Top Picks: the Maccabees' album 'Marks to Prove It,' PBS's 'Mary Tyler Moore: A Celebration,' and more
West End live
The Tony Award-winning show 鈥淏illy Elliot鈥� comes to your living room with the PBS broadcast of Oct. 23 at 9 p.m. The musical centers on a young boy who lives in a rough-and-tumble British mining town yet dreams of becoming a dancer. This program was recorded in London鈥檚 West End and stars acclaimed British stage actress Ruthie Henshall.
Workingwoman
Generations familiar with the classic sitcom 鈥淭he Mary Tyler Moore Show鈥� will appreciate a PBS special honoring the pioneering Moore on the show鈥檚 35th anniversary. looks at the wide-ranging influence of a show that depicted an unmarried working-
woman. Moore and other costars share behind-the-scenes stories. It airs Oct. 13 at 8 p.m.
Hip-hop hit
Can鈥檛 get tickets to the Broadway hit Hamilton but curious what all the fuss is about? In 2009, 鈥淗amilton鈥� writer, composer, and star Lin-Manuel Miranda performed at the White House Poetry Jam and offered a sneak peek at his hip-hop project depicting America鈥檚 Founding Fathers. Check out Miranda performing an early version of one of his 鈥淗amilton鈥� musical numbers at . (Note: There鈥檚 some adult language.)聽
London鈥檚 latest
The Maccabees鈥� 鈥� a hit album in Britain 鈥� tells the stories of down-and-out residents in an up-and-coming London suburb. That may sound as bracing as a December dip in the Thames. But these dynamic indie-rock anthems celebrate small moments of everyday grace. On 鈥淪low Sun,鈥� rousing trumpet accompanies a recording of early morning commuters on the subway. Singer Orlando Weeks croons, 鈥淲hile the company owns you/ You know she adores you/ and that鈥檚 real enough.鈥澛�
Costello chronicles
A true-to-life Zelig of pop music, Elvis Costello seems to pop up everywhere, collaborating with everyone from Paul McCartney to Burt Bacharach to Tony Bennett. Costello鈥檚 idiosyncratic autobiography, , traces his childhood as the son of London jazzman Ross McManus, through his struggles to find his own place in music, to his arrival as a new wave superstar in the late 1970s, to his post-hits career as a ubiquitous scenemaker. It鈥檚 a fascinating tale, pulsing with wit and wisdom.聽
