Jason Danieley Steps In For Michael Arden At 92Y's Lyrics & Lyricists Downtown 4/19

A last-minute cast change has been made for the debut of Lyrics & Lyricists Downtown, with Jason Danieley stepping in for Michael Arden, who had to bow out due to scheduling conflicts. The premiere one-night-only performance on Monday, April 19 features the Tony Award-winning songwriting team of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, who have performed with Danieley in the past in Words & Music at Broadway by the Bay, and are thrilled he was available to join the cast on short notice.

Ahrens and Flaherty talk about their craft and their experiences in musical theater with Flaherty at the piano, joined by vocalists Jason Danieley, Quentin Earl Darrington, Kecia Lewis Evans, and Christiane Noll.

The evening is hosted by playwright Terrence McNally, who worked on the books for Ragtime and A Man of No Importance. Other cast members have also worked with Ahrens and Flaherty; Noll and Darrington recently starred in the recent Broadway revival of Ragtime; Evans was one of the original stars of both Once On This Island (Broadway) and Dessa Rose (Lincoln Center Theater). Danieley most recently starred on Broadway in Curtains, and his Broadway credits also include Candide and The Full Monty.

In addition to winning the Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards for Ragtime, Ahrens and Flaherty received Tony nominations for Once on This Island, and Grammy nominations for Ragtime and Seussical, one of the most frequently-performed shows in America. The Kennedy Center revival of Ragtime (which moved to Broadway last fall) just garnered six Helen Hayes Award nominations; and their 2002 musical A Man of No Importance (with book by their Ragtime collaborator Terrence McNally), is set to make its West End debut in London next month. Ahrens and Flaherty are also two-time Academy Award nominees for the movie musical Anastasia.

Lyrics & Lyricists Downtown features intimate, informal conversations with songwriters working in today's musical theater, all in a nightclub setting (complete with full bar).

About 92nd Street Y
92YTribeca is the 92nd Street Y's downtown arts and culture venue in New York City. Opened in October 2008, 92YTribeca presents music, comedy, film, theater, talks, classes, family events, and Jewish community and holiday programs in a versatile, street-level, modern space at 200 Hudson Street. For more information, visit www.92YTribeca.org.

Since launching its concert series in 1934, what is now the 92nd Street Y Tisch Center for the Arts, which produces Lyrics and Lyricists^TM, has presented acclaimed classical musicians and exciting newcomers; it is also home to 92Y's winter and summer jazz series, guitar series, family concerts and the renowned Unterberg Poetry Center.

Founded in 1874 by a group of visionary Jewish leaders, the 92nd Street Y has grown into a wide-ranging cultural, educational and community center serving about 300,000 people of all ages, races, faiths and backgrounds each year. For more information, please visit www.92Y.org.

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