Broadway To Main Street

For over a century, champions—Sammy Davis, Paul Robeson, Lena Horne, Brian Stokes Mitchell—gave voice to the black experience on Broadway; here are the songs and shows that broke down barriers.

Fifty years ago at the Tonys, Broadway audiences were rendering their applause to Lauren Bacall, Katharine Hepburn, Cleavon Little, Melba Moore--and to special guests Noel Coward and Barbra Streisand. Take a step back in time and revel in their accomplishments.

The great Kander and Ebb score to Chicago is a tribute to vaudeville. Here are the original inspirations for the songs--Helen Morgan, Sophie Tucker, Eddie Cantor--side-by-side with their Broadway counterparts. It's all show business, kid.

A spotlight on the songs--all tunes originally from Broadway--performed by America's greatest song-and-dance man.  Fred Astaire takes a tuneful spin through the Gershwins, Cole Porter, Schwartz and Dietz and more.

Ready or not--here comes Momma! A musical bouquet for Mother's Day, featuring songs from all sorts of shows--Gypsy, Hairspray, Minnie's Boys--and all sorts of songwriters--Noel Coward, Kander and Ebb, David Yazbek.

Princesses have played the Palace for decades; here's a long list, from Snow White to Anne Boleyn to Ariel--in songs from Cole Porter, Elton John, Kurt Weill, Richard Rodgers and the new musical, Six.

That effervescent jazz singer, Carmen McRae, celebrates her centenary this week--we think. Listen to an hour of Carmen gracing the songs of the Gershwins, Rodgers and Hart, Noel Coward, Irving Berlin, Frank Loesser and more with her unique style.

Even in our own little corners, we can enjoy the great show tunes of separation and distance. Connect virtually with Julie Andrews, Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, and Brian Stokes Mitchell--so far and yet so near.

Yassou! We dance to the magnificent Kander and Ebb score to the 1968 Zorbá. Herschel Bernardi, Nancy Wilson, and the iconic Zorba the Greek, Anthony Quinn (among others) join our circle.

Here she is, boys! Here she is, girls! The legendary Merman, on our first full broadcast to feature her. All her Broadway hits, in her inimitable manner, from Gypsy, Annie Get Your Gun, Call Me Madam, Anything Goes and more.

Broadway's legendary songsmith turns 90--isn't it rich? So we send in the tunes, our personal Sondheim favorites, sung by Steve Lawrence, Mel Tormé, Audra McDonald, Barbara Cook and more.

The great hits from Broadway--in their West End incarnations. Our second part, with Ute Lemper in Chicago, Mary Martin in Dolly!, Topol in Fiddler, Angela Lansbury in Gypsy and more. This Sunday at 3PM, live or streaming.

The great hits from the West End that have sailed across the pond to make Broadway history: Oliver!, Cats, The Phantom of the Opera, Me and My Girl and more.

Fortune and Fate in the American musical: high rollers and spinning wheels from Guys and Dolls, Show Boat, Hamilton, St. Louis Woman and more.

We're at the microphone, live, with Brian Stokes Mitchell the greatest singing actor of his generation, following his career from Ragtime to Man of La Mancha to his latest solo album. 

The groundbreakers of the 2010s: Dear Evan Hansen, Hamilton, Fun Home, Book of Mormon, and more.

Begin the Beguine with a full hour of great Broadway tunes played by the finest dance bands-- swing and sway with Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Stan Kenton, Paul Whiteman, Louis Armstrong, Harry Connick, Jr, and more.

Here's our nightlife show tunes pub crawl with the best practioners of the cabaret arts: Bobby Short, Mabel Mercer, Steve Ross, Eric Comstock and Barbara Fasano and more.

The full spectrum of E. Y. "Yip" Harburg's Broadway lyrics, sung by Fred Astaire, Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Pearl Bailey, Petula Clark, Carmen McRae, and the wordsmith himself.

It's the beginning of our ninth year on the air, so, of course, it's Nine: The Musical. Listen to Antonio Banderas, Raul Julia, Jonathan Pryce, Barbra Streisand, and others on this Fellini-esque musical farrago.