Audra McDonald’s Concert Tour of Broadway Favorites Continues Through Fall and Winter 2023-24

(September 2023) — In the breadth and versatility of her artistry as both a singer and actor, Audra McDonald is in a class by herself. The winner of a record-breaking six Tony Awards, two Grammy Awards and an Emmy Award, in 2015 she was named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people and received the National Medal of Arts – America’s highest honor for achievement in the field – from President Barack Obama. This fall and winter, following sold-out shows at London’s Palladium and New York’s Carnegie Hall, she continues touring her “Evening with Audra McDonald” performances with orchestras around the country and in Canada, in cities including Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and Toronto, a favorite location to which she returns after a prolonged absence. Interspersed with her large-scale performances are a few more intimate concerts with piano only, including at New York’s 92NY. For two evenings at that venue, McDonald presents a career retrospective to celebrate the 30th anniversary of her professional debut in New York, incorporating conversation and storytelling with longtime music director and collaborator, leading Broadway conductor Andy Einhorn, as well as clips from past performances. Einhorn will be on the podium for orchestral performances throughout the tour, and will accompany on piano for all but one of the solo evenings.

A Juilliard-trained soprano, in addition to her ongoing stage, film and television work, McDonald maintains a major career as a recording and concert artist with an incomparable gift for dramatic truth-telling; her latest solo album, Sing Happy, was recorded live with the New York Philharmonic in 2018 for Decca Gold. Besides being a record-breaker with her six Tony wins, she is also the only person to ever win awards in all four Tony acting categories (leading & supporting actress, in both the play and musical categories); she was recognized for star turns in Carousel, Master Class, Ragtime, A Raisin in the Sun, The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, and Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill. The latter production – which was filmed for broadcast on HBO – tells the story of Billie Holiday’s life through the songs that made her famous. As the Wall Street Journal unequivocally declared: “Audra McDonald is the finest stage actress of her generation. She is nothing short of magnificent.” On television, she won an Emmy as the official host of PBS’s Live From Lincoln Center, starred as Liz Reddick in The Good Fight, and currently guest stars in HBO’s 2022 historical drama The Gilded Age. Her film credits include Disney’s live-action Beauty and the Beast and MGM’s 2021 Aretha Franklin biopic, Respect.

In addition to her professional obligations, McDonald is a passionate advocate for equal rights, LGBTQIA+ causes and at-risk youth. In 2020, after the brutal killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, McDonald co-founded Black Theatre United – a nonprofit social advocacy organization that empowers the Black community through social action, influences widespread reform, and combats systemic racism within the theater industry and nationwide. The Human Rights Campaign, America’s largest civil rights organization for LGBTQIA+ equality, has recognized her work with its 2009 Ally for Equality Award and its 2018 National Equality Award. As a member since 2014 of the International Board of Directors of Covenant House, which oversees programs for young people experiencing homelessness in 34 cities in six countries across the United States, Canada and Latin America, McDonald actively devotes her time and talents to spreading awareness about the organization’s work. For her ongoing contributions to the cause, in 2017 she was honored alongside Chelsea Clinton, Gayle King and Blake Lively as one of Variety magazine’s “Power of Women,” before receiving Covenant House’s Beacon of Hope Award the following year.

High-resolution photos are provided here.

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“An Evening with Audra McDonald”: 2023-24 tour dates
Sep 8
Burlington, VT
The Flynn Center
Andy Einhorn, piano

Sep 15–17
Kansas City, MO
Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts
Kansas City Symphony
Andy Einhorn, conductor

Sep 22
Mesa, AZ
Mesa Arts Center
Andy Einhorn, piano

Sep 23
Denver, CO
Boettcher Concert Hall
Colorado Symphony
Andy Einhorn, conductor

Oct 3
Philadelphia, PA
Kimmel Center, Verizon Hall
The Philadelphia Orchestra
Andy Einhorn, conductor

Oct 6
Chicago, IL
Lyric Opera House
Lyric Opera Orchestra
Andy Einhorn, conductor

Oct 8
Cincinnati, OH
Music Hall
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
Andy Einhorn, conductor

Oct 12 & 13
New York, NY
92NY
Andy Einhorn, piano

Oct 22
Boston, MA
Symphony Hall
Celebrity Series of Boston
Andy Einhorn, conductor

Nov 2
Toronto, Ontario
Roy Thomson Hall
Toronto Symphony Orchestra
Andy Einhorn, conductor

Nov 4
Minneapolis, MN
Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
Andy Einhorn, conductor

Nov 9
Ogden, UT
Val A. Browning Center
Utah Symphony
Andy Einhorn, conductor

Nov 10 & 11
Salt Lake City, UT
Abravanel Hall
Utah Symphony
Andy Einhorn, conductor

Nov 29
San Francisco, CA
Davies Symphony Hall
San Francisco Symphony
Andy Einhorn, conductor

Nov 30
Santa Barbara, CA
Campbell Hall – UC Santa Barbara
Andy Einhorn, piano

Dec 2
Los Angeles, CA
Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
Los Angeles Opera
Andy Einhorn, conductor

Dec 5
Seattle, WA
Benaroya Hall
Seattle Symphony
Andy Einhorn, conductor

Jan 21
New Brunswick, NJ
State Theatre New Jersey
Andy Einhorn, piano

Jan 30
Washington, DC
Kennedy Center
National Symphony Orchestra
Andy Einhorn, conductor

Feb 23
Brookville, NY
Tilles Center
Jeremy Jordan, piano

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© 21C Media Group, September 2023