The 2025 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition is headed for a streaming-style docuseries, and Jeff Goldblum will be the voice guiding viewers through it.
The Cliburn announced Thursday morning that the actor, known for *Jurassic Park*, *Independence Day* and *Wicked* and also a working jazz pianist, will narrate *Exit Stage Right*, a five-episode series produced with Framework Productions. Steven Pierce, the company's founder, directed it and co-created the series.
From the draw to the concertos
The episodes track the competition the way it unfolded in Fort Worth: the opening draw, the preliminary round, the quarterfinals and semifinals, and a final in which six pianists each played two concertos with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Marin Alsop.
Competitors featured include Aristo Sham, Vitaly Starikov, Carter Johnson, Angel Stanislav Wang, Chaeyoung Park and Yanjun Chen, according to the Cliburn. The series sets their weeks onstage beside the touring lives of earlier Cliburn winners, among them Beatrice Rana, Haochen Zhang, Yekwon Sunwoo, Olga Kern, Jon Nakamatsu and Anna Geniushene.
Commentary comes from Alsop, pianist Stephen Hough, conductor Leonard Slatkin, Wu Han, Anne-Marie McDermott, Clive Gillinson of Carnegie Hall and John Gilhooly of London's Wigmore Hall.
Filming is complete, and the producers are seeking a distributor. No release date or platform has been announced.
