Tony winner Audra McDonald, Grammy winner Josh Groban, Nice Work If You Can Get It star Kelli O’Hara, Smash headliner Megan Hilty and four-time Tony nominee Raul Esparza will join the New York Philharmonic to salute late composer Marvin Hamlisch in a special New Year's Eve concert. Conducted by Paul Gemignani and directed by Lonny Price, One Singular Sensation: Celebrating Marvin Hamlisch will take place at Avery Fisher Hall in Lincoln Center. Maria Friedman and Michael Feinstein are also set to appear. Hosted by McDonald, the concert will be broadcast on PBS' Live From Lincoln Center series.
Hamlisch, who earned four Emmys, four Grammys, three Oscars, a Tony and a Pulitzer Prize, composed They’re Playing Our Song, Smile, The Goodbye Girl and Sweet Smell of Success, in addition to his long-running hit, A Chorus Line. Additionally, Hamlisch wrote the score for over 40 films, including Sophie’s Choice, Three Men and a Baby, The Sting, The Way We Were, Ordinary People and The Spy Who Loved Me. He passed away in August at the age of 68.
McDonald earned Tony Awards for A Raisin in the Sun, Ragtime, Master Class, Carousel and most recently, Porgy and Bess. Best known for hits like "You Raise Me Up," Groban starred in a Broadway benefit concert of Chess. O’Hara has earned Tony nominations for Nice Work If You Can Get It, South Pacific, The Pajama Game and The Light in the Piazza. Hilty’s Broadway credits include 9 to 5 and Wicked. Esparza, who most recently appeared on Broadway in Leap of Faith, earned Tony nominations for Speed-the-Plow, The Homecoming, Company and Taboo. Friedman starred on Broadway in The Woman in White. Feinstein’s Broadway concerts include All About Me, My One and Only and Michael Feinstein in Concert.