Encores!

Encores! is a concert series and televised revival program staged by New York City Center and broadcast by PBS that presents concert productions of rarely heard and historically significant musical theatre works. Founded to rescue, recontextualize, and reintroduce scores and books from the American musical canon, the series has functioned as a laboratory for performers, directors, and designers drawn from Broadway and regional theatres. Many productions have featured collaborations with institutions such as the New York Philharmonic, Lincoln Center Theater, and companies led by figures from Broadway and film.

Overview

Conceived as a season of semi-staged productions, the series places emphasis on orchestration and score preservation, showcasing works by composers and lyricists such as George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart, Jerome Kern, Kurt Weill, Stephen Sondheim, Marvin Hamlisch, Jule Styne, Arthur Schwartz, Harold Arlen, Yip Harburg, Alan Jay Lerner, Frederick Loewe, Harold Rome, Eubie Blake, and Johnny Mercer. The program intersects with performers linked to Broadway theatre, Off-Broadway, Carnegie Hall, and film, and has served as a bridge between archival musicology and contemporary staging practices. City Center’s artistic leadership, including figures associated with James L. Nederlander and artistic directors drawn from Broadway, has steered programming toward rediscovery and contextual scholarship.

Production and Format

Each season typically comprises a sequence of semi-staged concert productions mounted at New York City Center with orchestras under conductors who have worked with ensembles such as the New York Philharmonic, Orchestra of St. Luke's, and pit orchestras from Broadway. The format pairs directors and choreographers from credits including Susan Stroman, Christopher Wheeldon, Warren Carlyle, John Rando, Michael Greif, Kathleen Marshall, Jerry Mitchell, Graciela Daniele, and Susan H. Schulman with musical directors experienced with works by Orchestrator Robert Russell Bennett, Jonathan Tunick, Alexander Borodin-style orchestrations notwithstanding. Casting draws Broadway stars and screen actors affiliated with Tony Awards, Laurence Olivier Awards, Screen Actors Guild members, and performers from companies like Atlantic Theater Company and Roundabout Theatre Company. Productions have been recorded for television broadcast on PBS and archived by institutions such as the Library of Congress and private collections linked to the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.

Notable Episodes and Performances

Notable presentations revived titles including works associated with Anita Loos and Victor Herbert as well as revivals of shows by Jerry Herman, Betty Comden, Adolph Green, Jule Styne, Alan Jay Lerner, and Frederick Loewe. Star-driven performances have featured artists with credits linked to Barbra Streisand, Bernadette Peters, Bryan Cranston, Audra McDonald, Neil Patrick Harris, Matthew Broderick, Kelli O'Hara, Tony Shalhoub, Renee Fleming, Patti LuPone, Sutton Foster, Christopher Plummer, Idina Menzel, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Chita Rivera, Liza Minnelli, and Joel Grey. Productions have spotlighted rediscovered scores such as those by Harry Warren, Al Jolson associates, and collaborative works involving Oscar Hammerstein II and Jerome Kern. Revival approaches sometimes influenced later West End revivals and Broadway transfers involving organizations like Royal National Theatre, Menier Chocolate Factory, St. James Theatre, and Shubert Organization.

Reception and Impact

Critical response has ranged from praise in outlets tied to critics associated with The New York Times, Variety (magazine), The New Yorker, The Washington Post, New York Post, and Time (magazine) to scholarly analysis in journals connected to Oxford University Press and university programs at Yale School of Drama and Columbia University. Production values and archival sensitivity have been commended by historians and practitioners affiliated with Smithsonian Institution collections and researchers at the Juilliard School. Several presentations have catalyzed renewed interest in obscure shows, influencing licensing requests through agencies like Concord Theatricals and Samuel French, Inc. and prompting cast albums produced by labels such as Nonesuch Records and Decca Records. The series has also affected employment pipelines between regional theatre companies including Goodman Theatre, Arena Stage, La Jolla Playhouse, and Broadway.

Awards and Nominations

Individual performances and broadcasts associated with the series have attracted recognition from awarding bodies and institutions such as the Emmy Awards for television production categories, nominations from the Drama Desk Awards, mentions in Tony Awards discourse when performers later transferred to Broadway, and honors cited by organizations like The New York Drama Critics' Circle and Outer Critics Circle. Recording releases tied to productions have been considered by the Grammy Awards and reviewers from Billboard (magazine) and AllMusic.

Category:American musical theatre