Here’s a list at weekend highlights:

1. Sunday night will be filled with comedy, terror and reality. The most ballyhooed premiere is the reality entry: “Sarah Palin’s Alaska” at 9 p.m. on TLC. The photography and editing in this eight-part Mark Burnett series are first-rate. Will the former Alaska governor win new admirers with this series? I seriously doubt it. But she could bolster Alaska tourism, because the scenery is stellar.

2. “The Walking Dead,” AMC’s terrifying new drama, offers a mini-marathon of its first three episodes Sunday night. The plot: A few humans try to survive a zombie apocalypse. The first two episodes, which have aired, repeat from 8 to 10 p.m. The third episode premieres at 10 and contains a stunning fade-out. And the fourth episode, which airs Nov. 21, is the best yet. That episode ranges from wonder to terror with startling efficiency.

3. Tina Fey receives the Mark Twain Prize in a PBS special that airs at 9 p.m. Sunday. Steve Carell, Betty White, Steve Martin and Amy Poehler salute the “30 Rock” creator. And, of course, there will be clips of Fey’s Sarah Palin impersonation.

4. Switching to Saturday: Tracy Morgan will salute “30 Rock” co-star Fey on Sunday, but he headlines his own special, “Tracy Morgan: Black and Blue,” at 10 p.m. Saturday. On HBO, he can say things you’ll never hear on NBC.

5. “America’s Most Wanted” goes to Cambodia to draw attention to international sex trafficking in children. The program starts at 9 p.m. Saturday on Fox.

6. Teri Hatcher, who played Lois Lane on “Lois & Clark,” puts in a guest appearance on “Smallville” at 8 tonight on The CW. This time arond, Hatcher plays the mother of Lois Lane. And that should be something any “Lois & Clark” fan would want to see.

Tina Fey picked up the Mark Twain Prize last night in Washington.

Viewers will get to see the celebration at 9 p.m. Sunday on PBS (WMFE-Ch. 24). Expect plenty of clips of Fey impersonating Sarah Palin, performing on “Saturday Night Live” and acting on “30 Rock.”

Saluting Fey are Jon Hamm, Jennifer Hudson, Steve Carell, Steve Martin, Betty White, Tracy Morgan and Amy Poehler. This Twain celebration sounds more tart than usual.

White goes for bawdy shtick: “I’m the only one here who actually dated Mark Twain. And I can tell you they didn’t call him Samuel Longhorne Clemens for nothing.” (Langhorne was his actual name.)

“SNL” co-star Poehler tells Fey, “I’m so happy to attend your comedy bar mitzvah. So far the food is excellent and your ‘Evita’ theme is really working.”

“Date Night” co-star Carell salutes Fey’s skill: ”She dares to offend and shrugs off the obvious choice. She has the uncanny ability to make something out of nothing.”

Fey is the 13th recipient of the Twain Prize and the third woman, after Whoopi Goldberg and Lily Tomlin, to get it. Fey thanks all the celebrities who traveled to the Kennedy Center event in Washington. “It means so much to me that you care about showbiz more than your families,” Fey says.

Casting news for Peter Jackson’s version of “The Hobbit” should provide a promotional boost for PBS’ “Sherlock,” which starts this weekend.

Martin Freeman will play Bilbo Baggins, the title character, in two films to be released in December 2012 and 2013, Jackson has announced.

You can get a good look at Freeman when he plays Dr. John Watson in the three mysteries of “Sherlock.” This engrossing new take on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle moves the classic detective into the 21st century. The stories start at 9 p.m. Sunday on PBS’ “Masterpiece Mystery!” and continue the next two Sundays.

Freeman’s other credits include “The Old Curiosity Shop,” “Hot Fuzz,” “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” “Shaun of the Dead,” “Love Actually” and the British version of “The Office,” in which he played Tim Canterbury.

In his statement, Jackson said Freeman is “intelligent, funny, surprising and brave — exactly like Bilbo.”

Freeman is terrific as kind, charming Watson in “Sherlock.” His Watson is a crucial counterbalance to the chilly, brilliant Sherlock of Benedict Cumberbatch. Sherlock is now a consulting detective in the London of today.

A few highlights to keep in mind this week:

1. “The Good Wife” features the return of Mamie Gummer as attorney Nancy Crozier. Gummer, the daughter of Meryl Streep, gives a sly performance as an inventive attorney who joins forces with Alicia (Julianna Margulies). The mystery: Who’s responsible for conditions at a deadly rave?

