92Y’S LYRICS & LYRICISTS Presents SONGS OF AMERICA Through 2/13

Lyrics & Lyricists will present Songs of America: From Stephen Foster to Bob Dylan and Beyond.

About the show: "Guest artistic director Ted Sperling surveys the full spectrum of songs about America - from buoyant to bellicose - and giving new meaning to the term “traditional American song.” Songs that are likely to land in the show include “Hard Times Come Again No More,” “Brother Can You Spare a Dime,” “California Here I Come,” “Rhode Island is Famous for You,” and “The Times They Are A-Changin’.” Joining Sperling are vocalists Lawrence Clayton, Jamie Leonhart, Kecia Lewis-Evans, David Lutken and Clarke Thorell."

For Sperling the show is “an exploration of the breadth and variety of music in our history and how we have expressed our fears and hopes, our struggles and triumphs, our diversity and unity.” He also cites the American Songbook’s many influences, from European operetta and ragtime to blues, jazz, country and gospel. “In turn, the American Songbook inspired future generations of composers – the singers and songwriters who listened to Rodgers and Hammerstein on their parents’ phonographs and went on to create new genres of their own.”

L&L shows are Saturday at 8 pm, Sunday at 2 and 7 pm, and Monday at 2 and 8 pm. Individual tickets begin at $52. There is also a special under-35 ticket price of $25 for the Saturday and Sunday evening shows.

About the Creative Team, Musicians and Cast

Conductor/orchestrator/arranger/singer/pianist and the show’s artistic director, Ted Sperling is a Tony and Drama Desk Award-winner for The Light in the Piazza orchestrations. His Broadway credits also include South Pacific, Guys and Dolls, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and The Full Montyand he has worked with Audra McDonald, Kelli O’Hara, Nathan Gunn and Victoria Clark, among others. Sperling has hosted numerous L&L shows over the last few years, most recently 2010’s In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening: The Stardust of Hoagy Carmichael.

L&L veteran musical director Jeffrey Klitz has been the musical director for the Broadway productions of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Hot Feet and Lennon and was the conductor for the 2009 revival of Guys and Dolls.

Director/choreographer/performer Andrew Palermo has appeared on Broadway in Wicked, Annie Get Your Gun and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. He is a co-founder (with childhood friend Taye Diggs) of the contemporary dance company dre.dance.

Lawrence Clayton has appeared on Broadway in Bells Are Ringing, Once Upon a Mattress and Dreamgirls and starred as ‘Valjean” in the 25th Anniversary production of Les Misérables. Jazz/pop chanteuse Jamie Leonhart has performed at such prestigious NYC venues as Avery Fisher Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall and Joe’s Pub. She also works extensively as a voice actor and vocalist for television and radio. Kecia Lewis-Evans was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for her role in Dessa Rose and has gone on to perform on Broadway in The Drowsy Chaperone, Chicago, and Once on This Island. Musician/actor David Lutken’s Broadway credits include Inherit the Wind, Ring of Fire, The Civil War and The Will Rogers Follies. He has also developed folk music/American history lessons for children and created the show Woody Sez, celebrating the life and music of Woody Guthrie. Clarke Thorell originated the role of Corny Collins in Hairspray and Jim Farrell in Titanic, and made his Broadway debut in The Who’s Tommy. He is also a returning L&L favorite, having appeared most recently in 2010’s Hoagy Carmichael tribute, In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening”

Coming up in 2012

March 24, 25, 26
IN PERFECT HARMONY: CELEBRATING THE VOCAL GROUP
ROB FISHER, Artistic Director, Host
ANDY EZRIN, Piano / Leader
SCOTT FARIS, Stage Director
DIGIALLONARDO SISTERS, vocals
NEW YORK VOICES, vocals
From the Boswell Sisters to the Modernaires to the Beach Boys, vocal groups have been an influential force on the American Songbook. Rob Fisher and his acclaimed guests – including the DiGiallonardo Sisters and New York Voices - conjure the hip sounds and tight harmonies that took pop standards to new horizons.

May 5, 6, 7, 2012
MAD DOGS & EDUCATED FLEAS: NOËL & COLE, A BATTLE OF WITS
MARK WALDROP, Artistic Director, Host
BRENT BARRETT, vocals
LA TANYA HALL, vocals
COLLEEN MCHUGH, vocals
T. OLIVER REID, vocals
Additional artists TBA
Noël Coward and Cole Porter were the 20th century’s masters of wordplay. Each peppered his lyrics with topical zingers, wicked double entendres and scintillating rhymes. Their wit was sharp enough to provoke guffaws—or draw blood. Director/lyricist Mark Waldrop referees the verbal fencing.

June 2, 3, 4, 2012
IT'S MAGIC: 90 YEARS OF SONGS FROM WARNER BROS.
REX REED, Artistic Director, Host
MIKE RENZI, Music Director, piano
CHARLES REPOLE and PATRICIA WILCOX, Co-Stage Directors
POLLY BERGEN, vocals
JASON GRAAE, vocals
SUE RANEY, vocals
TOM WOPAT, vocals
With The Jazz Singer and the words “You aint’ heard nothin’ yet” Warner Bros. invented the movie musical. Rex Reed celebrates the studio that for decades, churned out hits like 42nd Street, Yankee Doodle Dandy, A Star is Born and My Fair Lady.

About Lyrics & Lyricists
Long one of 92nd Street Y’s most popular programs, the American Songbook series Lyrics & Lyricists™ was launched in 1970 when longtime Broadway conductor Maurice Levine and lyricist E.Y. “Yip” Harburg (The Wizard of Oz) took to the stage to talk about the then unusual topic of songwriting. Over the years the series has featured every great Broadway and Hollywood lyricist including Betty Comden and Adolph Green, Johnny Mercer, Stephen Sondheim, Dorothy Fields, and Alan Jay Lerner. Since 2004, L&L has featured original programs created by accomplished champions of the repertoire, including John Pizzarelli, Rob Fisher, Sheldon Harnick, Robert Kimball, Rex Reed, Billy Stritch, Lucie Arnaz and Ted Sperling. Each show is designed to celebrate the American Songbook through a blend of narrative and entertainment with a particular focus on lyrics. For more information, please visit www.92Y.org/Lyrics.

The Feb 12 afternoon performance is underwritten by The Henry Nias Foundation, courtesy of Dr. Stanley Edelman. The May 5-7 series is underwritten in memory of Harold W. and Ida L. Goldstein by the Estate of Sanford Goldstein. The June 2-4 series is underwritten by Gilda and Henry Block, and Kenneth Kolker. Additional support is provided by The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation and Daney and Lee P. Klingenstein.

About 92nd Street Y
92nd Street Y is a world-class nonprofit community and cultural center that connects people at every stage of life to the worlds of education, the arts, health and wellness, and Jewish life. Through the breadth and depth of 92Y’s extraordinary programs, we enrich lives, create community and elevate humanity. More than 300,000 people visit 92Y’s New York City venues annually, and millions more join us through the Internet, satellite broadcasts and other digital media. A proudly Jewish organization since its founding in 1874, 92Y embraces its heritage and enthusiastically welcomes people of all backgrounds and perspectives. 92Y is an open door to extraordinary worlds.

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