Eight presents PBS Fall Arts Festival, showcasing stellar performances and Broadway hits, beginning Sept. 26 at 8 p.m.

Eight joins City of Phoenix’s Wednesday Wind Up-Lunch Hour festivities at Civic Space Park, providing interactive art activities to public – Wednesdays, 11 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

2014 PBS Arts Fall Festival host Kristin Chenoweth Photo Credit: Stephanie Berger

PHOENIX — (Sept. 23, 2014) Eight, Arizona PBS will debut the 2014 PBS Arts Fall Festival, broadcasting 11 weeks of special arts programming beginning Sept. 26 at 8 p.m. on Eight HD, and will also offer a series of interactive public arts activities in the Valley, courtesy of a grant from PBS.

The on-air festival will be hosted by Emmy and Tony Award-winning actress and accomplished singer Kristin Chenoweth and features classic Broadway hits, music from around the country and a theater performance by award-winning actor Nathan Lane.

Additionally, Eight welcomes art lovers in the Valley to celebrate the 2014 PBS Arts Fall Festival at the Wednesday Wind Up, Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in Civic Space Park (424 N. Central Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85004), in partnership with the City of Phoenix Parks and Recreation Latino Institute, Downtown Phoenix, Inc., Roosevelt Row, Mega 104.3 FM Radio, Fair Trade Café, Best in Show, and Bookmans. The weekly events feature hands-on art activities, live music, and a screening reel of the arts programs airing on Eight this fall. Eight’s ongoing offerings at the weekly Wednesday Wind Up will also include a gaming truck on Oct. 22, showcasing dancing games and other popular interactive games, including Guitar Hero. For more details on Wednesday Wind Up, visit http://www.downtownphoenix.com/blog/2014/08/love-your-downtown-at-wednesday-wind-up/.

“This mid-week celebration is an exciting way to get the business district, student community and downtown residents engaged with the arts and to know that Eight Arizona PBS supports the arts,” says Kimberly Flack, Eight’s associate general manager of education. “Join us in the park to soak up some wonderful music and take the opportunity to post some reminders for PBS Arts Fall Festival Friday Night on social media while you are there.”

Entering its fourth season, the PBS Arts Fall Festival has become a Friday night fall tradition, reaching more than 33 million viewers since its inception in 2011 and underscoring PBS’ ongoing commitment to giving audiences a front-row seat and a backstage pass to the best of the arts on-air and online.

“Eight is excited to deliver a fall season of star-studded programs promoting the arts that guarantees to entertain our audience with a variety of Broadway hits, musical performances, live theater and anniversary celebrations,” says Nancy Southgate, Eight’s associate general manager of content.

The 2014 festival includes some of today’s most popular musicians and stage productions.  Festival highlights include (all showtimes are 8 p.m. on Eight HD, unless otherwise noted):

• Sept. 26: the premiere of Live from Lincoln Center’s 40th anniversary season with “‘Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street’ In Concert With the New York Philharmonic” featuring bass-baritone Bryn Terfel in the title role and Academy Award-winning actress Emma Thompson as Mrs. Lovett;
• Oct. 3: a celebration of the seminal music series, Austin City Limits Celebrates 40 Years featuring guest hosts Jeff Bridges, Sheryl Crow and Matthew McConaughey;
• Oct. 10: Live from Lincoln Center’s “The Nance” starring Nathan Lane;
• Oct. 17: The Gershwins’® Porgy and BessSM From San Francisco Opera, starring bass-baritone Eric Owens as Porgy and soprano Laquita Mitchell as Bess;
• Oct. 24: Great Performances featuring Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga;
• Oct. 31 at 9 p.m:  Michael Feinstein at the Rainbow Room with performances by Tony-winning and Emmy-nominated artist Christine Ebersole, American Idol sensation Jessica Sanchez, the dynamic tap duo the Manzari Brothers, Oscar-nominated actress June Squibb and many more at the historic restaurant and nightclub following its October opening;
• Nov. 14 at 9 p.m:  Hitmakers, an up-close look at the changing face of the music industry featuring interviews and performances from Grammy Award-winning rocker Melissa Etheridge, multi-media star Questlove, powerhouse soul/funk singer Sharon Jones, rising DJ/producer Steve Aoki and more;
• Nov. 21: a new Great Performances presentation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s blockbuster musical “Cats”;
• Nov. 28: Kristin Chenoweth: Coming Home, in which the multi-faceted star performs a career-spanning concert in her hometown of Broken Arrow, Okla.;
• One additional feature, to be announced.

To view the full PBS Arts Fall Festival lineup on Eight, as well as Eight’s other featured arts programming each month, visit our local “The Arts on Eight” page at https://azpbs.org/artbeat/arts_on_eight.php.

The PBS Arts Fall Festival is made possible by generous support from the Anne Ray Charitable Trust.

About Kristin Chenoweth
Emmy and Tony Award-winner and Hollywood Bowl and Oklahoma Hall of Fame inductee Kristin Chenoweth effortlessly transitions between stage, television, film and an accomplished singing career. Many remember her show-stealing, Tony-winning performance in “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown” and her triumphant star turn when she originated the role of Glinda the Good Witch in “Wicked,” which earned her a leading actress Tony Award nomination. While starring in the ABC series “Pushing Daisies,” she received an Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. Chenoweth has appeared on Fox’s comedy “Glee” in a role for which she was nominated for two Emmy Awards and for a People’s Choice Award in the category of Favorite TV Guest Star. She will return to Broadway, playing the glamorous film star, Lily Garland, in the Roundabout Theatre Company’s 20-week limited engagement of “On the Twentieth Century,” in early 2015. Chenoweth has completed production on the Universal film “The Boy Next Door” alongside Jennifer Lopez, romantic comedy “The Opposite Sex,” an indie teen drama entitled “Hard Sell” and the Disney Channel’s live-action original movie “Descendants,” in which she will play the classic Sleeping Beauty villain Maleficent.

Media Contact:  Colleen O’Donnell Pierce
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