Premieres Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025 at 8 p.m. on KPBS TV / Stream with KPBS+
Powerful storytelling, breathtaking music, rare and iconic archival film and images, unforgettable characters, and meticulously researched history all come together in "American Heart In WWI: A Carnegie Hall Tribute," a panoramic musical and visual account that brings America’s World War I story to life.
Created, written and narrated by historian John Monsky and directed for the stage by Tony Award winner Michael Mayer ("Spring Awakening"), this tribute to those who fought, and those they left behind, premieres Veterans Day.
Filmed at Carnegie Hall in April 2025 by the Academy Award-winning RadicalMedia, this living documentary features the 60-piece Orchestra of St. Luke’s and a stellar cast — Adam Chanler-Berat ("Next to Normal"), Nicholas Christopher ("Hamilton," "Chess"), Micaela Diamond ("Parade"), Gracie McGraw ("BABE)" and Diego Andres Rodriguez ("Sunset Boulevard," "Evita"), conducted by music supervisor and arranger Ian Weinberger ("Hamilton," "Chess").
Bursting with dozens of songs from the period by composers Irving Berlin, James Reese Europe, George M. Cohan and others; rare archival film of American soldiers and WWI figures; historic flags from the period and a narrative rich with twists and turns, "American Heart" captures the voice of a generation set adrift, forever changed and looking for answers.
Using F. Scott Fitzgerald’s "The Great Gatsby" as a framework, which marked its 100th year since publication this year, Monsky guides the audience from the war’s origins through its harrowing climax, as seen through the wartime experiences of Fitzgerald’s fictional veterans Jay Gatsby and Nick Carraway, as well as five real-life figures from the war:
- Soldier and music pioneer James Reese Europe, a civil rights trailblazer and Harlem Hellfighter
- Vera Brittain, an Oxford student and young nurse who loses everything in the war
- Charles Whittlesey, a shy New York lawyer who leads a melting pot of soldiers trapped under fire in the single biggest battle in American history
- Combat pilot Quentin Roosevelt, son of President Theodore Roosevelt, in love with debutante and future philanthropist Flora Payne Whitney.
A bold re-envisioning of Monsky’s critically acclaimed original 2023 production, "The Great War & The Great Gatsby," "American Heart in WWI: A Carnegie Hall Tribute" offers fresh insights, newly uncovered research, and additional musical selections, creating a vivid and emotionally powerful journey for this uniquely electrifying theatrical experience.
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