Audra McDonald to Host Kennedy Center’s 50th Anniversary Celebration Concert

The Kennedy Center’s 50th Anniversary Celebration Concert will be held on September 14 and broadcast on October 1 at 9PM ET on PBS, PBS.org and the PBS video app. This special celebration will be hosted by six-time Tony winner Audra McDonald with special guest Caroline Kennedy and feature the National Symphony Orchestra. The concert will be directed and choreographed by Joshua Bergasse and feature conductors JoAnn Falletta, Steven Reineke and Thomas Wilkins.

The concert will feature performances from a slew of stars, including the original cast of David Henry Hwang and Jeanine Tesori’s Soft Power, Kelli O'Hara, Renée Fleming, Flying Over Sunset-bound star Tony Yazbeck, The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical creators Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear and more.

“I am delighted that viewers across the country will be able to take part in the 50th Anniversary of the Kennedy Center through this special PBS broadcast,” said Kennedy Center president Deborah Rutter in a statement. "This promises to be an unmissable evening in celebration of the National Cultural Center and memorial to John F. Kennedy."

As previously reported, the 44th Kennedy Center Honors will be presented to Tony winner Bette Midler, Motown trailblazer Berry Gordy, Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels, music legend Joni Mitchell and operatic bass-baritone Justino Díaz. They will be celebrated in a star-studded salute featuring today's leading performers on December 5. The ceremony will be recorded for broadcast on CBS at a later date for the 44th consecutive year as a two-hour primetime special and will be available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+.