Judy Kuhn, Santino Fontana, Rebecca Luker and More Tapped for 92Y's 2017 LYRICS & LYRICISTS Season

92Y announces casting for Lyrics & Lyricists new season. Having garnered audience and critical acclaim, the country's premier American Songbook series begins 2017 with Judy Kuhn, Santino Fontana, Rebecca Luker, Christiane Noll and Lauren Worsham among the performers.

With artistic directors Robert Kimball, Vince Giordano and KLea Blackhurst; David Loud; Deborah Grace Winer; Rob Fisher with guest host Sheldon Harnick; and Rob Berman, they bring to life the works of Harold Arlen; Cole Porter; and Lerner and Loewe; explore what drove Dorothy Fields and the great women of the American Songbook; and sing the songs we know and love from songwriters too few can name ("As Time Goes By"/Herman Hupfeld).

L&L shows are Saturday at 8 pm, Sunday at 2 and 7 pm, and Monday at 2 and 7:30 pm. Subscriptions to the five-concert series running from January to June are on sale now, starting at $250. Individual tickets are also on sale now starting at $55. LexList, 92Y's 35 and under program, also offers access to steeply discounted tickets for all performances at $25. Please call 212.415.5500 or go to www.92Y.org/Lyrics for more information.

"It's really exciting that so many stellar Broadway and music-world talents now call us home and are creating brand new shows from scratch, just for Lyrics & Lyricists, " says series artistic director Deborah Grace Winer. "We have the joy of bringing audiences these inventive, unique theatrical experiences - and begin a new season of celebrating some of the greatest American music ever written."

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Lyrics & Lyricists: 2017 Season:

January 21, 22, 23

GET HAPPY: Harold Arlen'S EARLY YEARS

Co-Artistic Directors: Robert Kimball, Vince Giordano, KLea Blackhurst

Stage Director: Gary Griffin

Cast: Stephen DeRosa, Catherine Russell

Additional cast TBA

"You better chase all your cares away." -Ted Kohler, with Harold Arlen

Before he achieved immortality with "Over the Rainbow," Harold Arlen was the toast of Broadway, Hollywood and the big-band scene - composing blues- and jazz-influenced classics like "Stormy Weather" and "I've Got the World on a String." L&L kicks off the season with a trio of co-artistic directors who share an enthusiastic passion for musical theater history - Robert Kimball, KLea Blackhurst and Vince Giordano, leading his Nighthawks. Together they'll send you swinging through Arlen's greatest songs.

February 11, 12, 13

LET'S MISBEHAVE: THE SENSATIONAL SONGS OF Cole Porter

Artistic Director: David Loud

Stage Director: Noah Racey

Cast: Allison Blackwell, Lewis Cleale, Nikki Renee Daniels, Rebecca Luker, Matthew Scott

"In the roaring traffic's boom, in the silence of my lonely room I think of you, night and day." - Cole Porter

"Night and Day," "I've Got You Under My Skin": Behind Cole Porter's famous wit and sophistication lay an artistic genius's mastery of the American popular song. David Loud, who last dazzled L&L audiences with his spectacular show on Sondheim-Prince, takes a tour of Porter's most exquisite creations, including songs from his smash-hit shows like Anything Goes and Kiss Me, Kate. Find out why he's still "the top."

March 18, 19, 20

BABY, DREAM YOUR DREAM: Dorothy Fields AND THE WOMEN OF THE AMERICAN SONGBOOK

Artistic Director: Deborah Grace Winer

Music Director: John Oddo

Stage Director: Mark Waldrop

Cast: Christiane Noll

Additional cast TBA

"They'd never believe it if my friends could see me now." - Dorothy Fields

Tin Pan Alley, Broadway and Hollywood may have been boys' clubs, but that didn't stop some bold, brilliant women from breaking through. Led by Dorothy Fields, lyricists and composers like Betty Comden, Carolyn Leigh and Mary Rodgers penned astonishing songs and shows: "The Way You Look Tonight," "I Can't Give You Anything But Love," "Witchcraft," On the Town, Once Upon a Mattress and more. Salute this sisterhood with Fields biographer and L&L series artistic director Deborah Grace Winer.

May 6, 7, 8

SONGBOOK CLASSICS BY UNSUNG LYRICISTS

Artistic Director: Rob Fisher with Sheldon Harnick

Stage Director: Scott Faris

Cast: Judy Kuhn, Sal Viviano

Additional cast TBA

"You must remember this, a kiss is still a kiss." - Herman Hupfeld

They're standards we all know and love: "As Time Goes By," "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend," "The Nearness of You." But who wrote their famous words? Ever hear of ... Herman Hupfeld? Leo Robin? Ned Washington? Join artistic director Rob Fisher, who arranged the score for Broadway's An American in Paris, and celebrated Fiddler on the Roof lyricist Sheldon Harnick in their latest L&L collaboration as they salute the unsung wordsmiths behind some of the world's greatest songs.

June 3, 4, 5

FROM CAMELOT TO CALIFORNIA: THE WORLDS OF LERNER AND LOEWE

Artistic Director: Rob Berman

Stage Director: Chase Brock

Cast: Chuck Cooper, Santino Fontana, Lauren Worsham

Additional cast TBA

"For there's nowhere else on earth that I would rather be."- Alan Jay Lerner

Scotland, California, Covent Garden, Paris, Camelot - lyricist Alan Jay Lerner and composer Frederick Loewe evoked entire worlds in their groundbreaking musicals. Brigadoon, Paint Your Wagon, My Fair Lady, Gigi and Camelot all were conjured by the Old World Austrian Loewe and the Harvard-educated American Lerner. Rob Berman, music director of the New York City Center Encores! series and recent Broadway musicals Dames at Sea, Bright Star and Tuck Everlasting, makes his L&L debut as artistic director for a captivating show that revels in their romantic songs, from "Almost Like Being in Love" to "I Could Have Danced All Night."

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92nd Street Y is a world-class, nonprofit cultural and community center that fosters the mental, physical and spiritual health of people throughout their lives, offering: wide-ranging conversations with the world's best minds; an outstanding range of programming in the performing, visual and literary arts; fitness and sports programs; and activities for children and families. 92Y is reimagining what it means to be a community center in the digital age with initiatives like the award-winning #GivingTuesday, launched by 92Y in 2012 and now recognized across the US and in a growing number of regions worldwide as a day to celebrate and promote giving. These kinds of initiatives are transforming the way people share ideas and translate them into action both locally and around the world. More than 300,000 people visit 92Y annually; millions more participate in 92Y's digital and online initiatives. A proudly Jewish organization since its founding in 1874, 92Y embraces its heritage and welcomes people of all backgrounds and perspectives. For more information, visit www.92Y.org.

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