The Kennedy Center Honors 2011 -- Tribute to Barbara Cook (Part II - Performance)

[DannyHiggs]

The best part of this is watching Meryl Streep and YoYo Ma enjoying it so much!

[xprezeu]

They were all great even SJP and MB as presenters. Is it me or did Audra's voice over power the rest of the singers in finale ? There is great DVD called the Golden Age of Broadway and many are in it. Barbara Cook speaks of how she was in NYC for the first time and walked around and looked at all the buildings and embraced the moment. It just goes to show how our work,whatever it may be can inspire us all and that we are all connected. <3

[Seamus0514]

I love that they ended with, "Make Our Garden Grow," from Candide!

[SuperRingabell]

Close is amazing.

[TheDeltaNu]

I know sutton foster!!!!!!!

[Kurtperry41]

it's like listening to little girls sing the Lupone hits the stage.

[Jigglesw]

Close sucks, Lupone's amazing and so is Sutton Foster!!!

[bleachbred]

Audra MacDonald is superb!

[TheWhatev33]

Go Glenn....Please give her Norma in the movie,Hollywood.

[ClarkeLSmith]

Great performance by Glenn Close!

[bleachbred]

This was the best tribute of the entire program.

[kevinjameslogan84]

Only thing I think was missing was "Glitter and Be Gay"... They should have totally brought Kristin Chenoweth in todo that number. :)

[megan132]

@kevinjameslogan84 also "Loving You" that patti sang.  They only kept "Come Rain or Come Shine" from her.

[sweeney60]

@kevinjameslogan84 i know!

[mrds971]

@kevinjameslogan84 Glitter and Be Gay WAS done but was cut in this performance. It was sung by soprano, Anna Christy, but I guess it was deemed too long, so it was edited out by CBS. Too bad. She was amazing!

[jpalmettoguy]

I wish people would stop comparing Close and LuPone. I love them both to death. I would die for them. I appreciate what each has to offer to the stage and screen.

[alexsims92]

That was truly amazing, however I do fail to see the magnificent brilliance of Ms. LuPone, subtlety is truly lost on this performer as she butchered the song, that being said she does have quite an amazing voice, and to be joined by Broadway's finest - Ms. McDonald, Ms. Foster, Ms Close and the delightful Laura Osnes was a real treat. A great tribute to a great artist!

[an7iguy]

@alexsims92 Your misunderstanding of Patti LuPone's majesty only makes her stronger! She's amazing but she's certainly not for everyone, but nevertheless she will continue to chew scenery to pieces and I will love her for it.

[tneal3042]

is this live singing??

its hard to tell because the voices are so clear... too clear and i dont see a microphone anywhere

[bigsquare88]

@tneal3042 Of course, They are broadway stars. They perform live on the stage over 100 times a year.

[tneal3042]

@bigsquare88 then where are the microphones?

[tneal3042]

@bigsquare88 i did figure out it was pre-taped but live??? no way...

[megan132]

@tneal3042 YES! the mics are usually attached to their foreheads. weird, i know, but its threaded through the hair (or under a wig for a broadway show) and it sits right in front of the hair line.

[tneal3042]

@megan132 i still dont believe its live but its still a good performance

[Rodeo6521]

@tneal3042 It isn't live - the show is always pre-taped in the beginning of December for airing during the holidays. Jessica Simpson stopped singing "9 to 5" during the tribute to Dolly Parton several years ago - it was eventually cut from the show that aired.

[tneal3042]

@Rodeo6521 i did figure out it was pre-taped but live??? no way... 

[tneal3042]

@megan132 i did figure out it was pre-taped but live??? no way...

[megan132]

@tneal3042 yes way! hahaha, they are broadway performers!!  they do things like this 8 times a week, with a live orchestra, and their own voice, fresh every single time! hahahaha. this is practically a cake walk for them all.

[xandernorthstaar]

Glenn Close moved me.

[theshowtunesguy]

AUDRA FUCKING MCDONALD.

[craziidancer]

Who did the cut out? The girl that was wearing the gloves.

[mrds971]

@craziidancer They cut out Anna Christy who sang Glitter and Be Gay. Too bad.  She was absolutely amazing and a great voice. She sang as she was being lifted and carried by the male dancers!!

[redsteelchair]

Sutton Foster's performance looks so unbelievably effortless.