The CBS drama, which airs at 10 p.m. Tuesday, continues to enlist an astonishing group of actors for guest roles. This episode alone features Edward Herrmann, Kate Burton, Corbin Bleu, Griffin Dunne, Scott Porter, Michael Ealy, Elizabeth Reaser and Anika Noni Rose. The episode is an excellent example of this classy drama’s subtle acting and storytelling.

2. Eight couples remain on ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars,” the country’s most popular series. Starting at 8 p.m. Monday, they will perform dances, from the tango to the foxtrot, set to TV themes. ABC listed “Bewitched,” “Friends” and “The Brady Bunch” as examples. Florence Henderson, the mom on “The Brady Bunch,” is a contestant.

Tuesday’s results show, at 9 p.m., will feature Jason Derulo singing “In My Head” and “Georgia on My Mind.” Shakira will contribute “Loca.” And one celebrity will be dropped.

3. Jon Stewart hosts “Night of Too Many Stars: An Overbooked Concert for Autism Education” at 9 p.m. Thursday on Comedy Central. The event taped Oct. 2. The performers include Lewis Black, Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Tina Fey, Ricky Gervais, Joel McHale, John Oliver, Chris Rock, Sarah Silverman and Triumph The Insult Comic Dog.

4. “The Talk” arrives at 2 p.m. Monday on WKMG-Ch. 6. This daytime chat show, CBS’ answer to “The View,” features Julie Chen, Sharon Osbourne, Leah Remini, Holly Robinson Peete, Marissa Jaret Winokur and Sara Gilbert.

5. If you love Broadway music, “In Performance at the White House” is must-see TV. The PBS special, at 9 p.m. Wednesday, rounds up Nathan Lane, Elaine Stritch and Audra McDonald to perform for the Obamas.

The fast-moving, one-hour program also salutes current Broadway productions: Idina Menzel delivers “Defying Gravity,” her signature song from “Wicked.” Chad Kimball performs the bluesy “Memphis Lives in Me” from Tony-winning “Memphis.” Winter Haven’s Karen Olivo and her “West Side Story” co-stars sing and dance a lusty “America.”

Lane, who serves as emcee, thanks the Obamas for supporting Broadway: “After Lincoln, presidents haven’t exactly raced to the theater.”

The singing is first-rate. McDonald wraps her gorgeous voice around “Happiness is a Thing Called Joe.” (Lane jokes that it’s about Vice President Joe Biden.) Brian d’Arcy James delivers a rousing “Blue Skies.” Lane merrily rolls through “Free” from “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.” Best of all, Stritch puts her brassy stamp on “Broadway Baby” and “I’m Still Here.”

Four programs to keep in mind this week:

1. “God in America” is a sweeping history about religion’s influence on politics and history. PBS rolls out this three-part, six-hour opus from 9 to 11 p.m. Monday through Wednesday. This history lesson profiles, among others, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr., Billy Graham and Jerry Falwell.

2. “The Good Wife” has had a strong start to its second season on CBS. The third episode introduces Alicia’s brother (played by Dallas Roberts of “Rubicon”) at 10 p.m. Tuesday. Last week’s episode suggested the office intrigue is going to intensify, which is very good for this adult drama.

3. “Dancing With the Stars,” Central Florida’s favorite series, continues with the nine remaining celebrities. It’s time to lose more of the people who have no chance at this contest. I’d say The Situation, Bristol Palin and Florence Henderson seem the most vulnerable. The dancing resumes at 8 p.m. Monday on ABC; the results show starts at 9 p.m. Tuesday.

4. “Parker Spitzer” debuted last week to withering reviews and weak ratings. Will week two be any better? I doubt it because the teaming of Kathleen Parker and Eliot Spitzer simply doesn’t work. She is a print person, and he’s a hard-driving politician, and neither is meant for this setup. This is another show in which the group discussions are a pain because the speakers tend to talk over one another. You can judge for yourself at 8 weeknights on CNN.

Tonight, you get some of the best of Broadway without leaving your house.

1. Nathan Lane, one of the top Broadway performers, visits ABC’s “Modern Family.” The clips suggest that Lane gives the kind of flamboyant performance only he can give. And it has to be a lot more fun to see him here than in “The Addams Family,” currently on Broadway.  Cheaper, too. “Modern Family” starts at 9.

