Posted on 12/26/2006 5:18:49 PM PST by mom4kittys
The 28th Annual Kennedy Center Honors, which were presented Dec. 3 at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, will be broadcast Dec. 26 on CBS-TV. The two-hour program features a starry tribute to composer Andrew Lloyd Webber.
CBS broadcasts the two-hour celebration beginning at 9 PM ET; check local listings. In addition to award-winning composer Lloyd Webber, this year's honorees also include conductor Zubin Mehta, country singer-songwriter Dolly Parton, singer-songwriter Smokey Robinson and film director Steven Spielberg.
The Lloyd Webber tribute features the talents of two Tony Award winners, two actresses currently enjoying the roles of their careers and acclaimed vocalist Josh Groban.
Betty Buckley, who won a Tony Award for her performance as Grizabella in Lloyd Webber's Cats, joins Sarah Brightman for a rendition of the Cats anthem "Memory." Brightman created the role of Christine Daae in another Lloyd Webber musical, The Phantom of the Opera, and was also married to the composer for several years.
Elena Roger, the Argentine actress who is currently wowing London audiences in the acclaimed West End revival of Evita, makes her first U.S. stage appearance at the Kennedy Center Honors, performing a song from the Lloyd Webber-Tim Rice musical that charts the rise and fall of Eva Peron. Christine Ebersole, who opened to raves in the new Broadway musical Grey Gardens, performs "As If We Never Said Goodbye," the second-act showstopper from Lloyd Webber's Sunset Boulevard.
And, singer Groban performs The Phantom of the Opera's best-known song "Music of the Night."
Honorees are recognized for lifetime contribution to American culture in the fields of dance, music, theatre, opera, motion pictures or television. Recommendations of possible nominees were made by members of the Kennedy Center's national artists committee, past honorees as well as these artists: Dan Aykroyd, Angela Bassett, Dave Brubeck, Glenn Close, Barbara Cook, Michael Douglas, Nora Ephron, Renee Fleming, Denyce Graves, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Anjelica Huston, Joseph Kalichstein, Nathan Lane, Patti LuPone, Rob Marshall, Audra McDonald, Reba McEntire, Liam Neeson, Mary-Louise Parker, Oscar Peterson, Christopher Plummer, Samuel Ramey, Natasha Richardson, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Kevin Spacey, Frederica von Stade and Damian Woetzel. Previous Kennedy Center Honorees Edward Albee, Julie Andrews, Carol Burnett, Jacques d'Amboise, Julie Harris, Marilyn Horne, Elton John, Angela Lansbury, Arthur Mitchell, Paul Newman, Hal Prince and Beverly Sills also made nominations.
Last year's Kennedy Center Honorees included singer Tony Bennett, dancer and teacher Suzanne Farrell, actress Julie Harris, actor-director-producer Robert Redford and singer Tina Turner.
Andrew Lloyd Webber is the award-winning composer of Cats, Evita, The Phantom of the Opera, Sunset Boulevard, Jesus Christ Superstar, By Jeeves, The Woman in White, Whistle Down the Wind, The Beautiful Game and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. He is currently a co-producer of the London revival of The Sound of Music; casting for the musical's lead role was the subject of the U.K. reality series "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?"
For more information about the Kennedy Center Honorees or the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, visit www.kennedy-center.org.
I have always thought that this Washington-plays-show-business was a stupid waste of money and time, and most of the honorees the last several years despise the President to boot (see Robert Redford).
"And, singer Groban performs The Phantom of the Opera's best-known song "Music of the Night."
I'm drooling. I finally got a Groban CD for Christmas. My daughter wanted one too, so we bought for each other. :)
(I also got Andrea Bocelli)
Link to see video of Josh performing I'll be home for Christmas from yesterday's Good Morning America show.
If you miss tonight's Kennedy Center show, the clip of Josh singing will be available on this site by tomorrow.
http://myweb.cableone.net/rkjlc/media.html
He's magnificent.
Great gifts! Which cd did you get? All of them are excellent.
FYI, there is a Josh cd on sale at Hallmark Gold Crown stores with 2 songs that are not available on any other cd. It is supposed to be for Valentines Day, but if you ask they will get it from the back for you.
I got "You Raise Me Up," which is still my favorite. And the Bocelli is "Under the Desert Sky," 2 CD, plus DVD. What time is the special on CBS tonight? 9?
It is on at 8pm central time.
Thanks!
He's magnificent.
Doesn't he have a show on the Food Network?
Josh was great! I wouldn't be surprised to see Josh doing a Broadway musical one day. He did guest star in Chess a few years ago.
Josh is amazing. I think you may be right with your prediction. I'm sure there are those producers who would give their eye teeth to get him.
This was definitely Weber's night tonight. He was truly honored.
Josh is an incredible talent and was a great kid at the Los Angeles High School for the Arts.
Interesting homepage, btw. ;)
Thank you.
I presume we won't hear any Bush-bashing from the stage tonight. That will be refreshing but it will greatly disappoint the leftist traitors among us.
It's a disgrace that Warren Beatty got honored yet Glenn Ford just passed away and that opportunity was lost because they had to give one to Beatty, Jack Nicholson, Robert Redford...Some of these names are not worthy and you'd think they'd honor those up in years but such is the case today.
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