It’s been a year now since the curtain opened on the much anticipated $415 million Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. The downtown venue designed by Moshie Safdie has quickly garnered both national and international attention.
Many of the center’s shows have earned rave reviews and there have been countless sold out performances. But one year on, is it meeting expectations?
Joining us for a status report is arts leader and philanthropist Julia Irene Kauffman, who chair’s the center’s board, and Symphony Board President Shirley Helzberg.
The show at New York’s Minskoff Theatre is the final act and crowning highlight of the miniseries Broadway or Bust. The 60 finalists prepare for the big day. In just six hours, the lights will go up, the theater will be filled and, with the downbeat of the orchestra leader’s baton, it’ll be show time. Going into the final competition awards show, all of the judges have a short list of top contenders, but during the show itself, they’ll be asked once again to give scores to the leading performers based on the group performances and individual medleys. At intermission, the judges will cut the group to six finalists. Those six will perform their solos, and after another round, the judges will choose the two winners. In the words of director Van Kaplan, “This week … is going to shape their whole lives, whether they go into the theater or not.”
Watch the final episode Sunday, September 23, 2012 at 7pm.
Boot Camp — there’s no other way to describe it. The second episode picks up where the first left off, launching headlong into the fire of the rehearsals, coaching and coaxing sessions that take place during one week of intense preparation for the auditions and the awards ceremony, popularly known as “The Jimmy Awards” in honor of renowned Broadway theater owner and producer James M. Nederlander. Fighting fatigue, the eager performers quickly see what a learn-by-immersion experience is all about — and get an eye-opening look at what life is like on Broadway. The central drama of the episode lies in both the progress and setbacks of the individual performers. As the week moves along and the final auditions loom, the program closes with another round of uncertainty. Participants dig in and launch into last-minute preparations for their auditions. Did boot camp pay off or not?
Paul McCartney, at the forefront of the rock ‘n’ roll revolution that changed popular music forever in his early career with the Beatles, has continued to push boundaries for more than 40 years as a solo artist, a member of his second group, Wings, and an award-winning composer for classical music and dance. His latest venture is Kisses on the Bottom, a collection of standards beloved by McCartney since childhood, along with two of his own new songs, “My Valentine” and “Only Our Hearts.” Produced with the help of Grammy Award-winning producer Tommy LiPuma and singer Diana Krall and her band, Kisses on the Bottom is the first record in McCartney’s historic oeuvre to feature him almost exclusively on vocals. GREAT PERFORMANCES joins McCartney for an intimate concert recorded at the historic Capitol Studios in Los Angeles, featuring performances of such standards as “I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter,” “It’s Only a Paper Moon,” “Always,” “Bye Bye Blackbird” and more.
Watch Great Performances Friday, September 7, 2012 at 9pm.
