Artistic directors for the acclaimed series will include cabaret favorite Andrea Marcovicci, Tony Award winner Ted Sperling, Mabel Mercer Foundation executive director Donald Smith, musical director Rob Fisher and musical theatre historian Robert Kimball.
The season kicks off Nov. 12-14 with Andrea Marcovicci's Kurt Weill in America, which focuses on the songs composer Weill created with such great American lyricists as Alan Jay Lerner, Ira Gershwin, Ogden Nash and Langston Hughes. Marcovicci will host the evenings, which will also feature the vocals of Anna Bergman, Klea Blackhurst, Barbara Brussell, Mark Coffin, Michael McElroy, Jeff Harnar and Maude Maggart. Shelly Markham, who will be featured on piano, is also the show's musical director.
Ted Sperling's Heart and Soul: Frank Loesser's Hollywood will examine Loesser's contributions to the film world, including his work with composers Hoagy Carmichael, Burton Lane and Jule Styne. Concertgoers can expect to hear such tunes as "Baby, It's Cold Outside," "Heart and Soul," "On a Slow Boat to China" and "The Boys in the Backroom." Jeffrey Klitz will be the musical director for the Jan. 29-31, 2006, concerts; vocalists will be announced at a later date.
Donald Smith has entitled his Feb. 25-27 program With Mabel Mercer, the Words Come First, and the evenings will feature several of the songs that made Mercer a cabaret legend. With musical direction by James Followell, the concerts will include vocals by Jeff Harnar, Valerie Lemon, Craig Rubano, KT Sullivan and Lumiri Tubo.
Rob Fisher's program will explore the lyrics and lyricists that influenced Tony Award winner Sheldon Harnick, whose Broadway musicals include Fiorello!, She Loves Me and Fiddler on the Roof. Entitled Sheldon Harnick: Collector's Items, the April 8-10 presentation will feature lyricist Harnick as host with vocalists to be announced shortly. Johnny Mercer's contributions to the movie musical will be explored in Robert Kimball's Hooray for Hollywood: Johnny Mercer at the Movies. Charles Osgood will host the May 6-8 concerts, and vocalists will be announced closer to the performance date. Among Johnny Mercer's most famous songs are "On the Atcheson, Topeka and the Santa Fe," "In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening," "Moon River" and "Days of Wine and Roses."
The 92nd Street Y is located in Manhattan at 1395 Lexington Avenue at 92nd Street. Subscriptions to the Lyrics & Lyricists season — priced at $250 or $220 — are now available; single ticket sales ($45 and $55) begin Aug. 8 Call (212) 415-5500 for more information or visit www.92Y.org.