[Rodeo6521]

A fantastic array of talent! I would love to know what was going through Patti's mind and she was listening to Glenn Close sing. Patti was fired from the New York production of Sunset Boulevard to make way for Glenn Close. Ms. Close is a superlative actress, but her singing is very limited - she was sharp and flat several times in her song. Ms. Lapone, always the consummate performer, was tremendous.

[dohaperson]

Putting Close and Patti on the same stage to just show off how badly Close sings with how amazingly Patti does is just priceless. And there's Meryl who always knew Patti could sing Evita or Norma better than she could.

[bibliophile52]

1) Sutton Foster and Patti LuPone rocked it!

2) Meryl Streep's reaction was amazing!

[GABRISSIMA]

Meryl Streep's face ... priceless <3

[volleyball613]

why did only women perform?

[ktagova]

meryl is enjoying it more that anyone else =D

[spoonguard1989]

The best part of that whole thing was her reaction to Make Your Garden Grow

[NeuwirthFan]

Patti LuPone is just perfect here!

[RCohen2299]

Does "Anyone Can Whistle" have anything to do with Barbara Cook..?

[amyb7457]

What an amazing confluence of Broadway talent, and what a treat for those of us who love musical theater!!! These are performances I will treasure forever.

[nitasarn]

Gave me goosebumps loved it

[mrds971]

Thank you for posting. That's me and my choir - The Choral Arts Society of Washington - singing the final song at the end. It was such an amazing opportunity and a great thrill to be there. First, what an honor to pay tribute to a true legend of the Broadway stage. Second, it was amazing to share the stage with such great artists! Finally, it was a pleasure to sing for that audience that included the President and all the great entertainers of our time. I will never forget it.

[bigsquare88]

@mrds971 Good! You were there~~ So, please tell us were those ladies signing live or not?

[mrds971]

@bigsquare88 Yes, everything was performed live, both the singers and the orchestra. The women clearly had microphones. They watched the conductor on TV monitored placed towards the back of the opera theater over the heads of the audience in the seats. The orchestra and the choir (us) were waiting behind the curtain until the end of the tribute and the curtain rose. It's all live (on the day of taping on Dec 8) and then rebroadcast on Dec 27. We had two full rehearsals before.

[yanira13]

Meryl streep was jelly :3 lol jk

[yanira13]

OMG!!!!if Patti Lupone were to Honor me!!!!OMG I would get a stroke and DIE :D OMGz!!!!!!

[LIBeachcub]

Hands down the HIGHLIGHT of the Kennedy Center Honors, which aired on CBS the other night!

[TheSFCentered]

Thanks for sharing this. This tribute was the best of the evening!

[rekupp]

BOO! They cut Glitter and Be Gay. LAME!

[TheForeignersNetwork]

Does anyone know what the song at the very end was? I'm pretty sure it wasn't "Til there was you."

[bwaystar88]

@TheForeignersNetwork "Make Our Garden Grow" from Candide

[TheForeignersNetwork]

@bwaystar88 Thank you :D

[imcnagpc2]

@TheForeignersNetwork It's "Make Our Garden Grow" from Candide.

[jazzyspazzrawr]

That was sooo beautiful! A MILLION thanks for posting this! I must say, @sizzlingThyme I agree, Patti sounded and looked amazing!!! Ahh what a great tribute to a truly sensational woman of the theatre.

[SizzlingThyme]

This was truly amazing!

Also Patti has never sounded better and looks like she was having a ball.

[broadwayfanatic94]

There are no words for that......such a great representation of all the leading ladies on broadway. Patti is a legendary diva as always. Laura i s so beautiful and has one of the purest voices. and Audra is is simply amazing, gave me chills. Meryl Streeps reaction at the end says it all.

[HikariDragonRyuu]

That tribute was perfection.

[MichaelCH2007]

Is anyone else amazed that Glenn Close and Patti Lupone are on the same stage after the whole Sunset Boulevard affair?

That being said, so awesome seeing the best of Broadway on the stage, especially McDonald.

[Deerych]

Wow. that was awesome! Every singer was amazing! One of the better tributes I've seen in a good while.

[Jarrod005]

THAT WAS SO AWESOME and so tasteful and just so beautiful... Patti better work! Show Glenn and Meryl what you're made of! Everything about this tribute was perfect.

[MARCMANTELL]

thanks for posting this!

[Palomablanca2008]

A well deserved tribute.... Barbara Cook is legendary !!!