William Finn directs and narrates the program, which he chose. The evening features the songs of 30 composers and lyricists.
The writers include Deborah Abramson, Janet Allard, Becca Anderson, Will Aronson, Tony Asaro, Julian Blackmore, EllaRose Chary, Sara Cooper, Julianne Wick Davis, Eric Day, Josh Freilich, Kat Harris, Michael R. Jackson, Yui Kitamura, Hannah Kohl, Dimitri Landrain, Gihieh Lee, Dan Marshall, Rebecca Greer Melocik, Scott Murphy, Bill Nelson, Yea Bin Diana Oh, Sean Patterson, Eric Price, Zach Redler, Sam Salmond, Rachel Sheinkin, Jennifer Stafford, Katya Stanislavskaya, Frank Terry, Nikos Tsakalakos, Joel Waggoner, Kori Withers and Chris Widney.
The performers include Stanley Bahorek (BSC's Bill Nelson's All-Male Revue; Broadway's …Spelling Bee; Off-Broadway's See Rock City); Wilson Bridges, Quentin Earl Darrington (Broadway's Ragtime revival), Carmen Ruby Floyd (Broadway's Avenue Q), Anna Ruth Nirmala Jones, Sally Wilfert (BSC's …Spelling Bee and Off-Broadway's See Rock City and Make Me a Song) and Michael Winther (BSC's The Mysteries of Harris Burdick; Broadway's 33 Variations, Mamma Mia!).
BSC notes that this "introduction to new voices in musical theatre" includes Finn sharing "with the audience what makes a good lyric, why some work and others don't — you'll feel as if you're in a master class in songwriting taught by the master himself."
The production features lighting by Laura Happel and sound by Tristan Wilson. Greg Jarrett is musical director, and Ryan Gohsman is production stage manager. For tickets ($35, $25), call (413) 236-8888 or visit www.barringtonstageco.org.
