McDonald Sings Mostly Arlen...All Audra! at NYFOS, Dec. 3

By: Nov. 16, 2005
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Audra McDonald will perform the songs of the legendary composer in Mostly Arlen... All Audra!, a benefit concert for the New York Festival of Song (NYFOS). The show will be performed on Saturday, December 3 at the Rafael Vinoly Architects Studio (50 Van Dam Street, between Varick and Hudson).

Emceeing the show and accompanying McDonald on piano will be Steven Blier, the artistic director of NYFOS, which has presented over 90 voice recitals since its founding in 1988 by Blier and pianist Michael Barrett. The festival has featured composers as diverse as Schubert, Porter, Weill, and Lennon and McCartney.

"NYFOS programs combine music, poetry, monologue and story, unified by a common theme, weaving together great songs of diverse genres, exploring the character and language of other regions and cultures, and the personal voices of song composers and lyricists," state press notes.

Harold Arlen, who is considered one of the great twentieth century composers of musicals and popular song, wrote music for the shows Bloomer Girl, House of Flowers and Jamaica as well as for the films The Wizard of Oz and A Star is Born, among others; his songs included "Stormy Weather," "It's Only a Paper Moon," "Let's Fall in Love" and many others.

McDonald, who is also acclaimed as a concert artist, is a four-time Tony Award winner for her performances in Carousel, Master Class, Ragtime and most recently, A Raisin in the Sun. She has also appeared on Broadway in Henry IV and Marie Christine, and at the Ravinia Festival in Passion, Sunday in the Park with George and Anyone Can Whistle. Way Back to Paradise, How Glory Goes and Happy Songs are her solo albums. McDonald's film and television credits include It Runs in the Family, the network drama "Mister Sterling," the television musical version of Annie, and the HBO movie Wit. A solo show at the Houston Opera, an April 2006 Carnegie Hall concert and a 2007 production of the Weill-Brecht opera The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahoganny are some of McDonald's upcoming projects.

 Tickets to the benefit, which includes a 7 PM pre-concert reception, are $375. For tickets, call 646-230-8380.  For more information, visit www.nyfos.org.

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