THE PIRATE QUEEN: A NEW MUSICAL – A BROADWAY JOURNEY
WLIW21 New York Public Television Premieres Behind-the-Scenes Documentary
MONDAY, MARCH 12 AT 9 PM
Monday nights are traditionally a “dark” night for Broadway, but on Monday, March 12 at 9 pm, musical theatre fans can tune in to WLIW21 New York Public Television for exclusive behind-the-scenes access to one of this Spring’s hottest tickets, with the broadcast premiere of The Pirate Queen: A New Musical – A Broadway Journey.
Hosted by Gabriel Byrne, The Pirate Queen: A New Musical – A Broadway Journey follows the story of two legendary musical theatre teams – Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg, creators of Les Misérables and Miss Saigon; and Moya Doherty and John McColgan, the producers of Riverdance – as they journey to bring Grace O’Malley’s story to the Broadway stage.
The documentary follows the creative team, cast and crew from their earliest days of rehearsals in Dublin and New York, to their opening at the Cadillac Palace Theatre in Chicago, through the moment they embark upon their Broadway premiere. The documentary includes powerful performances recorded at rehearsals and during the Chicago run.
The new Broadway musical The Pirate Queen, which begins previews March 6 and officially opens on April 5 at the Hilton Theatre, tells the real-life story of legendary Irish chieftain Grace O’Malley: a compelling, inspiring heroine who led an extraordinary life as a pirate, chieftain, lover and mother in 16th century Ireland. To protect her people and save her one true love, O’Malley must confront the one woman more powerful that her: her fierce rival, Queen Elizabeth I of England.
Producers Moya Doherty and John McColgan and members of the cast will be live in the WLIW21 studio during the premiere broadcast to share their personal stories of working on the production, and they will have a special ticket offer for WLIW21 members. Viewers who want to support WLIW21’s commitment to musical theater and Irish culture can call 1-800-767-2121 or log onto wliw.org to make a donation.
Click here for the Celtic Cafe's review of the documentary.
For more information, visit wliw.org.
WLIW New York is the fourth most-watched public television station in the United States, with an average weekly cumulative audience of nearly 2 million households in the New York metropolitan area. As a resource for public television stations, WLIW distributes live daily broadcasts of BBC World News, as well as the weekly financial series Consuelo Mack WealthTrack. WLIW is a leading producer of PBS fundraising specials including the Visions aerial series, cultural documentaries celebrating the cultural diversity of America, and music specials.
