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It’s an LGBT dream come true! Wicked’s first Elphaba on Broadway and Glee sensation Idina Menzel will be joining the ranks of Elaine Stritch, Audra McDonald and Nathan Lane for A Broadway Celebration: In Performance at the White House on October 20, 2010 on PBS.
Stritch is best known for her roles on Broadway’s A Little Night Music, Company, and At Liberty. Audra McDonald struck the fame lantern when she landed a spot in the 1998 original production of Ragtime and has since gone on to star in ABC’s smash hit show Grey’s Anatomy. Idina Menzel was in the 1995 cast of Broadway’s Rent and then shook the world off its axle when she “defied gravity” immersing herself into the role of the Wicked Witch of the West in Wicked opposite stunning petite beauty Kristin Chenoweth. Nathan Lane brought us laughing to our knees in The Birdcage opposite Robin Williams and also graced the stage in the insanely sold-out show The Producers on Broadway in 2001.
Also appearing in the televised special are Tonya Pinkins (Caroline, or Change, Jelly's Last Jam), Marvin Hamlisch (A Chorus Line, Sweet Smell of Success), Brian d'Arcy James (Next to Normal), Chad Kimball (Memphis), Karen Olivo (West Side Story), Constantine Rousouli and Danielle Arci.
A Broadway Celebration: In Performance at the White House was originally taped on July 19, 2010 during a private audience with President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.
The 60-minute special concert honoring the Great White Way will include the following performances:
Opening Remarks from President Barack Obama
"Broadway Baby" (Elaine Stritch)
"Gimme Gimme" (Assata Alston)
"Blue Skies" (Brian d'Arcy James)
"America" (Karen Olivo, Yanira Marin, Shina Ann Morris, Jennifer Sanchez)
"Can't Stop Talking About Him" (Audra McDonald)
"Memphis Lives in Me" (Chad Kimball)
"Gonna Pass Me A Law" (Tonya Pinkins)
"Defying Gravity" (Idina Menzel)
"Free" (Nathan Lane, Brian d'Arcy James)
"Happiness Is A Thing Called Joe" (Audra McDonald)
"What I Did for Love" (Idina Menzel, Marvin Hamlisch)
"I'm Still Here" (Elaine Stritch)
"You Can't Stop the Beat" (Constantine Rousouli, Danielle Arci and the Joy of Motion Dance Center/Duke Ellington School of the Arts student ensemble)
President Obama could not be happier about the musical masterpiece event set to air in less than one month. He recently said, “Over the years musicals have also been at the forefront of our social consciousness, challenging stereotypes, shaping our opinions about race, and religion death and disease, power and politics. But perhaps the most American part of this truly American art form is its optimism.” He continued by saying that there’s nothing quite like the power and passion” of Broadway show tunes.
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