GREAT PERFORMANCES 20TH ANNIVERSARY: CELEBRATING CREATIVITY, AMERICAN STYLE (TV)
Summary
A special presentation of this performing arts series. This program, hosted by actress Meryl Streep, opens with a montage of clips from the "Great Performances" series with musical accompaniment by vocalist Bobby McFerrin and cellist Yo-Yo Ma. Streep makes opening comments from the auditorium of her alma mater, the Yale School of Drama, recalling the important role appearances on the series played in the early part of her career. She discusses the invaluable record "Great Performances" provides of artists' work and explains that for this special, several American artists were commissioned to create a short piece about their art. In "Kiss, Kiss Dahlings" a film written by Wendy Wasserstein about the love of acting, Nancy Marchand, Blythe Danner, and Cynthia Nixon portray a grandmother, daughter, and granddaughter in three different eras: first backstage at the Moscow Art Theatre in 1900, backstage at a college theater in 1956, and finally, in the make-up room of the "Charlie Rose" television program in 1992. In "Not My Girl," by choreographer Peter Martins, a glamorously-attired pair of dancers from the New York City Ballet -- Kyra Nichols and Robert LaFosse -- perform in front of the Plaza Hotel to Fred Astaire's recording of the title song. In "Frankie Goes to Tanglewood," Leonard Bernstein's daughter, Jamie Bernstein Thomas, takes her five-year-old daughter, Frankie, on a tour of the Tanglewood grounds, where the presence of the girl's grandfather looms large. Conductor-teachers Seiji Ozawa and Leon Fleisher, and pianist Andre Watts discuss the Bernstein legacy and pay homage to Russian conductor Serge Koussevitzky, who conceived the Tanglewood festival and inspired a young Bernstein. Next, "Zoetrope," photographer Annie Leibovitz's directorial debut, makes use of spare black-and-white images reminiscent of those seen in early zoetrope motion picture machines. Leibovitz's subjects are dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov and dancer-choreographer Twyla Tharp, who perform together and are heard in voice-over, each discussing the art of dance and each others' work. In "A Simple Melody, a short film with music composed by Cy Coleman, Matthew Broderick is a young man who goes from childhood prodigy to adult worldwide fame and fortune, all from a simple melody he composed as a boy. In director/cinematographer Ernest Dickerson's "Hip Hop -- You Don't Stop," the Rhythm Technicians & Rock Steady Crew dance to a song about the rise of rap and hip-hop music and culture. In "The Last Mile," a short film written by Terrence McNally, Bernadette Peters plays a young woman making her debut at the Metropolitan Opera as Tosca. Paralyzed with stage fright, she gains strength to achieve her potential through memories of those who helped get her here -- her inspirational singing teacher and her beloved brother who died of AIDS. Finally, in "The Hallelujah Chorus: A Soulful Celebration," Quincy Jones conducts a choir of African-American singers in a joyous, gospel-inspired interpretation of George Frideric Handel's "Messiah." The choir includes Al Jarreau, Chaka Khan, Johnny Mathis, Gladys Knight, among many others. Cataloging of this program was made possible by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Details
- NETWORK: PBS WNET New York, NY
- DATE: October 9, 1992 Friday 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:19:39
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:27717
- GENRE: Specials
- SUBJECT HEADING: Dance; Drama; Gospel music; Music, popular (songs, etc.); Rap (Music); Rock music
- SERIES RUN: PBS - TV series, 1974-
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- For "Great Performances":
- Jac Venza … Executive Producer
- David Horn … Series Producer
- Judy Kinberg … Series Producer
- Kimberly Myers … Series Producer
- Kim Powers … Series Producer
- Margaret Selby … Series Producer
- John Walker … Series Producer
- For "Great Performances 20th Anniversary":
- Jac Venza … Executive Producer
- Margaret Selby … Coordinating Producer
- Karen R. Stetler … Associate Producer
- Bill Murphy … Production (Misc.), Production Supervisor
- Mona Niemiec … Production (Misc.), Production Coordinator
- Gary Clare … Production (Misc.), Director of Creative Development
