Brian Stokes Mitchell, Liz Callaway & Quentin Earl Darrington Join MAKE THEM HEAR YOU at Classic Stage Company

Classic Stage Company has announced additional performers for Make Them Hear You: Celebrating 40 Years of Ahrens and Flaherty. This unforgettable evening will be a one-night-only showcase of songs from across the legendary careers of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, the Tony Award-winning writers of Ragtime, Anastasia, A Man of No Importance, and more. The benefit concert will take place at CSC's Lynn F. Angelson Theater on Monday April 17 at 7pm. Tickets are available now at www.classicstage.org/make-them-hear-you.

Two-time Tony Award winner Brian Stokes Mitchell (Ragtime), Emmy Award winner Liz Callaway (Anastasia), and Grammy Award nominee Quentin Earl Darrington (MJ) will join the previously announced company, which includes Tony Award winner Lea Salonga (Once on this Island), Tony Award nominee A.J. Shively (A Man of No Importance), Christy Altomare (Anastasia), Shereen Ahmed (A Man of No Importance), Hannah Elless (Knoxville) and Jason Danieley (Knoxville).

Following their hit production of Ahrens and Flaherty's A Man of No Importance last fall, CSC is excited to present Make Them Hear You. Celebrating 40 years of collaboration between Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, this evening will feature rare performances from artists who originated these productions, along with new interpretations of some of their biggest hits. This one-night-only event is a unique opportunity to see Ahrens and Flaherty's award-winning, timeless songs performed in CSC's intimate theater, up close and personal with some of the biggest names from Broadway. Make Them Hear You will support the work of Classic Stage Company.

The evening will be directed by Jason Danieley. The music director for the concert will be Daniel Green.

Tickets for the benefit range from $150-$500, with VIP table packages available for $3,000.

ABOUT Classic Stage Company

Classic Stage Company (CSC) challenges the traditional perception of classic work by exploring and reimagining great stories across the world's repertoire that illuminate our common humanity. As a home for the classics, CSC collaborates with artists to produce work that is inclusive, relevant, and accessible. CSC believes that theater can both reflect and improve society by reaching across cultural divides in order to foster shared empathy and understanding.

In 1967, director Christopher Martin founded CSC Repertory in a 100-seat theater at Rutgers Presbyterian Church on West 73rd Street. Following short stints in small spaces, CSC grew to the point where it needed a permanent home. In 1973, the theater moved to its present premises on 13th Street, an intimate space that was formerly an East Village carriage house.

In the 55 years since, CSC has become a leading Off-Broadway theater that is a home for new and established artists, as well as audiences seeking epic stories intimately told. Productions have been cited by all major Off-Broadway theater awards including the Obie, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Drama League, and the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Body of Work.

Lynn Ahrens

won Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards for the Broadway musical Ragtime and was nominated for two Academy Awards and two Golden Globes for Twentieth Century Fox's animated feature film, "Anastasia," which she also adapted for Broadway. Additional theater: Once on This Island (2018 Tony Award, Best Musical Revival), Seussical (Grammy nomination, one of the most produced shows in America), Madison Square Garden's A Christmas Carol (composer Alan Menken), Rocky, Chita Rivera: The Dancer's Life, Lincoln Center Theater premieres of My Favorite Year, Dessa Rose, The Glorious One and A Man of No Importance (2003 Outer Critics Circle Award, Best Musical); Lucky Stiff, Knoxville, and Little Dancer. Film: "Camp," "After the Storm," "Lucky Stiff," "Nasrin." Ahrens is an Emmy Award winner, a four-time Grammy nominee, and a mainstay singer/songwriter for the classic animated series "Schoolhouse Rock." Her writings have been nominated for Best American Essays and the Pushcart Anthology. She serves on Council for the Dramatists Guild of America and co-founded the DGF Fellows Program for Emerging Writers. In 2014, she and longtime collaborator Stephen Flaherty received the Oscar Hammerstein Award for Lifetime Achievement, and in 2015 they were inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame. ahrensandflaherty.com

Stephen Flaherty

is the composer of the Broadway musicals Ragtime (Tony, Drama Desk, OCC Awards, two Grammy nominations), Once on This Island (2018 Tony Award Best Revival, Olivier Award Best Musical, Grammy nomination), Anastasia (Drama Desk nomination), Seussical (Grammy, Drama Desk nominations), and Rocky. Additional Broadway includes Chita Rivera: The Dancer's Life and Neil Simon's Proposals (incidental music). Four musicals at Lincoln Center Theater: The Glorious Ones, Dessa Rose, A Man of No Importance (all Drama Desk nominated) and My Favorite Year. Other theater includes In Your Arms (Old Globe), Little Dancer (Kennedy Center), Lucky Stiff (Playwrights Horizons), Loving Repeating (Chicago's Jefferson Award, Best New Musical) and Knoxville (Asolo Rep.). Film includes "Anastasia" (two Academy Award and two Golden Globe nominations), "After the Storm," and "Lucky Stiff." Mr. Flaherty's concert music has premiered at the Hollywood Bowl, Boston's Symphony Hall, Carnegie Hall, and the Guggenheim. In 2014, he and longtime collaborator Lynn Ahrens received the Oscar Hammerstein Award for Lifetime Achievement, and in 2015 they were inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame. Council, Dramatists Guild of America; co-founder, Dramatists Guild Fellows Program. ahrensandflaherty.com