Political Follies with Luker, Baldwin, Ashmanaskas and Chase!

Satirical songs abound in a time-honored American tradition – making fun of our political process – when the New Voices Collective presents Political Follies, a concert of music new and old that lampoons, laments, and lambasts our "democracy," from both the left and the right. Thank Heavens for the First Amendment! The concert takes place on Monday, October 18, 2004 at Symphony Space's intimate 170-seat Leonard Nimoy Thalia.

The evening will feature several world-premieres and includes such notable composers as Michael John LaChiusa, William Finn, Sam Davis, Peter Foley, Dick Gallagher, Steve Marzullo, Joshua Rosenblum, and Georgia Stitt. Newcomers to the New Voices family include Carmel Dean and Andrew Gerle.

Lyricists include the razor-sharp words of Mark Waldrop and the humorist Calvin Trillin (whose work has been featured in The New Yorker and The Nation), as well as the political musings of such notable poets as Maya Angelou and e.e. cummings.

Broadway luminaries participating in this evening's event include Rebecca Luker, Brooks Ashmanskas, Kate Baldwin, Judith Blazer, Will Chase, Destan Owens, and Alice Playten, as well as a special performance by William Finn.

Grant Wenaus accompanies the singers at the piano with Peter Sachon on cello. The concert is directed by Annette Jolles, and the evening will be hosted by Danny Burstein.

Tickets, priced at $25 ($22 for members and seniors, $15 for students), are available by phone: (212) 864-5400; online at www.symphonyspace.org (just type "political follies" into the search engine); or at the box office. Symphony Space is located at 2537 Broadway at 95th Street. Subway: 1/2/3/9 to 96th Street.