Best-bets for May 12: 50 years of Broadway joy

1) “Great Performances,” 9 p.m., PBS. Celebrating its first 50 years, the show has new performances of songs from a half-century of Broadway musicals. Sutton Foster hosts and sings beautifully. There’s zesty dancing to music from “Dancin'” (shown here), “Sophisticated Ladies,” “Jelly’s Last Jam” and more. There are great voices, old (Norm Lewis, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Raul Esparza) and new (Ledisi, Solea Pfeiffer, Mamie Parris, more), plus a dandy blitz from Rob McClure. Read more…

1) “Great Performances,” 9 p.m., PBS. Celebrating its first 50 years, the show has new performances of songs from a half-century of Broadway musicals. Sutton Foster hosts and sings beautifully. There’s zesty dancing to music from “Dancin'” (shown here), “Sophisticated Ladies,” “Jelly’s Last Jam” and more. There are great voices, old (Norm Lewis, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Raul Esparza) and new (Ledisi, Solea Pfeiffer, Mamie Parris, more), plus a dandy blitz from Rob McClure.

2) “Fire Country,” 9 p.m., CBS. In each of the season’s final two episodes (tonight and next week), the show will have two original duets by Miranda Lambert and Dierks Bentley. Tonight’s hour sees a backfire (set by a private company to protect a high-end winery) go out of control. Bentley sings the lead on “Saved,” Lambert on “Still Burning,” which she co-wrote.

3) “SWAT,” 8 p.m., CBS. This starts a two-parter that concludes next week. The team works with a tough Drug Enforcement Administration boss (played by Oscar-winner Timothy Hutton) on a massive gang sweep – then finds that a fierce cartel is endangering lives.

4) “Blue Bloods,” 10 p.m., CBS. Here’s one more show that will wrap its season next week. (CBS has renewed it and “Fire Country” for next season, but won’t be bringing “SWAT” back.) Tonight, Lenny Ross (Treat Williams) is back in town; his friend, the police commissioner (Tom Selleck), is suspicious.

5) ALSO: The three-week “Jeopardy Masters” tournament wraps its first week at 8 p.m. on ABC; the other two weeks will only be Monday-through-Wednesday. The Paramount Network has “Titanic” at 8 and IFC visits the golden age of teen movies. It has “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” (1982) at 7:15 p.m., “Sixteen Candles” (1984) at 9:15 and “The Breakfast Club” (1985) at 11:15.
— Mike Hughes, TV America

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