On Monday June 4 Audra will join President Barack Obama and former President Bill Clinton along with a host of other Broadway luminaries at the New Amsterdam Theatre for “Barack on Broadway,” a fundraiser for the President’s re-election campaign. Audra will appear alongside other stars of the stage and screen, including Patti LuPone, Angela Lansbury, Tony Kushner, Megan Hilty, Cheyenne Jackson, Stockard Channing, Kerry Butler, Neil Patrick Harris, and James Earl Jones, among others.

The new Broadway cast recording of The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess is now available online and in stores from PR Classics. In its review of the album, the Los Angeles Times wrote: “The recording of this Tony-nominated revival… preserves Audra McDonald’s wrenching performance. The beauty and tragedy of this [story] are captured in this recording of a landmark performance by a Broadway legend who, thankfully, is just entering her prime.” Buy the album from Amazon or iTunes.

On May 18 the Drama League bestowed its annual Distinguished Performance Award to  Audra for her role in the Broadway revival of The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, currently running at the Richard Rodgers Theatre. The announcement was made at a ceremony at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square. Audra was among 40 other nominees considered for the Drama League’s honor, which is given to an artist only once during his or her career.

Audra also received the Outer Critics Circle award in the category of “Outstanding Actress in a Musical” for her portrayal of Bess in The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess.

Audra McDonald will be the guest on today’s episode of NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross, where she talks about her performance as Bess in the current Broadway revival of The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, for which she has received rave reviews as well as a Tony nomination for Best Leading Actress in a Musical. Tune in to your local NPR station to hear Fresh Air or listen online at npr.org, where the show will be available this evening.

Audra is also the subject of a profile on the cover of this past Sunday’s New York Times Arts & Leisure section highlighting the Tony Award nominees. Times writer Patrick Healy visits her at home to talk about her career on Broadway and on television’s Private Practice and the vital role her family plays both on and off stage.

Freedom to Marry – an advocacy organization dedicated to increasing the national majority for marriage equality and to ending federal marriage discrimination – released this video message of Audra sharing her thoughts on why she supports President Obama’s announcement of his support for equal rights in marriage. Take a look.

Four-time Tony Award-winning singer and actress Audra McDonald has been nominated for a 2012 Tony Award in the category of “Best Leading Actress in a Musical” for her role as Bess in The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess. Describing her performance as “a major work of musical portraiture,” and citing the soprano’s “God-touched voice,” the New York Times wrote: “For devastating impact, it’s hard to imagine any hurricane matching the tempest that is the extraordinary Audra McDonald’s Bess.” The production – directed by Diane Paulus, co-starring Norm Lewis as Porgy and David Alan Grier as Sporting Life, and currently running at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway, has also been nominated for “Best Revival of a Musical,” “Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical” (Norm Lewis), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical” (Phillip Boykin and David Alan Grier), “Best Costume Design of a Musical” (ESosa), “Best Lighting Design of a Musical” (Christopher Akerlind), “Best Sound Design of a Musical” (Acme Sound Partners), “Best Direction of a Musical” (Diane Paulus), and “Best Orchestrations” (William David Brohn and Christopher Janke). The other 2012 nominees in the category of “Best Leading Actress in a Musical” are Jan Maxwell (Follies), Cristin Milioti (Once), Kelli O’Hara (Nice Work If You Can Get It), and Laura Osnes (Bonnie & Clyde). Continue reading