Debbie Gravitte News

The New York Pops presents Once Upon a Time and Tomorrow: The Best of Charles Strouse at Carnegie Hall on Friday, April 3 at 8:00 PM with conductor Martin Yates. This concert is a tribute to the Tony Award-winning composer of Annie, Applause and Bye Bye Birdie. Accompanying The New York Pops will be guest artists Gregg Edelman, Debbie Gravitte, Rebecca Luker, Karen Mason, Emma Rowley and Eric Jordan Young. The Young People's Chorus of New York City, directed by Francisco N??ez, will also be featured in the evening's program.

The New York Pops presents Once Upon a Time and Tomorrow: The Best of Charles Strouse at Carnegie Hall on Friday, April 3 at 8:00 PM with conductor Martin Yates. This concert is a tribute to the Tony Award-winning composer of Annie, Applause and Bye Bye Birdie. Accompanying The New York Pops will be guest artists Gregg Edelman, Debbie Gravitte, Rebecca Luker, Karen Mason, Emma Rowley and Eric Jordan Young. The Young People's Chorus of New York City, directed by Francisco N??ez, will also be featured in the evening's program.

Old Globe Executive Producer Lou Spisto recently announced that the theatre will present a special one-night engagement of Stephen Schwartz and Friends.. This delightful event, featuring the Grammy and Academy Award-winning composer/lyricist of the smash Broadway musicals Wicked, Godspell, Working, Pippin and many others, will be performed in the Old Globe Theatre on Monday, March 9 at 7:30pm. Schwartz will be center-stage for an evening of unforgettable music and memories, with some of Broadway's best singer/actors, including, Debbie Gravitte, Liz Callaway and Scott Coulter, performing Schwartz's most beloved songs.

Theater News from Broadway and the Baltimore/Washington Area

Broadway leading lady Rachel York, most recently seen in the world premiere musical Turn of the Century at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, has added several new engagements to her symphony concert schedule. Now through July, the versatile stage, screen, and recording artist will be a guest soloist performing the works of Bernstein, Sondheim, Gershwin, Rodgers and Hammerstein, and Andrew Lloyd Webber with major orchestras across the country.

Theater News from Broadway and the Baltimore/Washington Area

The 92nd Street Y continues the 2009 season of Lyrics & Lyricists with DAVID ZIPPEL as host and artistic director of It Started with a Dream, February 21-23. Subtitled David Zippel - Lyrics He Wrote, Lyrics He Wishes He Wrote, the Tony award-winning, Oscar-nominated lyricist of City of Angels and Disney's animated Hercules and Mulan, presents highlights from his own scores and shares his inspirations and personal favorites from the American Songbook. The show features an all-Broadway cast, including vocalists KATE BALDWIN (Wonderful Town, Thoroughly Modern Millie, The Full Monty), KEVIN EARLEY (A Tale of Two Cities, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Les Mis?rables), Tony Award-winner DEBBIE GRAVITTE (Jerome Robbins' Broadway, Chicago, Les Mis?rables), DANNY GURWIN (Little Women, Urinetown, The Full Monty), and Tony Award-winner LILLIAS WHITE (The Life, Dreamgirls, and. the voice of 'Calliope' in Hercules). One of the most acclaimed and sought-after lyricists working today, David Zippel's other credits include the Broadway musical The Goodbye Girl (written with Marvin Hamlisch and Neil Simon), The Woman in White (with Andrew Lloyd Webber, for which Zippel won another Tony nomination) and the musical stage version of Wendy Wasserstein's bestselling children's book, Pamela's First Musical, written with Wasserstein and City of Angels collaborator Cy Coleman. Series artistic director Deborah Grace Winer, in her first season at the helm, notes that this is the first time in over 25 years that L&L will devote an entire show to a contemporary Broadway songwriter at the height of his career--a return to the spirit in which L&L was founded, with the living lyricist as an active participant.

The 92nd Street Y continues its 2009 season of Lyrics & Lyricists, the Y's legendary American Songbook series, with It Started with a Dream, an evening with David Zippel (Shows: City of Angels, The Goodbye Girl, The Woman in White, Pamela's First Musical. Films: Mulan, Hercules). The 92nd Street Y has made a block of tickets available for BC/EFA supporters. Each ticket purchased through BC/EFA will include an exclusive and intimate post-performance wine and cheese reception with Mr. Zippel and the evening's performers.

After a lengthy hiatus, Douglas Sills is jumping back into New York's theatre scene in perhaps the most challenging way imaginable: appearing in a leading role in an Encores production.

Attention ticket stub collectors! The 92nd Street Y has a special deal for theater-going packrats. Bring in a Playbill or ticket stub from any Broadway or off-Broadway production and get a 50% discount for the upcoming Lyrics & LyricistsTM show, featuring host/artistic director DAVID ZIPPEL and an all-Broadway cast. This offer is good for performances on Sun, Feb 22 at 3 & 8 pm and Mon, Feb 23 at 2 & 8 pm. Full price tickets are $60 and $50; pay $30 or $25 with your Playbill or ticket stub. Tickets must be purchased in person at the 92nd Street Y Box Office at Lexington Ave. at 92nd Street. Patrons must bring their Playbill or ticket stub to the box office when they pick up their tickets. There is a maximum of four tickets per person. This offer is not available online or on the phone.

