Entitled Here's to the Public! The Music of Joe Papp's Public Theater, the concert evenings are part of the downtown theatre's 50th anniversary celebration and will be presented Mondays, Oct. 3, 10, 17 and 24 at Joe's Pub. Among the songs McKechnie is scheduled to perform are Hair's "Easy to Be Hard," Two Gentlemen of Verona's "Bring All the Boys Back Home," I'm Getting My Act Together and Taking it On the Road's "Strong Woman Number," The Mystery of Edwin Drood's "Perfect Strangers," Runaways' "Lullaby Baby to Baby," The Threepenny Opera's "Mack the Knife," A Chorus Line's "The Music and the Mirror" and the finale from The Human Comedy. McKechnie will also offer backstage stories about many of these productions. Show time is 7 PM Oct. 3 and 9:30 PM Oct. 10, 17 and 24. Best known for her Tony-winning performance as Cassie in the original Broadway production of A Chorus Line, Donna McKechnie has appeared in a plethora of musicals both on and Off-Broadway, some of which include How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Company, State Fair, Can-Can, Annie Get Your Gun, I’m Getting My Act Together and Taking It On the Road, State Fair and Promises, Promises. In her first full length, one-woman musical celebration, Inside the Music, McKechnie performed songs from several of these productions and offered personal anecdotes about her experiences with some of the theatre’s finest actors, directors, producers and writers. A live recording of that act was released on the Fynsworth Alley label. McKechnie is now working on her autobiography — with writer Greg Lawrence — for Simon & Schuster.
Joe's Pub is located within the Public Theater at 425 Lafayette Street. Tickets, priced at $30, are available by calling (212) 239-6200 or by visiting www.telecharge.com.