New Musicals, Maury Yeston, Frank Loesser and More Set for 2016-17 BROADWAY CLOSE UP Series

Kaufman Music Center will host a diverse 2016-17 season at Merkin Concert Hall, highlighting Broadway musicals as part of the Broadway Close up series giving theater fans a new perspective on the shows and songs they love, with compelling performances along with eye-opening interviews.

The season includes celebrations of Wizard of Oz composer Harold Arlen, Alan Menken (Beauty and the Beast), Fun Home's Rebecca Luker, and Nine and Titanic composer/lyricist Maury Yeston.

Performances Include:

Broadway Close Up: Bound for Broadway

o Monday, September 26, 2016 | 7:30pm

Want to see the next Avenue Q or Hamilton before anyone else? Don't miss Bound for Broadway! An annual event eagerly anticipated by New York's most serious and knowledgeable musical theater fans, this performance previews some of the best new musicals headed to New York Theaters. Past Bound for Broadway shows have given theater fans a sneak peek at Next to Normal, Avenue Q and The Drowsy Chaperone. Tony nominee and Emmy Award winner Liz Callaway will return to introduce the creative teams behind four new shows and perform songs from the musicals..

Broadway Close Up: Maury Yeston

o Monday, October 10, 2016 | 7:30pm

Maury Yeston's songs combine a romantic sweep with the wit and panache of a great Broadway storyteller. He joins Theater@Kaufman Director Sean Hartley to discuss his life and career, including two that swept the Tonys (five each including Best Musical and Best Score): Nine and Titanic. A brilliant talker and analyst of musical theater, Yeston will share his unique take on Broadway and the stories behind his hits as well as shows never produced in New York, including his own musical based on Gaston Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera. (Spoiler alert: Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical based on the same book made it to Broadway first, but Yeston's Phantom has been produced more than 1,000 times.) With Rebecca Luker (Fun Home), Josh Grisetti (It Shoulda Been You), Sally Wilfert (Assassins) and Corey Cott (Newsies). Music directed by Greg Jarrett.

Broadway Close Up: Broadway's One-Hit Wonders

o Monday, November 14, 2016 | 7:30pm

Co-presented by Kaufman Music Center and One Day University

Musical theater is known as the domain of super-talents with strings of hits: Stephen Sondheim, Rodgers and Hammerstein, the Gershwins, etc. Most writers who create one great show go on to create another. But there is a fascinating subset of writers who, for one reason or another, hit it big once and never repeat. Sometimes it's a once-in-a-lifetime idea. Sometimes it's a collaboration that falls apart. Some writers keep trying with diminishing returns, some milk their first big hit for all it's worth, and some walk away to pursue other goals. Of course, some unfortunately pass away too early. This performance will examine shows like Man of La Mancha, Hair, Oliver! and The Music Man, to understand what made them great, and why their creators couldn't or didn't repeat. Tony nominees Kate Baldwin (Finian's Rainbow) and Mark Jacoby (Show Boat) will interpret the classic songs, and Theater@Kaufman Director Sean Hartley will provide commentary, anecdotes and conjecture to explore this fascinating anomaly in American musical history. Music directed by David Loud and featuring Matthew Scott (Sondheim on Sondheim), Amy Justman (Company), Alison Luff (Les Miserables), Jeffrey Denman (The Producers), Kirsten Scott (Big Fish) and Allison Blackwell (A Night with Janis Joplin).

Broadway Close Up: Frank Loesser

o Monday, December 05, 2016 | 7:30pm

The great Frank Loesser took a circuitous route to Broadway, making a name for himself in Hollywood writing lyrics for film songs before he began writing his own music during WW II. Beginning in the late 1940s, he took Broadway by storm with four huge hit shows: Where's Charlie?, Guys and Dolls, The Most Happy Fella and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. Music director David Loud (The Visit, Scottsboro Boys, Lyrics & Lyricists series) takes the audience on an unforgettable tour of Loesser's classic Broadway shows as well as earlier songs written with composers like Jule Styne and Hoagy Carmichael.

Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Music Center is located at 129 West 67th Street (between Broadway and Amsterdam), New York, NY 10023. Tickets at 212 501 3330 or www.kaufmanmusiccenter.org/mch.

Kaufman Music Center is New York's go-to place for music education and performance.
It's where music lovers, from curious fans to renowned performers, come together to explore their musical passions. Founded in 1952 as a community school for pre-conservatory music training, today's Kaufman Music Center is home to Merkin Concert Hall; Lucy Moses School, New York's largest community arts school; and Special Music School, a K-12 public school for musically gifted children.