2. PBS’ “Great Performances” gives you the recent Broadway production of “Macbeth” with Patrick Stewart in stellar form. This interpretation takes us into a 20th century totalitarian land. Stewart reminds “Star Trek: The Next Generation” fans of his versatility. And thanks to PBS, you don’t have to pay Broadway prices.  “Macbeth” starts at 9.

3. “Michael Feinstein’s American Songbook” celebrates great standards, many of which have come from Broadway. The series will feature such familiar Broadway presences as David Hyde Pierce, Cheyenne Jackson and Marvin Hamlisch. The three-part series starts at 8 on PBS and continues the next two Wednesdays.

New episodes of everything from “Criminal Minds” to “Cougar Town” fill the schedule. Will a “Survivor” without Jimmy Johnson be worth following? You can find out at 8 tonight on CBS.

“Michael Feinstein’s American Songbook” offers a loving celebration of songs that have stood the test of time. The three-part series starts at 8 p.m. Wednesday on PBS; it continues Oct. 13 and 20.

“Time determines what will last,” cabaret singer Feinstein said. “Nobody in the ’70s knew we’d look back at Billy Joel and Carole King as being part of the American songbook, but they are.”

So, too, are the Beatles. If a song, such as “Yesterday,” is popular in the United States, it becomes part of the American songbook, Feinstein said.

“It is a body of work that is ever changing, growing, morphing,” he said.

Feinstein cited “I’ve Got a Crush on You,” “Love Is Here to Stay” and “The Lady Is a Tramp” as songs that gained popularity with time. “At Last” and “I Only Have Eyes for You” are songs that have had many lives.

“These songs are not about hit records, but about multiple interpretations,” Feinstein said. “The songs are constantly reinterpreted.”

Continue reading Michael Feinstein celebrates American song, not ‘American Idol’ »

WMFE will give no raises this fiscal year and will ask all of its 35 full-time employees to take a two-week furlough.

But the public broadcaster has avoided any layoffs, Jose Fajardo, WMFE’s president and CEO, said Tuesday.

He estimated that WMFE was below goals for membership and corporate underwriting by $250,000.

“We operate in the black,” Fajardo said. “We have to stay ahead of the game. We have to take these steps to control expenses.”

Fajardo said WMFE had dipped into cash reserves and carry-forward reserves. The public broadcaster also will reduce administrative costs, cut down on postage and drop an event called Oh, Woman! (formerly known as Speaking of Women’s Health). “We’re not able to generate sponsorship to make it a profitable event,” Fajardo said.

“We simply have to find ways to maximize our resources by minimizing our expenses,” Fajardo said. “Our radio drives have reached their goals, and we have done better in radio than in television. The radio audiences have grown. The way we do membership on radio, we pledge around core programs. Whereas on television, we fund-raise around special programs.”

He added that the business model is not working for the PBS system.

The challenge facing media companies these days can be seen in how the WMFE staff has shrunk. Two years ago, WMFE had 62 employees.

“Our main objective is to protect the mainstream PBS and NPR programs that viewers expect,” Fajardo said. “We also want to save as many jobs as we can.”

Sentinel readers were treated to a four-page advertisement this morning heralding the arrival of “Law & Order: Los Angeles” at 10 tonight on NBC. “Los Angeles Post,” the fake headline read.

Behind the fake, there’s good news. ”LOLA,” as it is dubbed, is a pleasant surprise, a sturdy drama with a lot of potential.

The “Law & Order” franchise shrewdly borrows from the show-biz headlines and wallows in Tinseltown cynicism. The opener has traces of the Lindsay Lohan story, but goes off on sensational tangents — far more sensational than Lohan’s story. As down-to-earth detectives, Skeet Ulrich and Corey Stoll watch the action with understandable disbelief and sarcasm. Alfred Molina gets the L.A. version of the Sam Waterston role and brings a bracing gravity to it. This is one of the better new series this fall.

 Also tonight:

***”Modern Family” explores why its gay spouses have such different reactions to public displays of affection. The episode airs at 9 on ABC.

***A.J. Cook departs “Criminal Minds” at 9 on CBS. Is losing her a bad move on producers’ part? The episode features Jayne Atkinson (“24″) and Gil Bellows (“Ally McBeal”).

