Barbara Cook Memorial to Include Performances from Audra McDonald, Kelli O'Hara & More

A Tribute to Barbara Cook, a memorial to the late Tony-winning star, will take place on December 18 at 5:00pm at Broadway's Vivian Beaumont Theater. Audra McDonald, Kelli O’Hara, Renée Fleming, Norm Lewis, Jessica Molaskey, John Pizzarelli and Vanessa Williams are scheduled to perform at the public event set to be directed by James Lapine. Free tickets (with a limit of two per person) will be available at the Beaumont on December 11 at 12:00 noon.

Legendary soprano and theater star Cook passed away on August 8. On Broadway, she is known for originating the roles of Marian Paroo in The Music Man (for which she earned the Tony Award), Amalia Balash in She Loves Me, among many others. She also appeared in Broadway revues, concerts and specials including Sondheim on Sondheim, Barbara Cook's Broadway!, Mostly Sondheim and Barbara Cook: A Concert for the Theatre. Her additional credits on Broadway included The Grass Harp, The Gay Life, Carousel, Oklahoma! and Flahooley. Over her long career the Grammy winner released scores of recordings and in 2017 published Then and Now: A Memoir.

Also scheduled to participate in the December 18 tribute are Cook’s son, Adam LeGrant; producer Roy Furman; lyricist Sheldon Harnick; Michael Kaiser, president emeritus of the Kennedy Center; actor Frank Langella and actress Jane Summerhays.