February 22, 2024 - Audra McDonald, Igor Golyak, and the Grand Kyiv Ballet

Summertime, and the living is easy. Or, if you’re Audra McDonald, you make it look and sound easy. The award winning singer and actor earned her fifth – of a record-breaking six– Tony awards for her portrayal of Bess in the Broadway hit “The Gershwins Porgy and Bess,” which was mounted right here at The American Repertory Theater. On Tuesday she returns to Boston in a one-night-only engagement at Symphony Hall, as part of Celebrity Series. She joins us for a preview. From there, Director Igor Golyak, founder of Needham’s Arlekin Players Theater, joins us to talk about why a convergence of theatrical productions grappling with antisemitism is resonating with audiences today. Finally, as Ukraine marks the second anniversary of being at war with Russia, we look at the nation’s perseverance by way of the Grand Kyiv Ballet, which is kicking off a 60-city national tour of Giselle, here in Boston.