***What happens at tribal council tonight on “Survivor”? The outrageous way those sessions have been going, the council could be the most memorable television tonight. The reality show airs at 8 on CBS.

***”The Tenth Inning,” Ken Burns’ continuation of “Baseball,” turns to the Boston Red Sox’s triumph in the World Series. “Inning” starts at 8 p.m. on PBS.

Parents were “very split” over Katy Perry’s video with Elmo, a “Sesame Street” executive producer told “Good Morning America” this morning. Perry’s low-cut dress angered some parents.

The PBS program decided to cut the video, which was originally to be part of the 41st season premiere on Monday. The program airs at 10 a.m. weekdays on WMFE-Ch. 24.

“Parents’ opinions are very important to us,” executive producer Carol-Lynn Parente told George Stephanopoulos. She explained that the show uses celebrities like Perry to reach young parents. The feedback, which was very divided, surprised the show, Parente added.

Elmo, however, wasn’t split about Perry. “Elmo loves Miss Katy,” he told Stephanopoulos.

“Looks like my play date with  Elmo has been cut short,” Perry said in a Tweet.

Elmo said they would have another play date. And Grover used humor by asking if his outfit was too revealing for “Good Morning America.”

As for Perry’s dress, does it remind you of the top Lynda Carter wore in “Wonder Woman”?

A video of Katy Perry chasing Elmo and singing a parody of “Hot ‘N Cold” won’t air on the season premiere of “Sesame Street.”

Some parents had objected to Perry’s low-cut dress in the video, which you can see on this website. “Sesame Street” starts its 41th season on Monday. It airs at 10 a.m. weekdays on WMFE-Ch. 24.

Sesame Workshop released this statement:

“Sesame Street has a long history of working with celebrities across all genres, including athletes, actors, musicians and artists. Sesame Street has always been written on two levels, for the child and adult. We use parodies and celebrity segments to interest adults in the show because we know that a child learns best when co-viewing with a parent or care-giver. We also value our viewer’s opinions and particularly those of parents. In light of the feedback we’ve received on the Katy Perry music video which was released on YouTube only, we have decided we will not air the segment on the television broadcast of Sesame Street, which is aimed at preschoolers. Katy Perry fans will still be able to view the video on YouTube.”

Perry fans can also see her on the season premiere of “Saturday Night Live” this weekend. Amy Poehler is the host at 11:30 p.m. Saturday.

A radio drive that concluded Friday brought in $228,000, surpassing the $220,000 goal.

“We had an outstanding radio drive,” Jose Fajardo, WMFE president and CEO, said Tuesday. “On television, there’s a completely different story. The TV drives have not been performing well.”

An August television pledge drive fell $130,000 short of a $300,000 goal. WMFE has come back with a couple of smaller drives in September that have raised $75,000 to cut the $130,000 shortfall. There will be another small drive this weekend before the fiscal year ends Sept. 30.

What could a shortfall mean? “There could be additional cuts to the budget. We haven’t gotten to that point,” Fajardo said. “We want to protect the programming.”

Could there be cutbacks in staffing? “I don’t know yet,” Fajardo said. “We are proposing a budget to our board trustees Wednesday night.”

The most recent radio drive was the third since WMFE went to an all-news format. “Each drive has been better than the last,” Fajardo said. “It shows the value of public radio and an all-news format.”

The troubles on the television side reflect a national decline in fund-raising. Fajardo noted that the PBS system was off 22 percent from last August. WMFE, he said, was down 9 percent from last August.

Fajardo said that PBS needs to come up with a fund-raising model that adapts to the hard economic times and the way people watch television these days.

“For radio, we’re very happy with how the market has embraced the all-news format,” Fajardo said. “We’re concerned with television. We hope viewers will respond.”

All those fans who wanted Betty White to host “Saturday Night Live” have another reason to take a bow: The “Golden Girls” star won an Emmy Saturday night for her work on the NBC late-night show.

Awards were handed out in many technical categories, yet the TV academy will save the biggest prizes for Aug. 29 on NBC. (Last night’s honors will be telecast as a two-hour special at 1 p.m. Friday on E!) HBO was last night’s biggest winner with 17 prizes in all — seven of them for the miniseries “The Pacific.” Disney-owned ABC won 15.

