Throughout the past three decades, the famed PBS series has spotlighted a diversity in song, including tunes from the worlds of Broadway, jazz, American folk and pop. On May 7 at 8 PM ET (check local listings), Lane will introduce a series of performance clips from many of the 600 programs that have been aired under the “Great Performances” banner. “Great Performances 30th Anniversary: A Celebration in Song” will include performance clips of such theatre stars as Bernadette Peters, Elaine Paige, Karen Ziemba, Bebe Neuwirth, Liza Minnelli and Michael Crawford.
The complete song listing for the 30th anniversary special follows:
Overture and "Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats"
CATS
Music and Lyrics by Andrew Lloyd Webber, T.S. Eliot
The Company
"Memory"
CATS
Music and Lyrics by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Trevor Nunn
Elaine Paige
"I Can't Be Bothered Now"
CRAZY FOR YOU
Music and Lyrics by George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin
Jim Walton, the "Zangler Girls" "Why Was I Born?"
SOME ENCHANTED EVENING: CELEBRATING OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN II
Music and Lyrics by Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein II
Vanessa Williams
"We Can Do It"
RECORDING 'THE PRODUCERS': A MUSICAL ROMP WITH MEL BROOKS
Music and Lyrics by Mel Brooks
Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick
"Big Spender"
FROM BROADWAY: FOSSE
Music and Lyrics by Cy Coleman, Dorothy Fields
Ann Reinking, The Ladies
"Bring Him Home" and Finale
LES MISÉRABLES IN CONCERT
Music and Lyrics by Claude-Michel Schönberg, Herbert Kretzmer
Colm Wilkinson, The Company
"I Could Write a Book"
HARRY CONNICK, JR. & HIS ORCHESTRA: SWINGING OUT WITH HARRY
Music and Lyrics by Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart
Harry Connick, Jr., Orchestra
"My Heart Will Go On"
PAVAROTTI & FRIENDS
Music and Lyrics by James Horner, Will Jennings
Celine Dion
"Late in the Evening"
PAUL SIMON: YOU'RE THE ONE - IN CONCERT FROM PARIS
Music and Lyrics by Paul Simon
Paul Simon, the Band
"Unforgettable"
UNFORGETTABLE, WITH LOVE: NATALIE COLE SINGS THE SONGS OF NAT KING COLE
Music and Lyrics by Irving Gordon
Natalie Cole
"That's Life"
BARYSHNIKOV BY THARP WITH AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE
Music and Lyrics by Dean Kay, Kelly Gordon
Mikhail Baryshnikov, Elaine Kudo
"To Where You Are"
JOSH GROBAN IN CONCERT
Music and Lyrics by Richard Marx, Linda Thompson
Josh Groban
"The Times They Are A-Changin'"
PETER, PAUL AND MARY: LIFELINES
Music and Lyrics by Bob Dylan
Peter, Paul and Mary
"Hush Little Baby"
BOBBY MCFERRIN: LOOSELY MOZART
Bobby McFerrin, Yo-Yo Ma, Mark O'Connor, Edgar Meyer
"New Orleans Suite: Portrait of Louis Armstrong"
SWINGIN' WITH DUKE: LINCOLN CENTER JAZZ ORCHESTRA WITH WYNTON MARSALIS
Music by Duke Ellington
Wynton Marsalis, Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra
"La Charreada"
LINDA RONSTADT: LAS CANCIONES DE MI PADRE
Music and Lyrics by Felipe Bermejo
Linda Ronstadt
"Wedding Dance"
ITZHAK PERLMAN: IN THE FIDDLER'S HOUSE
Itzhak Perlman, The Klezmer Conservatory Band
"Scandalize My Name"
KATHLEEN BATTLE AND JESSYE NORMAN SING SPIRITUALS
Kathleen Battle, Jessye Norman
"Sancta Maria"
ANDREA BOCELLI: SACRED ARIAS
Music by Pietro Mascagni
Andrea Bocelli
"Back in Business"
SONDHEIM: A CELEBRATION AT CARNEGIE HALL
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Liza Minnelli
"The Music of the Night"
MY FAVORITE BROADWAY: THE LOVE SONGS
Music and Lyrics by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Charles Hart
Michael Crawford
"Not a Day Goes By"
SONDHEIM: A CELEBRATION AT CARNEGIE HALL
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Bernadette Peters
"The Sound of Music"
JULIE ANDREWS IN CONCERT
Music and Lyrics by Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II
Julie Andrews
"Nowadays"and "Hot Honey Rag"
MY FAVORITE BROADWAY: THE LEADING LADIES
Music and Lyrics by John Kander, Fred Ebb
Karen Ziemba, Bebe Neuwirth
Host Nathan Lane has starred on The Great White Way in The Producers (Tony Award), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (Tony Award), Present Laughter, Merlin, The Wind in the Willows, Some Americans Abroad, On Borrowed Time, Guys and Dolls, Laughter on the 23rd Floor, Love! Valour! Compassion! and The Man Who Came to Dinner. His films include “The Lion King,” “The Birdcage” and “Nicholas Nickleby.”
For more information about “Great Performances 30th Anniversary: A Celebration in Song,” visit www.pbs.org.