- Maurice Jarre … Theme Music by, For Host Segment
- Meryl Streep … Host
- For "Opening Montage":
- Steve Wechsler … Editor
- Jean Barriere … Music by
- Bobby McFerrin … Vocalist
- Yo-Yo Ma … Instrumentalist, Cellist
- For "Kiss, Kiss Dahlings":
- Kimberly Myers … Producer
- Kim Powers … Producer
- Paula Cerrone … Associate Producer
- Bill Murphy … Production (Misc.), Production Manager
- Anne Patterson … Production (Misc.), Production Designer
- Gerald Gutierrez … Director
- Harvey Waldman … Direction (Misc.), First Assistant Director
- Wendy Wasserstein … Writer
- Peter Wetzler … Composer
- Blythe Danner … Cast, the Daughter
- Nancy Marchand … Cast, the Grandmother
- Cynthia Nixon … Cast, the Granddaughter
- Charlie Rose … Cast, as himself
- For "Not My Girl":
- Judy Kinberg … Producer
- Joan Hershey … Associate Producer
- Tamar Hacker … Production (Misc.), Production Manager
- Matthew Diamond … Director
- Anthony B. Adler … Direction (Misc.), First Assistant Director
- Peter Martins … Choreographer
- Fred Astaire … Music by, Singer
- Van Phillips … Music by
- Desmond Carter … Lyrics by
- Kyra Nichols … Dancer
- Robert LaFosse … Dancer
- Oscar Peterson … Instrumentalist, Pianist
- For "Frankie Goes to Tanglewood":
- Thomas P. Skinner … Producer
- John Walker … Producer
- Humphrey Burton … Director
- Boston Symphony Orchestra, The … Symphony Orchestra
- Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, The … Symphony Orchestra
- Leonard Bernstein
- Leon Fleisher
- Serge Koussevitzky
- Seiji Ozawa
- Frankie Bernstein Thomas
- Jamie Bernstein Thomas
- Andre Watts
- For "Zoetrope":
- Margaret Selby … Producer
- Karen Rosen Stetler … Associate Producer
- Marianne Bower … Associate Producer
- Bill Murphy … Production (Misc.), Production Manager
- Katie O'Byrne … Production (Misc.), Production Coordinator
- Annie Leibovitz … Director
- Kyle McCarthy … Direction (Misc.), First Assistant Director
- Twyla Tharp … Choreographer, Dancer
- Dr. John … Music by
- Erik Satie … Music by
- Alexander Scriabin … Music by
- Mikhail Baryshnikov … Dancer
- For "A Simple Melody":
- Thomas P. Skinner … Coordinating Producer
- David Horn … Producer
- Mitch Owgang … Production (Misc.), Production Manager
- Anne M. Jones … Production (Misc.), Production Coordinator
- Patricia Birch … Director
- Kyle McCarthy … Direction (Misc.), First Assistant Director
- Alan Zweibel … Writer
- Cy Coleman … Composer
- Matthew Broderick … Cast, Arnold
- Jane Krakowski … Cast
- Colleen Cunningham … Cast
- Dell Emory … Cast
- Ruth Williamson … Cast
- Walter Bobbie … Cast
- Harper, Jerry W., III … Cast
- Michael Douce … Cast
- Jay Grayson … Cast
- For "Hip Hop -- You Don't Stop":
- Margaret Selby … Producer
- Karen Rosen Stetler … Associate Producer
- Bill Murphy … Production (Misc.), Production Manager
- Mona Niemiec … Production (Misc.), Production Coordinator
- Ernest Dickerson … Director, Director of Photography
- Dale Pierce … Direction (Misc.), First Assistant Director
- Rhythm Technicians, The … Choreographed by
- Rock Steady Crew … Choreographed by
- Taino Tactics … Composer
- Chesney, Leon "Mr Twister" … Dancer
- Christian, John "Loc-a-tron" … Dancer
- Clemente, Steve "Wiggles" … Dancer
- Colon, Richard "Crazy Legs" … Dancer
- Dionisio, Gabriel "Kwikstep" … Dancer
- Gabbert, Ken "Swift" … Dancer
- Pabon, Jorge "Fabel" … Dancer
- Sanchez, Charles "S.K. Mystique" … Dancer
- For "The Last Mile":
- Kimberly Myers … Producer
- Kim Powers … Producer
- Paula Cerrone … Associate Producer
- Anne Patterson … Production (Misc.), Production Designer
- Bill Murphy … Production (Misc.), Production Manager
- Paul Bogart … Director
- Harvey Waldman … Direction (Misc.), First Assistant Director
- Terrence McNally … Writer
- Tony Goldwyn … Cast, Scott
- Bill Irwin … Cast, the Conductor
- Nathan Lane … Cast, the Stage Manager
- Bernadette Peters … Cast, Tosca
- Paul Sorvino … Cast, Cavaradossi
- For "The Hallelujah Chorus":
- Gail Hamilton … Producer
- Norman Miller … Producer
- Arnold Kaplan … Producer
- Jeanette Gonzalez … Producer
- Mustapha Khan … Director
- George Frideric Handel … Composer
- Quincy Jones … Conductor
- Mervyn Warren … Arranged by
- Michael O. Jackson … Music (Misc. Credits), Additional arrangements by
- Mark Kibble … Music (Misc. Credits), Additional arrangements by
- Al Jarreau … Singer
- Chaka Khan … Singer
- Johnny Mathis … Singer
- Gladys Knight … Singer