White collected her prize for guest-star role in a comedy series. It was the sixth Emmy for White in her long career — she was first nominated in 1951 — and it came in a year when she reminded the public of her comic skill, remarkable energy and bawdy humor.

Neil Patrick Harris won the male comedy award for Fox’s “Glee” and shared an award when the Tony telecast on CBS was named an outstanding program (Harris was host). The prizes were the first Emmys for the former child actor. Harris is also a nominee next weekend for supporting comedy actor on “How I Met Your Mother.”

As widely expected, John Lithgow was honored as outstanding guest actor in a drama series for his bravura turn as a serial killer on Showtime’s “Dexter.” It was his fifth Emmy victory.

Ann-Margret collected the dramatic award for NBC’s “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.” It was her first Emmy after six nominations, including one for the 1983 TV movie “Who Will Love My Children?” In one of the most memorable moments in Emmy history, winner Barbara Stanwyck (for “The Thorn Birds”) saluted Ann-Margret from the stage that year.

Jeff Probst won his third Emmy in a row as reality host for CBS’ “Survivor.”

The Old Spice spot — “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” — was named top commercial. It features the shirtless actor Isaiah Mustafa in front of a series of shifting backdrops.

Continue reading Betty White, Ann-Margret, John Lithgow, Jeff Probst win Emmys; so do Old Spice commercial and Neil Patrick Harris »

What did you think of last night’s “South Pacific” on PBS?

That broadcast gave you a glimpse of the best Broadway has to offer.

Yes, nothing can duplicate the feeling of sitting in the theater and seeing that stunning production unfold on that vast stage.

Even so, PBS’ “Live From Lincoln Center” brought one of the greatest Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals into millions of homes. And viewers were treated to some of the finest Broadway singing, courtesy of Kelli O’Hara (as Nellie Forbush) and Tony-winner Paulo Szot (as Emile de Becque).

In this market, “South Pacific” was the 16th most-watched program last night on broadcast television. It was far behind No. 1 “America’s Got Talent” (with 141,400 viewers) and No. 2 “Big Brother” (110,400). Was that “Big Brother” a nasty piece of drama or what?

“South Pacific” pulled in 34,200 viewers. But the ratings don’t reflect the sublime pleasures that top-notch programs often supply.

A preliminary national number should be out before noon. 

If you didn’t catch “South Pacific,” it will repeat three times Friday on WMFE Encore: at 6 a.m., 10:30 a.m. and  3 p.m.

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist has a revealing interview with PBS’ Tavis Smiley tonight.

Smiley asks why Crist left the Republican Party to run as an Independent for the U.S. Senate.

“I’ve really been asked the question in several ways, and one is did I leave the party or did the party leave me? I think the party left me,” Crist says.

Crist added, “When it got to the point where the party said, you’re not conservative and then took it a step further and said, well maybe you’re not pure enough and I’m like what, wait? This is not something I recognize or necessarily want to embrace. And I want to be careful here because I don’t think that’s where all Republicans are. I think that’s more where some activists in the party are. And I think that most Republicans, particularly most general election Republicans as opposed to primary Republicans take that more civil view. As do most Democrats as do most Independents in this country. So I think it was an evolution.”

“Tavis Smiley” airs at midnight on WMFE-Ch. 24.

Want a fantastic deal this week? Look to PBS.

The Broadway revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “South Pacific” will play at 8 p.m. Wednesday. The celebrated 1949 musical, chronicling a couple of World War II love stories, gained wide popularity for a score that includes “Some Enchanted Evening,” “Bali Ha’i,” “There Is Nothing Like a Dame” and “Younger Than Springtime.”

But the 1958 movie version was a disappointment because of distracting  gels and blah direction. A 2001 TV movie featured a miscast Glenn Close. (I started that review, “Whoa, Nellie.”)

This tremendous, Tony-winning revival reminded people why the musical had been a big deal in the first place. (My mother still talks about seeing Mary Martin in the original.)

Kelli O’Hara, one of Broadway’s best singers, plays Navy nurse Nellie Forbush.  Tony-winner Paulo Szot portrays Emile de Becque, the older man who falls for Nellie. She is determined to wash that man right out of her hair, but gains lessons in love and tolerance. (Szot and O’Hara are pictured in this AP Photo/Philip Rinaldi Publicity/Joan Marcus.)

On television, the musical plays as part of the “Live From Lincoln Center” series. If you love Broadway musicals, do not miss it.

