James Naughton, Patina Miller Bring Broadway to the Small Screen

This Live From Lincoln Center back-to-back presentation begins at 9 p.m. on Friday, April 4 on West Virginia PBS.

Tune in to West Virginia PBS for James Naughton: The Songs of Randy Newman, and Patina Miller as Live From Lincoln Center continues its American Songbook series.

James Naughton, the director and two-time Tony Award-winning actor and singer, who has appeared in numerous film and television programs including CBS’s Hostages and on stage in City of Angels and Kander & Ebb’s Chicago, takes the stage to honor the great American songwriter Randy Newman. Though Naughton has sung Newman’s charming songs before in cabaret shows, he has never offered a full evening devoted to this music until now. Naughton’s “bass baritone voice is a phenomenon, both in its caressing resonance and in the ease with which he slides from traditional crooning to jazz-inflected swing” (The New York Times). Newman’s work as a Hollywood soundtrack composer of the past thirty years was preceded by years as a prolific, highly successful songwriter of such hits as “I Think It’s Going to Rain Today,” “Sail Away,” and “I Love L.A.”

At 10 p.m., a second Live From Lincoln Center premiere features singer Patina Miller.

Winner of the 2013 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for Pippin and soon to be featured in the upcoming Hunger Games: Mockingjay films, Patina Miller is both a fresh new face and a performer at the very top of her game. Her first Broadway show, Sister Act, earned her nominations for both Tony and Olivier awards, and Variety called her “a nonstop dynamo discovery.” Her voice is a powerhouse of sound, equal parts dazzle and warmth, and her first televised concert will feature a wide range of music from classic R&B to Broadway’s best.