A Celebration of American Creativity: In Performance at the White House, with President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, and performances from Audra McDonald and a host of fellow artists, premieres on PBS stations across the US tonight at 9 PM ET. The performances commemorate the 50th anniversary of the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act. McDonald's portrayal of Billie Holiday in Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill will premiere on HBO on March 12. She will take part in an all-star tribute to Lena Horne at Symphony Space in NYC this Tuesday and lead two shows at the Leicester Square Theatre in London on January 17. Audra McDonald returns to Broadway in Shuffle Along this spring; previews begin March 15.
Audra McDonald took part in a very special evening, "A Celebration of American Creativity," at The White House in October, as part of the series In Performance at the White House. She joined President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama and performers including Buddy Guy, Queen Latifah, MC Lyte, Keb' Mo', Smokey Robinson, Trombone Shorty, Esperanza Spalding, Brian Stokes Mitchell, James Taylor, and Usher, with special readings from Carol Burnett, in celebration of art and literature in unique American musical forms. A Celebration of American Creativity: In Performance at the White House will premiere tonight, January 8, at 9 PM ET on PBS stations nationwide.
The performances commemorate the 50th anniversary of the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act that was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on September 29, 1965. The song selections draw from American-originated musical genres, including hip-hop, blues, and the American Songbook.
A Celebration of American Creativity: In Performance at the White House is the 15th such program during President Barack Obama's administration, following The Gospel Tradition last June, which featured performances from Rhiannon Giddens, Emmylou Harris, and Rodney Crowell, among others. Audra McDonald was previously featured on a 2010 episode of In Performance at the White House called A Broadway Celebration, spotlighting Broadway and the American musical.
On a related note, HBO has just announced that its presentation of Audra McDonald's portrayal of Billie Holiday from Lanie Robertson's musical play Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill will premiere on HBO on Saturday, March 12. Filmed before a live audience at Café Brasil in New Orleans in 2014, the special features McDonald in her history-making performance as the jazz icon. Audra McDonald became Broadway's most decorated performer when she won her sixth Tony Award for Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill that year.
McDonald will take part in an all-star tribute to Lena Horne at Symphony Space in New York on Tuesday before heading to London for two shows at the Leicester Square Theatre on Sunday, January 17. She returns to Broadway this spring in Shuffle Along, directed by George C. Wolfe and choreographed by Savion Glover; previews being March 15, and tickets are on sale now at shufflealongbroadway.com.
Audra McDonald’s fifth solo album, Go Back Home, was released on Nonesuch Records in 2013, and followed her previously released albums Build a Bridge (2006), Happy Songs (2002), How Glory Goes (2000), and Way Back to Paradise (1998).
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