Continue reading This week: ‘South Pacific’ offers some enchanted evening; ‘The Big C’ arrives; ‘Weeds’ returns; TCM salutes Paul Newman »

Dave Grohl performing “Band on the Run” is just one of the highlights from tonight’s PBS special saluting Paul McCartney. The event, taped in June at the White House, also features performances by McCartney (he sings “Michelle” to honor the first lady), Stevie Wonder, Emmylou Harris, Herbie Hancock, Elvis Costello, Faith Hill, Jonas Brothers, Corinne Bailey Rae, Lang Lang and Jack White. Jerry Seinfeld makes remarks. The program airs at 8 p.m. on WMFE-Ch. 24 and repeats at 9:30 p.m.

How about Adam Lambert and Susan Boyle in the same show?

You can catch them Wednesday when Oprah Winfrey repeats a January show about big breaks. Before the show first aired, the Winfrey P.R. machine said Lambert will give his “first show-stopping performance of 2010.”

He was the runner-up on “American Idol.” Boyle was the runner-up on “Britain’s Got Talent,” although she became a sensation via the Internet.

“The Oprah Winfrey Show” airs at 4 p.m. weekdays on WFTV-Channel 9.

Today, Winfrey repeats her show about the NBC series “Who Do You Think You Are” from executive producer Lisa Kudrow. The show helps celebrities (Kudrow, Susan Sarandon, Brooke Shields) learn more about their ancestors. Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. is another guest, and he has looked at family histories in PBS specials.

Kenneth Friend Jr. of St. Cloud raves over “History Detectives.”

“They did a great job,” he says. “It’s amazing, the stuff they do.”

The review is personal: The PBS show recounts the heroism of his father, Kenneth Friend, in the Korean War. The program airs at 9 p.m. Monday on WMFE-Ch. 24.

Through the program, the son learned about 30 crucial seconds in his dad’s life. Kenneth Friend  used his helmet, jumped on a grenade and saved five other men. Miraculously, Friend survived, too. Though disabled, he came home and fathered five children.  

“His family was totally amazed,” his son said.

But before his death in 1976, he rarely talked about what happened in the war. As a boy, Kenneth Friend Jr. (who is pictured) heard his dad discuss what had happened a few times to his brothers. The St. Cloud man, who is 50, has done a lot of research on his father and the battle in which he was wounded.

In “History Detectives,” Rhonda McAuliffe of Plattsmouth, Neb., wants to know more about the man who saved her father’s life. She meets his son, and now she is pushing for the Medal of Honor for the war hero.

Kenneth Friend Jr. is working with her and the Korean War Veterans Association to secure the honor for his dad. Friend’s mother has seen the program, too, and likes it. “She just feels he was never recognized for what he did,” Friend says.

It’s another career milestone for Winter Haven’s Karen Olivo. She won a Tony for the Broadway revival of “West Side Story” last year. She performed at the White House Monday night.

She was part of a starry lineup for “A Broadway Celebration: In Performance at the White House,” which will air Oct. 20 on PBS.

Olivo and dancers from “West Side Story” performed “America.”

The other performers included Nathan Lane, Elaine Stritch (who sang “Broadway Baby” and “I’m Still Here”), four-time Tony winner Audra McDonald of “Private Practice,” Tonya Pinkins, Chad Kimball of “Memphis” and Idina Menzel (who delivered “Defying Gravity” from “Wicked”). Stritch is pictured in this Getty Images photo by Kevin Dietsch.

Host Lane, who is appearing in “The Addams Family,” thanked President Barack Obama and his family for supporting Broadway. “After Lincoln, presidents haven’t exactly raced to the theater,” Lane joked.

Obama praised the optimism of musicals and urged viewers to go to see a show.

The other performances included Assata Alston, who is 12, on “Gimme Gimme” from ”Thoroughly Modern Millie”; Brian d’Arcy James on Irving Berlin’s “Blue Skies”; McDonald on “Can’t Stop Talking About Him” and “Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe”; Kimball on “Memphis Lives in Me”; Pinkins on “Gonna Pass Me a Law” from “Caroline, or Change”; Lane on “Free” from “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum”; Menzel and Marvin Hamlisch on “What I Did for Love” from “A Chorus Line”; and the Joy of Motion Dance Center on “You Can’t Stop the Beat” from “Hairspray.”