sign in sign up
<<
Home , Babes in Arms, David Loud, Girl Crazy, Harold Arlen, Ira Gershwin, Joshua Henry

Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center Presents

BROADWAY CLOSE UP:

LYRICISTS WHO CHANGED THE WORLD … OF MUSICAL THEATER , Oscar Hammerstein, E.Y. “Yip” Harburg &

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 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 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 (, and Bess) will lead a brilliant cast including Liz Callaway (, Tony nominee for Baby), Lewis Cleale (Book of Mormon), Joshua Henry (, Tony nominee for The Scottsboro Boys), Matthew Scott (Jersey Boys, ), Kirsten Scott (, ) and Betsy Wolfe (Mystery of Edwin Drood). With pianist Paul Masse.

Ira Gershwin (1896-1983) collaborated with his brother, composer , to write songs that have become American standards, including "," "," "They Can't Take That Away from Me" and "The Man I Love" and the musicals Lady, Be Good! (1924) and (1930) as well as the Porgy and Bess (1935). He also wrote hit songs with , and , with whom he wrote the songs for the 1954 film A Star is Born.

Oscar Hammerstein II (1895-1960) and Jerome Kern wrote (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 , with whom he wrote Oklahoma! (1943), (1945), (1949) and (1951).

E.Y. "Yip" Harburg (1896-1981) wrote the lyrics to "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?," "April in Paris" and "It's Only a Paper Moon" as well as the musicals (1944) and Finian's Rainbow (1947) and all of the songs in the film The Wizard of Oz (1939). In he worked with composers Harold Arlen, , Jerome Kern, and .

Lorenz Hart (1895-1943) wrote many hit songs with composer Richard Rodgers, such as "Blue Moon," "," "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered," "" and "Isn't It Romantic?" Their musicals included (1937) (1936) and (1940).

Press : 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 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 Foundation, The Janis and 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 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.