The 92nd Street Y continues the 2009 season of Lyrics & Lyricists with DAVID ZIPPEL as host and artistic director of It Started with a Dream, February 21-23. Subtitled David Zippel - Lyrics He Wrote, Lyrics He Wishes He Wrote, the Tony award-winning, Oscar-nominated lyricist of City of Angels and Disney's animated Hercules and Mulan, presents highlights from his own scores and shares his inspirations and personal favorites from the American Songbook. The show features an all-Broadway cast, including vocalists KATE BALDWIN (Wonderful Town, Thoroughly Modern Millie, The Full Monty), KEVIN EARLEY (A Tale of Two Cities, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Les Mis?rables), Tony Award-winner DEBBIE GRAVITTE (Jerome Robbins' Broadway, Chicago, Les Mis?rables), DANNY GURWIN (Little Women, Urinetown, The Full Monty), and Tony Award-winner LILLIAS WHITE (The Life, Dreamgirls, and. the voice of 'Calliope' in Hercules). One of the most acclaimed and sought-after lyricists working today, David Zippel's other credits include the Broadway musical The Goodbye Girl (written with Marvin Hamlisch and Neil Simon), The Woman in White (with Andrew Lloyd Webber, for which Zippel won another Tony nomination) and the musical stage version of Wendy Wasserstein's bestselling children's book, Pamela's First Musical, written with Wasserstein and City of Angels collaborator Cy Coleman. Series artistic director Deborah Grace Winer, in her first season at the helm, notes that this is the first time in over 25 years that L&L will devote an entire show to a contemporary Broadway songwriter at the height of his career--a return to the spirit in which L&L was founded, with the living lyricist as an active participant.

Julie Wilson, the legendary theatre and cabaret star, will make a guest appearance at Steven Brinberg's A Simply Barbra Holiday Spectacular.She joins the previously announced Tituss Burgess and The Broadway Boys. The event will benefit The Ali Forney Center, New York's primary emergency housing resource for homeless LGBT youth. A Simply Barbra Holiday Spectacular will play at Symphony Space (2357 Broadway at 95th Street) on Saturday, December 20 at 8 pm.

Julie Wilson, the legendary theatre and cabaret star, will make a guest appearance at Steven Brinberg's A Simply Barbra Holiday Spectacular.She joins the previously announced Tituss Burgess and The Broadway Boys. The event will benefit The Ali Forney Center, New York's primary emergency housing resource for homeless LGBT youth. A Simply Barbra Holiday Spectacular will play at Symphony Space (2357 Broadway at 95th Street) on Saturday, December 20 at 8 pm.

The New York Pops has been awarded a $10,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). The grant, awarded in the category 'Access to Artistic Excellence,' will support Once Upon a Time and Tomorrow: The Best of Charles Strouse, a concert celebrating the 80th birthday of the Tony Award-winning Broadway composer. The performance will provide the opportunity to explore the works of this time-honored American composer whose talent has advanced the art of musical theater and touched the hearts of music-lovers for generations. The New York Pops holds the unique distinction of being the only symphonic pops orchestra in the country to receive an award from the NEA in the category of 'Access to Artistic Excellence.'

STEVEN SCHWARTZ is, of course, one of the most important composers and lyricists for musical theatre and musical films working today, with an amazing career of stellar achievements. He has been nominated for six Academy Awards and the winner of three. His credits include the animated features Pocahontas and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, as well as last year's smash Enchanted and DreamWorks' first animated feature, The Prince of Egypt. Alongside his film work, Schwartz' incredibly successful stage productions include Godspell, Pippin, The Magic Show and the worldwide phenomenon WICKED.

Old Globe Executive Producer Lou Spisto recently announced that the theatre will present a special one-night engagement of Stephen Schwartz and Friends.. This delightful event, featuring the Grammy and Academy Award-winning composer/lyricist of the smash Broadway musicals Wicked, Godspell, Working, Pippin and many others, will be performed in the Old Globe Theatre on Monday, March 9 at 7:30pm. Schwartz will be center-stage for an evening of unforgettable music and memories, with some of Broadway's best singer/actors, including, Debbie Gravitte, Liz Callaway and Scott Coulter, performing Schwartz's most beloved songs.

MAC and Bistro Award-winner Steven Brinberg brings his acclaimed show Simply Barbra to the New York stage for 'A Simply Barbra Holiday Spectacular' along with Tituss Burgess, The Broadway Boys, and other special guests in a concert benefitting The Ali Forney Center, New York's primary emergency housing resource for homeless LGBT youth.

The Actors Fund concert series MUSICAL MONDAYS, a series of Cabaret events in the lobby of the historic Pantages Theatre, has announced that Eden Espinosa and Megan Hilty will join the cast.

Broadway By the Bay, the largest theatre organization on the Peninsula, completes its 43rd season with DEFYING GRAVITY: STEPHEN SCHWARTZ AND FRIENDS featuring Stephen Schwartz live, composer and lyricist of Broadway hits including Wicked, Godspell, and Pippin.

The Actors Fund will launch a new concert series MUSICAL MONDAYS, a series of Cabaret events in the lobby of the historic Pantages Theatre. Produced by John Bowab and Martin Wiviott, all shows include pre-show cocktail reception at 7:30 pm and post-show dessert reception with the artists.