The March 31 performance of Passion — part of Lincoln Center's acclaimed "American Songbook" series — will be telecast live from the Frederick P. Rose Hall at 8 PM ET. Beverly Sills will host. The semi-staged concert of the Tony Award-winning musical will star Tony winners Patti LuPone (Fosca), Audra McDonald (Clara) and Michael Cerveris (Giorgio). The three actors, who starred in the Sondheim-James Lapine musical at Chicago's Ravinia Festival, will re-create their performances for Lincoln Center audiences. The threesome, directed by Lonny Price, will be backed by a 56-piece orchestra. (Passion will be presented at the Rose Theatre March 30-April 1.)
Based on Ettore Scola's Italian film "Passion d'Amore," Passion opened on Broadway on May 9, 1994, with a cast that featured Jere Shea (Giorgio), Marin Mazzie (Clara) and Donna Murphy (Fosca). The tale of obsessive love includes such Sondheim tunes as "Happiness," "I Read," "I Wish I Could Forget You," "Loving You" and "No One Has Ever Loved Me." The original Broadway production received the 1994 Tony Award for Best Musical; Donna Murphy also garnered her first Tony for Best Actress in a Musical, and Sondheim and Lapine were awarded prizes for, respectively, Best Original Score and Best Book of a Musical.
The Frederick P. Rose Hall is located within the Time Warner Center at Broadway at 60th Street. Visit www.lincolncenter.org for more information.