Broadway Close Up: Lyricists Who
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Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center Presents BROADWAY CLOSE UP: LYRICISTS WHO CHANGED THE WORLD … OF MUSICAL THEATER Ira Gershwin, Oscar Hammerstein, E.Y. “Yip” Harburg & Lorenz Hart Featuring Liz Callaway, Lewis Cleale, Joshua Henry, Kirsten Scott, Matthew Scott & Betsy Wolfe With Hosts Sean Hartley, Laurence Maslon & David Loud Monday, December 3, 2012 at 7:30 pm Ira Gershwin, Oscar Hammerstein, E.Y. "Yip" Harburg and Lorenz Hart were born in New York City within two years of each other at the turning of the 20th century. Their careers and lives repeatedly intersected as each became one of America's greatest lyricists, and their careers tell the story of the American musical as it evolved from operetta to musical comedy to serious musical play. Hosts Sean Hartley; Laurence Maslon, author of Broadway: The American Musical and Professor of Theater at NYU; and Musical Director David Loud (Ragtime, Porgy and Bess) will lead a brilliant cast including Liz Callaway (Cats, Tony nominee for Baby), Lewis Cleale (Book of Mormon), Joshua Henry (Porgy and Bess, Tony nominee for The Scottsboro Boys), Matthew Scott (Jersey Boys, Sondheim on Sondheim), Kirsten Scott (Follies, Hairspray) and Betsy Wolfe (Mystery of Edwin Drood). With pianist Paul Masse. Ira Gershwin (1896-1983) collaborated with his brother, composer George Gershwin, to write songs that have become American standards, including "I Got Rhythm," "Embraceable You," "They Can't Take That Away from Me" and "The Man I Love" and the musicals Lady, Be Good! (1924) and Girl Crazy (1930) as well as the opera Porgy and Bess (1935). He also wrote hit songs with Jerome Kern, Kurt Weill and Harold Arlen, with whom he wrote the songs for the 1954 film A Star is Born. Oscar Hammerstein II (1895-1960) and Jerome Kern wrote Show Boat (1927), which pioneered the musical as a genre and is still considered one of the masterpieces of American musical theater. His most famous collaboration was with Richard Rodgers, with whom he wrote Oklahoma! (1943), Carousel (1945), South Pacific (1949) and The King and I (1951). E.Y. "Yip" Harburg (1896-1981) wrote the lyrics to the standards "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?," "April in Paris" and "It's Only a Paper Moon" as well as the musicals Bloomer Girl (1944) and Finian's Rainbow (1947) and all of the songs in the film The Wizard of Oz (1939). In Hollywood he worked with composers Harold Arlen, Vernon Duke, Jerome Kern, Jule Styne and Burton Lane. Lorenz Hart (1895-1943) wrote many hit songs with composer Richard Rodgers, such as "Blue Moon," "The Lady Is a Tramp," "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered," "My Funny Valentine" and "Isn't It Romantic?" Their musicals included Babes in Arms (1937) On Your Toes (1936) and Pal Joey (1940). Press Contact: Joan Jastrebski 212 501 3386 [email protected] Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center 129 W. 67th St. btw Broadway & Amsterdam Ave. New York, NY 10023 Tickets ($45) at 212 501 3330 or kaufman-center.org/mch Kaufman Center is New York’s creative home for music education and performance. Kaufman Center is where music lovers, from curious fans to renowned performers, come together to explore their musical passions. Founded in 1952 as a community school for pre-conservatory music training, today's Kaufman Center is home to Merkin Concert Hall; Lucy Moses School, New York’s largest community arts school; and Special Music School, a K-12 public school for musically gifted children. Kaufman Center presentations in Merkin Concert Hall are made possible, in part, with institutional support from: Bloomberg Philanthropies, BMI Foundation Inc., The Edward T. Cone Foundation, The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, The Barbara Bell Cumming Foundation, The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, The Friars Foundation, Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation, The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, The Rodgers and Hammerstein Foundation, The Janis and Alan Menken Foundation, The Edith Meiser Foundation, The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation and TD Charitable Foundation. Special thanks to Andrea Brown, Kara Unterberg, David Shaw, Beth Kobliner Shaw and the friend and supporters of Kaufman Center’s Theater Wing. Presentations in Merkin Concert Hall are supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and from the New York City Council through the good offices of Councilmember Gale Brewer. Kaufman Center presentations in Merkin Concert Hall are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. Merkin Concert Hall has also been awarded support from the National Endowment for the Arts. .