Interview: American Songbook Association's Gala Honors Ahrens & Flaherty

On Monday October 6, 2025 at 7:30 pm at the Kaufman Music Center, the 2025 American Songbook Association/Cabaret Scenes Gala will honor the multi-award-winning songwriting team of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty (Ragtime, Once on This Island, Anastasia, Seussical, Rocky, A Man of No Importance, The Glorious Ones) with the Lifetime Achievement Award. The event is produced by Carolyn Montgomery, Executive Director of the American Songbook Association, pictured above.

The evening will feature performances by Kate Baldwin, Nikki Renée Daniels, Hannah Elless, Derek Klena, Ann Kittredge, Janine LaManna, Kecia Lewis, A.J. Shively, Nathan Salstone and Lili Thomas, with musical direction by Dan Green. Tony Award winner Jamie deRoy will also receive the Bill Sensenbrenner Dream Maker Award for her dedication to supporting the performing arts.

Below, read a conversation with Carolyn Montgomery about the event and the ASA’s work.

What are you most looking forward to about the American Songbook Association gala?

I look forward to celebrating the very best in American musical theatre, represented by Lynn Aherens and Stephen Flaherty with this all-star Broadway cast. I also look forward to celebrating Jamie deRoy as our “Dream Maker Award” recipient, as she is a longtime friend of our organization and theatre in general. Finally, I look forward to introducing new people to the myriad services our organization provides to preserve, promote and protect American musical legacies.

What are some of the things that go into putting a gala like this together?

The work is a lot, and totally worth it. After choosing the honorees, there is casting and developing a show, soliciting ads for the program, finding sponsorships for our organization, getting media coverage, and any number of coordination efforts to help a cast, audience, board and illustrious honorees to have the best experience possible. Hundreds of hours of work go into a 90-minute production.

What would you say to someone unfamiliar with the ASA to encourage them to come to this show and support the organization?

Well, first, they will rarely see so many Broadway stars on one stage! Plus, they will learn a whole lot about the fascinating and inspiring repertoire of Ahrens and Flaherty. And they will be supporting an organization that provides music education to underserved schools in all five boroughs of New York City and Chicago. The cause is very worthy.

What are some of the most impactful things the ASA did this past year? What do you have planned for the upcoming year?

We reached over 2,000 students, Pre-K through 12th grade, whose schools have little or no music programming. We created a program for differently abled children that culminated in a concert for the school that showed each child all the possibilities music can bring to the human experience. We found a school in Bayside, Queens that was desperate for a music program- and will be represented in the gala program. There is no way to measure or quantify how profoundly our programs effect these students- but we know it is a massive success.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

There are many ways to help the ASA and Cabaret Scenes magazine, and we hope that any interested parties will reach out through our website: americansongbookassociation.org.

For tickets to Ahrens and Flaherty: On the Wheels of a Dream, click here.