Broadway Reopens: Behind the Scenes

Elisa Lichtenbaum | January 12, 2022


Great Performances – Reopening: The Broadway Revival premieres Tuesday, January 18 at 9 p.m. with an encore on Friday, January 21 at 10 p.m.

A new TV special will take you backstage and onstage at some of Broadway’s most popular shows, to see how the New York theater industry undertook the monumental process of turning the lights back on after its longest hiatus in history.

Great Performances – Reopening: The Broadway Revival pulls back the curtain on the return of Broadway musicals and plays following an unprecedented 18-month performance shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A man in business suit stands near edge of stage. Lighting equipment set up is seen.

Frank DiLella hosts Reopening: The Broadway Revival for Great Performances on PBS.

Enjoy unprecedented, exclusive behind-the-scenes access to the cast and crew reunions, rehearsals, re-stagings, and long-anticipated reopening nights of some of Broadway’s most popular shows with the stars who are driving theater’s extraordinary comeback. New York Emmy Award-winning journalist Frank DiLella (On Stage) hosts the special.

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It’s a cause for celebration, whether your love for Broadway finds you onstage, backstage, or in the audience. As Kristin Chenoweth declared when she made a surprise pre-show appearance at Wicked’s grand reopening night on September 14, 2021, “There’s no place like home!”

Broadway Stars in the Special


The special includes, among others:
2021 Tony Award Best Actress in a Musical winner Adrienne Warren (Tina: The Tina Turner Musical)
Tony and Emmy nominee Sara Bareilles (Waitress)
Olivier Award winner Sharon D. Clarke (Caroline, or Change)
Michael James Scott (Aladdin)
Tony nominee Elizabeth Stanley (Jagged Little Pill)
Alexandra Billings (Wicked)
Jeanna de Waal (Diana: The Musical)
Tony nominee Andrew Rannells
Tony nominee Norm Lewis (Chicken and Biscuits)
Tony winner Lea Salonga
Rachel Tucker (Come From Away)
Legendary composer Andrew Lloyd Webber
Tony and Emmy winner Kristin Chenoweth

Three women in light blue old-fashion diner waitress uniform lean over a food prep table together. Clear jars of baking ingredients are behind them on shelf.


Charity Angél Dawson, Sara Bareilles, and Caitlin Houlahan in “Waitress.” Photo by Jeremy Daniel.


Great Performances – Reopening: The Broadway Revival premieres Tuesday, January 18 at 9 p.m. with an encore on Friday, January 21 at 10 p.m. Watch on THIRTEEN, pbs.org/gperf, and the THIRTEEN app (thirteen.org/anywhere) as part of #PBSForTheArts.