SUZANNE VEGA’S LOVER, BELOVED MAKES BROADCAST PREMIERE

AVAILABLE VIA PUBLIC TELEVISION STATIONS AND THE PBS APP STARTING FEBURARY 28

MICHAEL TULLY-DIRECTED FILM BRINGS VEGA’S ONE-WOMAN STAGE SHOW ABOUT CARSON MCCULLERS TO THE SCREEN

“This concert film of sorts allows Vega to do her tribute show one more time and captures the whole shebang for posterity. It’s worth it just for ‘Harper Lee,’ an infectiously catchy song in which McCullers drags most of her literary peers through the dirt.”—Rolling Stone

“Directed with an unobtrusive charm by Austin filmmaker
Michael Tully (Don’t Leave Home, Ping Pong Summer), Lover, Beloved is an earnest love letter to a literary eccentric uniquely skilled in illuminating the more forlorn regions of that restless four-chambered organ.”—The Austin Chronicle

“This film version, directed brilliantly by Michael Tully, is a great portrait of an artist, and a lovely education about McCullers’ life and work. The songs are terrific and memorable, and it’s anchored by a truly remarkable performance by Vega, who is simply extraordinary in it...Watching Suzanne Vega in this thing is pure magic...she is funny, heartbreaking, beautiful, and brassy as hell in a role that shows quite a range (and a nice use of a southern accent). The film is truly great and, as far as Vega is concerned, the term that immediately comes to mind is: tour de force.”—Nick Digilio | WGN Radio

February 17, 2026—Lover, Beloved, the critically acclaimed film adaptation of celebrated songwriter Suzanne Vega’s acclaimed one-woman stage show about the life of great 20th-century American writer Carson McCullers—directed by Michael Tully (Ping Pong Summer, Septien, Don’t Leave Home)—is set to make its broadcast debut. The film will be available via Public Television Stations and the PBS App starting February 28. It airs on WNET’s All Arts TV in New York City beginning March 24 and via its presenting station Austin PBS on March 19; check local listings for dates and times in additional markets.

Following its world debut at SXSW in 2022, the film was the subject of critical acclaim Rolling Stone, the Austin Chronicle, WGN, Film Threat, Forward and more. See what the press has said HERE.

Vega—having long championed independence, not being too restricted by traditional boundaries—has been fascinated not only by McCullers’ story, but by the intensity and aesthetic of the writer. In this experimental blend of film, theater and music, Vega fictionalizes a talk McCullers gave at the 92nd Street Y in New York City, making it two separate talks at two different points in the author’s life. During the first, in 1941, she drinks her way through the lecture, revealing messy romances and illnesses. In the second, 25 years later, she confronts her mortality, reminiscing on her novel and play The Member of The Wedding, as well as on her twice-failed marriage and romances with members of both sexes—ending on the credo she forged with her husband. The film features songs by Vega and Duncan Sheik.<br />
Vega emerged as a leading figure of the folk-music revival of the early 1980s. Since the release of her self-titled, critically acclaimed 1985 debut album, she has written and recorded numerous songs that have become part of the contemporary music vernacular, including “Luka,” “Marlene on the Wall” and “Tom’s Diner,” an a cappella piece that was remixed by U.K. electronic dance duo DNA and became a major club hit. It remains an oft-sampled and covered standard by artists across the musical spectrum. Her albums, including her self-titled debut, follow-up Solitude Standing and 99.9F have sold millions of copies worldwide. Vega’s most recent album, 2025’s Flying With Angels, is out now on Cooking Vinyl to critical acclaim from The New York Times, Rolling Stone, New York Magazine, Forbes and more.

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LOVER, BELOVED CREDITS

Louis Black Productions and Arts + Labor present:
Lover, Beloved
Written and Performed by: Suzanne Vega
Based on the works of Carson McCullers
and with the cooperation of:
Columbus State University’s Carson McCullers Center for Writers and Musicians
and the Literary Heirs of Carson McCullers
Director of Photography: Amy Bench
Production Design: Lisa Laratta & Bart Magrum
Editor: Michael Carter
Music/Songs: Suzanne Vega & Duncan Sheik
Arrangements: Jason Hart
Associate Producers: Carmen Bratu, Collins Swords
Executive Producers: Kristin Johansen-Berg, Dan Braun, Lonnie Cooper, Sheila Newsom, Suzanne Vega
Produced by: Alan Berg, Louis Black, Rachael Trigg
Directed by: Michael Tully