Purlie Victorious Leslie Odom Jr and cast

Great Performances

Arts and Music Series / 6 Seasons

Great Performances brings the best in the performing arts from across America and around the world to a US television audience. It presents a diverse programming portfolio of classical music, opera, popular song, musical theater, dance, drama, and performance documentaries.

Watch Latest: S52 E5

1h 25m / TV-G

The Room Where it Happens

1m 1s

Lin-Manuel Miranda, Leslie Odom Jr., and two former U.S. Secretaries of the Treasury discuss Alexander Hamilton's famous financial deal in this clip from Hamilton’s America. This documentary film brings history to vivid life through the lens of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s pop culture Broadway phenomenon Hamilton.

Phillipa Soo on Eliza Schuyler

38s

Phillipa Soo, who plays Eliza Schuyler in Hamilton, discusses her character in this clip from Hamilton’s America - the documentary film that brings history to vivid life through the lens of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s pop culture Broadway phenomenon Hamilton.

Christopher Jackson on George Washington

1m 2s

Christopher Jackson, who plays George Washington in Hamilton, discusses his character in this clip from Hamilton’s America - the documentary film that brings history to vivid life through the lens of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s pop culture Broadway phenomenon Hamilton.

Lin-Manuel Miranda on Writing in Aaron Burr's Bedroom

57s

Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creator of Hamilton, wrote part of the musical from a historical site: Aaron Burr's bedroom. Hamilton’s America is a documentary film that brings history to vivid life through the lens of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s pop culture Broadway phenomenon Hamilton.

Hamilton in :60: The Politician

59s

In 1783, Alexander Hamilton retired from the military and began his life as a politician. Hamilton contributed 51 of the 85 Federalist Papers, essays that are still used to interpret the U.S Constitution.

Oskar Eustis Compares Lin-Manuel Miranda to Shakespeare

1m 38s

Oskar Eustis, the Artistic Director at the Public Theater, compares Lin-Manuel Miranda to Shakespeare. Watch Hamilton's America: A Documentary Film Friday, October 21 at 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings) or steam it online at pbs.org/hamilton.

Hamilton in :60: His Legacy

1m 13s

Alexander Hamilton was shot and killed in a duel with Aaron Burr in 1804. From monuments and historic sites, to our currency and banking system, Hamilton's legacy lives on many forms. Thanks to Lin-Manuel Miranda's hit musical, Hamilton, this founding father has once again taken center stage.

Hamilton in :60: The Military Officer

1m 4s

Alexander Hamilton served as George Washington's assistant during the Revolutionary War. Hamilton was unfulfilled in this role and requested a field position. Washington granted his request for the 1781 Battle of Yorktown.

GRAMMY Salute to Music Legends: Tribute to Celia Cruz

2m 47s

Paying tribute to three-time GRAMMY winner and four-time Latin GRAMMY® winner Celia Cruz — internationally known as the “Queen Of Salsa” — are Latin GRAMMY nominee Lucrecia and GRAMMY and Latin GRAMMY winner Andy García, who will bring his Cuban musical group, Andy García And The CineSon All Stars, to the stage.

GRAMMY Salute to Music Legends: Earth, Wind & Fire Medley

3m

Six-time GRAMMY winners Earth, Wind & Fire, one of the most important and innovative musical forces influencing music and popular culture across generations, perform ”Fantasy” and ”September.”

GRAMMY Salute to Music Legends

30s

In collaboration with The Recording Academy, Great Performances presents “GRAMMY Salute To Music Legends,” a special all-star concert offering a primetime spotlight for The Academy’s 2016 Special Merit Awards recipients. The celebration and tribute concert features rare performances by honorees and never-before-seen renditions by those they’ve inspired.

Vienna Philharmonic Summer Night Concert 2016

30s

Led by guest conductor Semyon Bychkov for the very first time, the world-renowned Vienna Philharmonic returns for its 13th open-air concert, with a program of French orchestral classics, in the magnificent gardens of Austria’s Imperial Schönbrunn Palace.

Great Performances at the Met: Roberto Devereux

30s

The last opera in Donizetti’s Tudor trilogy, directed by Sir David McVicar, stars Sondra Radvanovsky as Elizabeth I and features Matthew Polenzani, Elina Garanca and Mariusz Kwiecien. Maurizio Benini conducts.

Great Performances at the Met: Madama Butterfly

30s

Kristine Opolais brings her heartbreaking interpretation of the title role to the series for the first time. Roberto Alagna sings Lieutenant Pinkerton, the callous officer who crushes Butterfly's dreams of love. Debuting conductor Karel Mark Chichon leads a cast that includes Maria Zifchak as Suzuki and Dwayne Croft as Sharpless.

Great Performances at the Met: Manon Lescaut

30s

Hear Kristine Opolais and Roberto Alagna as the ill-fated lovers in Puccini’s passionate adaptation of the classic novel about a free-spirited country girl. Sir Richard Eyre’s new production, conducted by Fabio Luisi, is set in the 1940s.

In Memoriam: Remembering Elie Wiesel

2m 1s

GREAT PERFORMANCES mourns the passing of writer, professor, political activist, and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, whose tireless work to document the Holocaust as well as defend human rights and victims of oppression everywhere was recognized with a Nobel Peace Prize in 1986.

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