Tuesday, January 1 at 8:00 p.m.
From Vienna: A New Year's Celebration 2013
Always one of GREAT PERFORMANCES “Favorite things,” the cherished tradition of ringing in the New Year with special host Julie Andrews and the Vienna Philharmonic continues. With guest conductor Franz Welser-Möst wielding the baton at the opulent Musikverein, the program features everyone’s favorite Strauss Family waltzes and the dancers of the Vienna City Ballet. In addition to the Musikverein setting, the broadcast features a range of picturesque Vienna landmarks.

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Tuesday, January 1 at 9:30 p.m.
Broadway Musicals: A Jewish Legacy
Broadway Musicals: A Jewish Legacy – narrated by Joel Grey — explores the unique role of Jewish composers and lyricists in the creation of the modern American musical.  Featuring interviews and conversations with some of the greatest composers and writers of the Broadway stage, Broadway Musicals: A Jewish Legacyshowcases the work of some of the nation’s pre-eminent creators of musical theatre including Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, George and Ira Gershwin, Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II, Kurt Weill, Sheldon Harnick, Jerry Bock, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, Stephen Schwartz, Jule Styne and many others.

Though these remarkable songwriters were purveyors of what we think of today as the Broadway sound, the documentary demonstrates how there were echoes of Jewish strains in many of the works. From “Yiddishkeit” (all things Jewish) on the stages of the Lower East Side at the turn of the century to a wide range of shows including Porgy and Bess, West Side Story and Cabaret, the film explores how Jewish music and ethos informs many of America’s favorite musicals.

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