Audra McDonald

PLEASE NOTE: Proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test is required to enter this event for guests 12 years of age and older. Additionally, all guests, staff and volunteers (3 years of age and older) are required to wear masks at all times, regardless of vaccination status. Please click here to read the full COVID-19 policy for this event.

Audra McDonald is unparalleled in the breadth and versatility of her artistry as both a singer and an actor. The winner of a record-breaking six Tony Awards, two Grammy Awards and an Emmy, in 2015 she received a National Medal of Arts from President Barack Obama and was named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people. She won Tonys for her performances in Carousel, Master Class, Ragtime, A Raisin in the Sun, The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess and Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill, which also served as the vehicle for her Olivier-nominated 2017 West End debut. On television, McDonald won an Emmy as the official host of PBS’s Live From Lincoln Center; she can currently be seen as Liz Lawrence in The Good Fight on Paramount+; and she stars in Spectrum’s pandemic-themed drama, The Bite. Her film credits include Disney’s live-action Beauty and the Beast and MGM’s 2021 Aretha Franklin biopic, Respect. A Juilliard-trained soprano, McDonald maintains a major career as a Grammy-winning recording and concert artist. Her latest solo album, Sing Happy, was recorded live with the New York Philharmonic for Decca Gold. A founding member of Black Theatre United, board member of Covenant House International, and prominent advocate for LGBTQAI+ rights, her favorite roles are those performed offstage, as an activist, wife to actor Will Swenson, and mother.

©21C Media Group, October 2021

Photography: Allison Michael Orenstein