

Audra McDonald, Tony Award-winner for Carousel, Master Class, and Ragtime, appears live in concert from the Donmar Warehouse in London. In a program that blends the old and the new, McDonald presents ballads by Gershwin, Arlen, and Kern, along with songs by the next generation of music theatre composers. Her performance demonstrates why The New York Times has declared, "She has the vocal power and charisma to make you believe in a better musical future."

- Recorded live at Los Angeles Opera, 1 & 4 March 2007. Welcome to Mahagonny, where sin is "in" and love is always on sale. This Old West boomtown rises from the desert to become a razzle-dazzle mecca for lust, liberty, and the pursuit of pleasure. Cash is king, poverty is punishable by death, and anything worth doing is worth overdoing. Director John Doyle melds his Tony Award winning talent with the lyrics of influential playwright Bertolt Brecht and an incomparable score by Kurt Weill. The brilliant cast is led by superstars Audra McDonald, as the tart-with-a-heart `Jenny' and Patti LuPone, who portrays the town's feisty madam. Audra McDonald · Patti LuPone · Anthony Dean Griffey Robert Wörle · John Easterlin · Mel Ulrich Directed for Stage by John Doyle Chorus and Orchestra of the Los Angeles Opera James Conlon, conductor

Passion is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Lapine. The story was adapted from Ettore Scola's film Passione d'Amore. Central themes include love, sex, obsession, illness, passion, beauty, power and manipulation. Set in 19th century Italy, the plot concerns a young soldier and the changes in him brought about by the obsessive love of Fosca, his Colonel's homely, ailing cousin.

The Music Instinct: Science and Song provides a ground-breaking exploration into how and why the human organism and the whole ebb and flow of the cosmos is moved by the undeniable effect of music. This follows visionary researchers and accomplished musicians to the crossroads of science and culture in search of answers to music s deep mysteries. This is a comprehensive look at how the brain reacts in performance, just listening, atonal music, the sensory reactions from person to person, instrument, voices to others.

Audra McDonald, already renowned for her virtuosity in classical and Broadway song, brings her talents to new genres by interpreting works of pop and contemporary composers, including pieces from her album Build a Bridge.

Broadway and concert star Audra McDonald rings in the new year with a program of cherished song standards by Duke Ellington, George Gershwin, Harold Arlen, and others, backed by members of the New York Philharmonic conducted by Ted Sperling.

The classic musical by Bernstein, Comden and Green is performed live in concert in Berlin, starring Audra McDonald, Thomas Hampson, Brent Barrett and Kim Criswell, and conducted by Simon Rattle.

A pregnant New York social worker begins to develop romantic feelings for her gay best friend, and decides she'd rather raise her child with him, much to the dismay of her overbearing boyfriend.

A true story of politics and art in the 1930s USA, centered around a leftist musical drama and attempts to stop its production.

Things seem pretty bad for a young girl living a "hard-knock life" in an orphanage. Fed up with the dastardly Miss Hannigan, Annie escapes the run-down orphanage determined to find her mom and dad. It's an adventure that takes her from the cold, mean streets of New York to the warm, comforting arms of bighearted billionaire Oliver Warbucks - with plenty of mischief and music in between.

An elderly man wants to exit earth in a state of unity with all creatures. To that end, he hires a quartet of manservants to plug his facial orifices with their fingers.

On Sept. 28, 1998, some of the greatest divas in musical theater -- including Marin Mazzie, Judy Kuhn and Audra McDonald -- took the stage at New York City's Carnegie Hall to belt out songs that made them famous. Julie Andrews hosted the event. Showstoppers include Liza Minnelli performing "Some People"; Andrea McArdle singing "Look for the Silver Lining" and "Tomorrow"; and Bebe Neuwirth and Karen Ziemba teaming for "Nowadays/Hot Honey Rag." Originally broadcast on PBS's "Great Performances" (season 28, episode 4).

In commemoration of the 100th birthday of lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II, performers present classic Hammerstein songs.

Tells the story of Sadie and Bessie Delany, two African-American (they preferred "colored") sisters who both lived past the age of 100. They grew up on a North Carolina college campus, the daughters of the first African-American Episcopal bishop, who was born a slave, and a woman with an inter-racial background. With the support of each other and their family, they survived encounters with racism and sexism in their own different ways. Sadie quietly and sweetly broke barriers to become the first African-American home-ec teacher in New York City, while Bessie, with her own brand of outspokenness, became the second African-American dentist in New York City. At the ages of 103 and 101, they told their story to Amy Hill Hearth, a white New York Times reporter who published an article about them. The overwhelming response launched a bestselling book, a Broadway play, and this film.

A struggling tennis phenom who falls for a charismatic local ball boy at the US Open. Their unlikely romance just might be the spark she needs to make it to the finals.

A look at the past, present and future of the Great White Way.