PBS' Highest Rated Musical and Fireworks Extravaganza Stars Huey Lewis
& The News, Taylor Hicks, Jerry Lee Lewis, Hayley Westenra, Brian Stokes
Mitchell, Harolyn Blackwell and the National Symphony Orchestra Conducted
by Erich Kunzel
WASHINGTON, May 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Blow out the candles at
America's biggest and best-loved birthday party with our new host and an
all-star cast. Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning film, theater and
television actor Jimmy Smits hosts the 28th annual broadcast of A Capitol
Fourth live from Washington, D.C. The star spangled party will feature
unrivaled musical performances from some of the country's best known and
award-winning artists as well as the most spectacular fireworks display
anywhere in the nation. Grammy winning musicians Huey Lewis and the News,
American Idol winner Taylor Hicks, Rock 'n' Roll legend Jerry Lee Lewis,
Broadway star Brian Stokes Mitchell, classical superstar Hayley Westenra
and soprano Harolyn Blackwell will perform a selection of patriotic and
celebratory music with the National Symphony Orchestra under the direction
of top pops conductor Erich Kunzel. Following this musical salute, the
Washington, DC skyline will come alive with the most colorful, creative and
booming display of fireworks ever set against silhouettes of national
landmarks the U.S. Capitol, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln and
Jefferson Memorials. The multi-award winning event will be broadcast live
in high definition on PBS from the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol on Friday,
July 4, 2008 from 8:00 to 9:30 p.m. ET (check local listings). Capping off
the show will be a rousing rendition of Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture"
complete with live cannon fire provided by the United States Army
Presidential Salute Battery, an audience favorite and now A Capitol Fourth
tradition.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080515/DC22386 )
"There's no greater place to be this July Fourth than in Washington,
D.C.," said Jimmy Smits. "I am honored to host A Capitol Fourth live from
our nation's capital. You don't want to miss this year's all-star cast and
the most amazing fireworks display ever. I hope you'll join me and the
millions of Americans watching at home in what is truly America's biggest
birthday party."
"As President John Adams envisioned 232 years ago, we come together to
celebrate the birth of our great nation with music, fun and fireworks,"
added executive producer Jerry Colbert of Capital Concerts. "We're really
glad to welcome our new host Jimmy Smits to help celebrate the Fourth in
style from the most inspiring location in America."
Jimmy Smits is a distinguished and well-respected actor with an
impressive career spanning two decades. He is an 11-time Emmy Award nominee
and won the award in 1990 for his role as Victor Sifuentes in LA Law. He is
a four-time Golden Globe nominee and won the award in 1996 for his role on
NYPD Blue. He is an eight-time nominee of the Screen Actors Guild Award and
has been nominated and won a variety of other prestigious awards, including
wins in 2005 at the Imagen Foundation Awards, in 1996 at the NCLR Bravo
Awards, and a 1999 Humanitas Award for his work on NYPD Blue. His
television credits include Cane, LA Law, The West Wing, NYPD Blue and the
award-winning TV movies The Broken Cord and Lackawanna Blues. Smits' film
credits include The Jane Austen Book Club, Star Wars: Episode II - Attack
of the Clones, Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, Running
Scared, Price of Glory and My Family/Mi Familia, for which he received an
IFP Spirit Award nomination. Theater credits include the Broadway
production of Nilo Cruz's Pulitzer Prize-winning play Anna in the Tropics,
The New York Public Theater's "Shakespeare in the Park" presentations of
Much Ado About Nothing and Twelfth Night. El Sendero Productions, his
production company, has two projects in development with ABC Studios, one a
miniseries at ABC and the other a drama on FX. He is also involved in
various charitable causes including co-founding the National Hispanic
Foundation for the Arts (NHFA) to promote Hispanic talent in the performing
arts. A second-generation American, Smits is a native of Brooklyn, New
York, and traces his roots to Puerto Rico and Surinam.
A Capitol Fourth will also feature performances by The U.S. Army Herald
Trumpets, The U.S. Army Presidential Salute Battery, an Armed Forces Color
Guard provided by the Military District of Washington, D.C. and The Choral
Arts Society of Washington.
A Capitol Fourth can also be heard live in stereo over National Public
Radio and is broadcast to U.S. military personnel in more than 175
countries and aboard 140 U.S. Navy ships at sea on the American Forces
Network (AFN). The program is viewed by millions at home and attended by
hundreds of thousands of people at the Capitol in Washington, D.C.
For A Capitol Fourth executive producer Jerry Colbert has assembled an
award-winning production team that features the top Hollywood talent behind
some of television's most prestigious entertainment awards shows. This
includes Emmy award-winning producer Walter C. Miller, American's leading
director and producer of live programs including the Grammy Awards and
Country Music Awards; award-winning director Paul Miller whose credits
include the Country Music Awards and Saturday Night Live; and veteran
television writer Jon Macks, whose credits include the Tonight Show with
Jay Leno, the Academy Awards and the Emmy Awards. The program is a
co-production of Jerry Colbert of Capital Concerts and WETA, Washington,
D.C.
For more than 25 years, Capital Concerts has produced the two major
patriotic events at the U.S. Capitol. In 1981, Colbert presented the first
PBS Fourth of July telecast with the National Symphony Orchestra and guest
artists performing live from the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol. In 1990, he
introduced the National Memorial Day Concert. Since then, both holiday
specials have been honored with over 55 awards including the New York Film
Festival Award, the Telly Award, the Golden Cine Award, the Videographer
Award, the National Education Association Award, the Aurora Award, the
Christopher Award, the Communicator's Award, the AXIEM Award, the Omni
Award and the Writer's Guild of America Award.
A Capitol Fourth 2008 is made possible by grants from The Boeing
Company, the National Park Service, the Department of the Army, the
National Endowment for the Arts, PBS and public television stations
nationwide. Air travel is provided by American Airlines.
Web Site: http://www.pbs.org/capitolfourth
Press Web Site: http://www.pbs.org/pressroom
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