THE ROYAL WEDDING

posted by Susie Hernandez

Royal watchers will appreciate the BBC’s full coverage of one of the most eagerly anticipated events of the century, the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.

Live coverage starts tonight at midnight on our sister stations, KUAZ-FM, and PBS-HD. That's right folks, the Beebs made it available for radio and TV tonight.

Live TV coverage will include the journey of all the members of the Royal Family and the bride as they make their way to Westminster Abbey, the arrivals of all the key guests, and full coverage of the wedding service. Following the service, you’ll see the full procession back to Buckingham Palace. The final moments of the coverage is for the long awaited balcony wave as a married couple.

The Beebs is offering 5 and a half hours of coverage. Reporters will be stationed around Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace and The Mall watching the preparations as they unfold, reporting on all the movements and speaking to members of the crowd who have travelled from all over to witness this piece of history. Guests include Royal historians and correspondents, fashion experts and possibly some guests who are attending the wedding service.

What will I appreciate the most? The hats. As soon as I have my fill, I will be going back to bed and then keeping an eye out for our encore broadcasts.

Here's a quick rundown of the airtimes and days:

LIVE on KUAZ NPR and PBS-HD Channel 6 - Midnight to 5:30 a.m.

Encore broadcasts:

PBS-HD - Friday from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

World TV- Friday from 4 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

PBS-HD - Saturday from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

PBS-HD - Sunday from 4:30 a.m. to 10 a.m.

World TV, you ask? You can catch World TV on Broadcast 27-3, Comcast 203, and Cox 83.

Stay tuned,

Susie the TV Programmer

SATURDAY AFTERNOON WITH GREAT PERFORMANCES

posted by Susie Hernandez

Look for a diverse schedule of GREAT PERFORMANCES on PBS HD Ch. 6 starting on April 9th.

Launching our new lineup on Saturday afternoons @ 3 PM is La Boheme: The Movie.

The schedule will feature a diverse group of performances: classical music, opera, popular song, musical theater, dance, drama, and performance documentaries. GREAT PERF, as we call it in-house, has garnered 64 Emmy Awards and four George Foster Peabody Awards. Many times, the series is offered in the evenings, but with 3+ hours to watch, not all of us can stay up to watch the end.

I really feel that this series is important to our community. This is no big aha moment, I realize, as the series has received every major television honor. Many people think GREAT PERF is essential! What I think is truly cool, is that regardless of geographic or economic limitations, GREAT PERFORMANCES insures its audiences the best seats in the house and now we can watch it without worrying we'd miss some of the show!

Here's April's lineup:

Saturday, April 9 La Boheme - The Movie

Saturday, April 16 @ 3 PM Dance In America: New York Export: Opus Jazz, followed by In The Heights: Chasing Broadway Dreams @ 4 PM

Saturday, April 23 Great Performances at The Met: The Audition

Saturday, April 30 Great Performances: Celebracion! Gustavo Dudamel and the LA Philharmonic with Juan Diego Florez

All programswill start at 3 PM unless noted otherwise!

La Boheme - The Movie: Giacomo Puccinis enduring 1896 blockbuster now makes its way to the big screen in a lushly atmospheric movie adaptation directed by Robert Dornhelm. The operatic "dream couple" -- sensational Russian soprano Anna Netrebko and dashing Mexican tenor Rolando Villazon -- reunite as the doomed lovers Mimi and Rodolfo, joined by George von Bergen (vocals by Boaz Daniel) as Marcello, Adrian Erod as Schaunard, Vitalij Kowaljow as Colline, Tiziano Bracci as Benoit and Nicole Cabell as Musetta.

Dance In America: New York Export: Opus Jazz: A "ballet in sneakers" choreographed by the legendary Jerome Robbins in 1958, NY Export: Opus Jazz was a breakout success in its day, complete with a world tour and a broadcast on The Ed Sullivan Show. Set to a jazz score by Robert Prince, the five movements blend ballet, jazz and ballroom with Latin, African and American rhythms to create a style that remains expressive, sensual and contemporary. Co-conceived by New York City Ballet principal dancers Ellen Bar and Sean Suozzi, this film production takes the overlooked Robbins' masterpiece off of the stage and places it back into the landscapes that inspired it, filmed on locations all over the five boroughs of New York. The 16 emblematic characters are city kids drawn together by their youth, their energy and their hunger for life, but this "Opus Jazz" takes them out of the 50s and into today. Fashions and skylines change, but the experience of being young in New York belongs to every generation.

In The Heights: Chasing Broadway Dreams: In a journey reminiscent of the unexpected zeitgeist success of Hair, A Chorus Line, and Rent, the story behind the success of In the Heights is so organic to New York City that no one expected it to happen. Beginning at a small, off-Broadway theater, a group of talented young artists led by composer-lyricist Lin-Manuel Miranda produced an original musical that some have called a modern day West Side Story-a Latin and Hip-Hop-infused musical odyssey telling the story of a neighborhood and the first-generation Americans who call it home. And yet, many in the show's audiences have nothing to compare it to as it represents the first musical that they've journeyed below 125th Street to see. Opening on Broadway in spring 2008 and going on to win five Tony Awards-including Best New Musical-In the Heights on Broadway follows the cast and creative team as they embark on the greatest adventure of their young careers.

Great Performances at The Met: The Audition: The Audition looks at the intense pressures young opera singers face as they struggle to succeed in one of the most difficult professions in the performing arts. The feature-length documentary goes behind the scenes at the Metropolitan Opera's National Council Auditions, where each year thousands of hopefuls compete for a cash prize, the chance to sing on the Met stage -- and the opportunity to launch a major operatic career. The film covers the dramatic week leading up to the finals of the 2007 auditions, focusing on three very different tenor contestants: Michael Fabiano, a fiery 22-year-old grappling with his inner demons; Alek Shrader, a 25-year-old with movie-star looks who attempts to sing nine high Cs in the fiendishly difficult aria that made Pavarotti a star; and Ryan Smith, who at the age of 30, and with little formal training, is pursuing his dream of operatic career.

Great Performances: Celebracion! Gustavo Dudamel and the LA Philharmonic with Juan Diego Florez: Flórez and Dudamel, close friends off the concert stage, developed the special lineup of bel canto arias and popular Latin American canciones by Rossini, Granda, Lara, Moncayo, Grever, Gutiérrez and Márquez for this special. Great Performances returns to the Frank Gehry-designed Walt Disney Concert Hall for another concert with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and music director Gustavo Dudamel. Joined by superstar tenor Juan Diego Florez.

So, what was on from 3 to 5 PM? A cooking show, and two travel shows! One of the travel shows, Globetrekker, airs on Sundays @ 5 PM. The cooking show and travel show in the 3 PM block rotated around. Since so many folks watch our lifestyle channel, Create TV, I thought I'd take advantage of that time for some much needed performance shows!

As always, I look forward to your feedback and requests!

Stay tuned!

Susie the TV Priogrammer