Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Available On Air Stations
Watch Live

Arts & Culture

GREAT PERFORMANCES: Broadway Musicals: A Jewish Legacy

Composer Irving Berlin (undated photo)
© Culver Pictures
Composer Irving Berlin (undated photo)

Watch Saturday, May 30, 2026 at 7 p.m. on KPBS 2 and 9 p.m. on KPBS TV + Encore Sunday, May 31 at 6 p.m. on KBPS 2 (This episode is no longer available to stream)

Narrated by Broadway legend Joel Grey, this documentary explores the role of Jewish composers and lyricists in the creation of the modern American musical and showcases the work of some of the nation’s preeminent creators of musical theater including Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, George and Ira Gershwin, Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II, Kurt Weill, Sheldon Harnick, Jerry Bock, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, Stephen Schwartz, Jule Styne and many others.

Narrated by Broadway legend Joel Grey, this documentary explores the role of Jewish composers and lyricists in the creation of the modern American musical and showcases the work of some of the nation’s preeminent creators of musical theater including Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, George and Ira Gershwin, Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II, and more.

Directed by Michael Kantor, creator of the Emmy-winning series, BROADWAY: THE AMERICAN MUSICAL, the film features interviews and conversations with Broadway writers and composers including Sheldon Harnick, John Kander, Andrew Lippa, Stephen Schwartz, Charles Strouse, Harold Prince, Marc Shaiman, Stephen Sondheim, Mel Brooks, Stephen Schwartz and many others.

Advertisement
The surprising universality of the 1964 Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick musical Fiddler on the Roof—a show about a small, tight-knit Jewish community living in early 20th-century Tsarist Russia. Broadway Musicals: A Jewish Legacy airs January 1, 2013 at 9:30 PM

Lyricist Sheldon Harnick and composer Jerry Bock
© Photofest, Inc.
Lyricist Sheldon Harnick and composer Jerry Bock
Actress Ethel Merman and composer Jule Styne
© Photofest, Inc.
Actress Ethel Merman and composer Jule Styne
"West Side Story" cast, 2008.
Courtesy of © Getty Images
"West Side Story" cast, 2008.

Fact-based local news is essential

KPBS keeps you informed with local stories you need to know about — with no paywall. Our news is free for everyone because people like you help fund it.

Without federal funding, community support is our lifeline.
Make a gift to protect the future of KPBS.