Singer/songwriter Nellie McKay has made a name for herself setting witty, politically savvy lyrics, tongue firmly in cheek, to catchy music reminiscent of Brill Building tunesmiths. (Evidence of this can be found on Audra McDonald's 2006 album Build a Bridge, on which she sings McKay's "I Wanna Get Married.") Nellie tells HARP magazine that she modeled her new album after "proletarian anthems and the fact that I was hoping to become the Ry Cooder of the ukulele."

There's no doubt about what New York Post writer Adam Buckman will be doing on February 25: watching ABC's TV-movie version of A Raisin in the Sun, starring Audra McDonald and her co-stars from the play's 2004 Broadway revival: Sean "Diddy" Combs, Phylicia Rashad, and Sanaa Lathan. Buckman calls the movie "so rewarding that it figures to be the cultural high point of the current TV season." After attending a private screening of the film, Buckman was "blown away," calling the performances "top-drawer."

The LA Opera production of Brecht/Weill's Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, which starred Audra McDonald and Patti LuPone and ran through February 2007, will air December 17 as part of the Great Performances series on New York's PBS station Thirteen/WNET. It will be available on DVD the following day. The production was directed by John Doyle, who also helmed the recent Broadway revivals of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd (starring LuPone) and Company.

Playbill.com reports that ABC's Private Practice, the Grey’s Anatomy spin-off starring Audra McDonald, has been picked up for a full season. The show, which airs Wednesday nights at 9 PM EST, will add nine new episodes for a total of 22 shows this season. Audra was among the performers last night at a gala benefit for the Motion Picture & Television Fund hosted by Catherine Zeta-Jones and Hugh Jackman. The MPTF offers retirement care and social services for people in the entertainment industry.

Audra McDonald will guest co-host The View tomorrow, September 26, and will perform “Bein’ Green” from her latest Nonesuch album, Build a Bridge, at the end of the show. A profile of McDonald aired on Saturday, September 23, on NPR's All Things Considered. Additionally, NPR has prepared a special webpage, with pictures, extra interview audio, and a few songs from the new album.