Great Performances’ 2025 “Broadway’s Best” Lineup Features Four Full Productions Showcasing Performances by Caissie Levy, Daniel Dae Kim, Stephanie J. Block and More Premiering May 9-30 on PBS
Lineup includes “Next to Normal” from London’s Donmar Warehouse; Roundabout Theatre Company’s Broadway production of “Yellow Face;” “Girl from the North Country” featuring the songs of Bob Dylan; and “Kiss Me, Kate” from the Barbican
Great Performances returns to raise the curtain on its next “Broadway’s Best” lineup with four star-studded productions featuring drama, comedy and music. The lineup begins with the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical Next to Normal starring Caissie Levy (Broadway’s “Frozen”) recorded during its West End transfer from London’s Donmar Warehouse, followed by Tony-winning playwright David Henry Hwang’s Broadway comedy “Yellow Face” from Roundabout Theater Company starring Daniel Dae Kim (“Lost,” “Hawaii Five-0”). The lineup continues with Tony-winning musical Girl from the North Country featuring 20 reimagined songs by Bob Dylan, and finishes with Cole Porter’s Kiss Me, Kate starring Tony Award winner Stephanie J. Block. “Broadway’s Best” from Great Performances premieres Fridays, May 9-30 at 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings), on pbs.org/gperf and the PBS App. The lineup is part of The WNET Group’s special Broadway and Beyond festival, celebrating theater productions and the people who bring them to life.
Great Performances: Next to Normal
Premieres Friday, May 9 at 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings), on pbs.org/gperf and the PBS App
This three-time Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical stars Caissie Levy (Broadway’s “Frozen”), Jamie Parker (Broadway’s “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child”), Jack Wolfe (Netflix’s “Shadow & Bone”) and Eleanor Worthington-Cox. An intimate portrait of a modern family, the show explores illness, loss, grief and family as a suburban wife and mother lives with bipolar disorder and is haunted by her past. Filmed at Wyndham’s Theatre in September 2024 during the show’s West End transfer from its original run at the Donmar Warehouse, the musical is produced by David Stone (“Wicked”), staged by director Michael Longhurst and features an original rock score by Tom Kitt with book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey.
Great Performances: Yellow Face
Premieres Friday, May 16 at 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings), on pbs.org/gperf and the PBS App
Tony-winning playwright David Henry Hwang’s comedy from Roundabout Theatre Company stars Daniel Dae Kim (“Lost,” “Hawaii Five-0”) as an Asian American playwright who protests yellowface casting in the blockbuster musical “Miss Saigon,” only to mistakenly cast a white actor as the Asian lead in his own play. The repercussions resonate in this farce about the complexities of race. Filmed in November 2024 and directed by Leigh Silverman (“Violet,” “Suffs”), “Yellow Face” is an “is-he-or-isn’t-he” comedy of identity, show business and autobiography.
Great Performances: Girl from the North Country
Premieres Friday, May 23 at 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings), on pbs.org/gperf and the PBS App
In 1934 Duluth, Minnesota, a group of wayward travelers’ lives intersect in a guesthouse filled with music, life and hope. Written and directed by celebrated playwright Conor McPherson and featuring Tony Award-winning orchestrations by Simon Hale, the musical features 20 reimagined, legendary Bob Dylan songs, including “Forever Young,” “All Along the Watchtower,” “Hurricane,” and “Like A Rolling Stone.”
Great Performances: Kiss Me, Kate
Premieres Friday, May 30 at 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings), on pbs.org/gperf and the PBS App
Starring Tony Award winner Stephanie J. Block in her West End debut as Lilli Vanessi, this production of Cole Porter’s legendary musical comedy features classic songs including “Another Op’nin, Another Show,” “So In Love,” “Brush Up Your Shakespeare,” “Too Darn Hot” and more. Filmed from the Barbican in summer 2024, it also features multi-award-winner Adrian Dunbar as Fred Graham. Tony Award winner Bartlett Sher directs.
For more than 50 years on PBS, Great Performances has provided an unparalleled showcase of the best in all genres of the performing arts, serving as America’s most prestigious and enduring broadcaster of cultural programming. Showcasing a diverse range of artists from around the world, the series has earned 67 Emmy Awards and six Peabody Awards. The Great Performances website hosts exclusive videos, interviews, photos, full episodes and more. The series is produced by The WNET Group. Great Performances is available for streaming concurrent with broadcast on PBS.org and the PBS App, available on iOS, Android, Roku streaming devices, Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Samsung Smart TV, Chromecast and VIZIO.
Great Performances: Next to Normal is a production of Liberator Film Services, David Stone and Donmar Warehouse, directed for the screen by Michael Longhurst and Austin Shaw. David Stone, Aaron Glick and Austin Shaw are producers; Nick Salmon is executive producer. Great Performances: Yellow Face is a production of The WNET Group in association with Roundabout Theatre Company and 3AD Productions, directed for television by Annette Jolles and produced by Mitch Owgang; David Henry Hwang, Daniel Dae Kim, Leigh Silverman, Sydney Beers and John Cheng are executive producers. Great Performances: Girl from the North Country is a production of Totally Theatre Productions and Gavin Kalin, directed for television by Tim Van Someren and produced by Tristan Baker, Charlie Parsons and Runaway Entertainment; Aaron Lustbader, Conor McPherson, Playing Field and Diana DiMenna are executive producers. Great Performances: Kiss Me, Kate is a production of Trafalgar Entertainment in association with Steam Motion & Sound and the BBC, directed for the screen by Bartlett Sher and produced by Marc Allenby, Alice De Rosa, Emily Cecil-Dennett and Charlie Hinshelwood; Daniel Brodie & Matt Parritt, Brett Sullivan & Clayton Jacobsen are executive producers with Stephen James-Yeoman executive producer for the BBC. For Great Performances, Bill O’Donnell is series producer and David Horn is executive producer.
Series funding for Great Performances is provided by The Joseph & Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation, the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation, the LuEsther T. Mertz Charitable Trust, the Thea Petschek Iervolino Foundation, Jody and John Arnhold, the Kate W. Cassidy Foundation, the Abra Prentice Foundation, The Starr Foundation, The Philip and Janice Levin Foundation, Leni and Peter May, Seton J. Melvin, the Blanche and Hayward Cirker Charitable Lead Annuity Trust, the Charles and Lucille King Family Foundation, S. Irving and Anne Nevard Sherr Foundation, the Lewis “Sonny” Turner Fund for Dance, and Ellen and James S. Marcus. Funding for Great Performances: Yellow Face was provided by The Asian American Foundation, No Guarantees LLC, the Center for Asian American Media, East West Bank Foundation, Gold House Foundation, Inc., and Panda CommUnity Fund.