David Bianculli

That was Music from the Simpsons by composer and orchestrator Alf Klassen. He spoke with Terry Gross in 1997, and she asked him how he worked with the writers of The Simpsons, who provided the delightful lyrics.

Alf Klassen, longtime composer, arranger, and orchestrator for The Simpsons, speaking with Terry Gross in 1997. He died last week at age 84. Coming up, I discuss George Clooney's Broadway hit Good Night and Good Luck, which CNN is televising live Saturday night. This is Fresh Air.

Alf Klassen, longtime composer, arranger, and orchestrator for The Simpsons, speaking with Terry Gross in 1997. He died last week at age 84. Coming up, I discuss George Clooney's Broadway hit Good Night and Good Luck, which CNN is televising live Saturday night. This is Fresh Air.

Alf Klassen, longtime composer, arranger, and orchestrator for The Simpsons, speaking with Terry Gross in 1997. He died last week at age 84. Coming up, I discuss George Clooney's Broadway hit Good Night and Good Luck, which CNN is televising live Saturday night. This is Fresh Air.

This Saturday, CNN is presenting a live telecast directly from Broadway featuring George Clooney as pioneering CBS newsman Edward R. Murrow in the stage drama Good Night and Good Luck. CNN is promoting the telecast as unprecedented. That's somewhat debatable. But what isn't debatable is that it's the TV event of the season and not to be missed.

This Saturday, CNN is presenting a live telecast directly from Broadway featuring George Clooney as pioneering CBS newsman Edward R. Murrow in the stage drama Good Night and Good Luck. CNN is promoting the telecast as unprecedented. That's somewhat debatable. But what isn't debatable is that it's the TV event of the season and not to be missed.

This Saturday, CNN is presenting a live telecast directly from Broadway featuring George Clooney as pioneering CBS newsman Edward R. Murrow in the stage drama Good Night and Good Luck. CNN is promoting the telecast as unprecedented. That's somewhat debatable. But what isn't debatable is that it's the TV event of the season and not to be missed.

Live TV broadcasts of stage dramas, comedies, and musicals are as old as television itself. That's not an exaggeration. A musical written expressly for TV called The Boys from Boise was broadcast by New York's Dumont Station in 1944, back when television still was considered experimental. In 1955, NBC presented a live-staged version of Peter Pan, a musical starring Mary Martin.

Live TV broadcasts of stage dramas, comedies, and musicals are as old as television itself. That's not an exaggeration. A musical written expressly for TV called The Boys from Boise was broadcast by New York's Dumont Station in 1944, back when television still was considered experimental. In 1955, NBC presented a live-staged version of Peter Pan, a musical starring Mary Martin.

Live TV broadcasts of stage dramas, comedies, and musicals are as old as television itself. That's not an exaggeration. A musical written expressly for TV called The Boys from Boise was broadcast by New York's Dumont Station in 1944, back when television still was considered experimental. In 1955, NBC presented a live-staged version of Peter Pan, a musical starring Mary Martin.

But that was a Broadway musical that had closed one week earlier to prepare for the live telecast. In 1983, the PBS series American Playhouse presented a live version of Thornton Wilder's The Skin of Our Teeth, starring Blair Brown. That was broadcast directly from the Old Globe Theater, but the Globe was in San Diego, not on Broadway.

But that was a Broadway musical that had closed one week earlier to prepare for the live telecast. In 1983, the PBS series American Playhouse presented a live version of Thornton Wilder's The Skin of Our Teeth, starring Blair Brown. That was broadcast directly from the Old Globe Theater, but the Globe was in San Diego, not on Broadway.

But that was a Broadway musical that had closed one week earlier to prepare for the live telecast. In 1983, the PBS series American Playhouse presented a live version of Thornton Wilder's The Skin of Our Teeth, starring Blair Brown. That was broadcast directly from the Old Globe Theater, but the Globe was in San Diego, not on Broadway.

Many TV presentations of Broadway shows over the years were filmed or pre-recorded, not performed live. Modern TV musicals that weren't pre-recorded, such as Alison Williams and Christopher Walken in NBC's Peter Pan Live in 2014, were staged expressly for TV. One nationally distributed live performance that did emanate directly from Broadway was a 2016 production of the musical She Loves Me.

Many TV presentations of Broadway shows over the years were filmed or pre-recorded, not performed live. Modern TV musicals that weren't pre-recorded, such as Alison Williams and Christopher Walken in NBC's Peter Pan Live in 2014, were staged expressly for TV. One nationally distributed live performance that did emanate directly from Broadway was a 2016 production of the musical She Loves Me.

Many TV presentations of Broadway shows over the years were filmed or pre-recorded, not performed live. Modern TV musicals that weren't pre-recorded, such as Alison Williams and Christopher Walken in NBC's Peter Pan Live in 2014, were staged expressly for TV. One nationally distributed live performance that did emanate directly from Broadway was a 2016 production of the musical She Loves Me.

But that was live-streamed, not televised. So when CNN says of Good Night and Good Luck that, for the first time ever, Broadway goes live on television, it's being very careful with its wording. No matter, I'm really excited about this special TV event.

But that was live-streamed, not televised. So when CNN says of Good Night and Good Luck that, for the first time ever, Broadway goes live on television, it's being very careful with its wording. No matter, I'm really excited about this special TV event.

But that was live-streamed, not televised. So when CNN says of Good Night and Good Luck that, for the first time ever, Broadway goes live on television, it's being very careful with its wording. No matter, I'm really excited about this special TV event.

Good Night and Good Luck, written by George Clooney and his production partner Grant Heslov, is based on the story of broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow, who set the standards for excellence in news reporting for the entire industry. First as a CBS radio reporter during World War II, then as the host of the TV news magazine See It Now in the 1950s.