The noon-1:30 PM chat — presented in partnership with the New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) — will be held in the Elebash Recital Hall at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Thomas Cott will moderate a panel that features The Color Purple's Stephen Bray, Brenda Russell and Allee Willis; The Mystery of Edwin Drood's Rupert Holmes; The Secret Garden's Lucy Simon; and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels' David Yazbek. The upcoming seminar, according to press notes, will seek to answer such questions as, "How is theatre writing different?" and "How is contemporary pop music affecting songwriting for the theatre?"

Created by the late American Theatre Wing chairman Isabelle Stevenson, the series, now in its 31st year, presents major theatre personalities discussing their craft. The "Working in the Theatre" series is broadcast five times a week on CUNY-TV (Time Warner channel 75 and RCN channel 106).

The CUNY Graduate Center is located at 365 Fifth Avenue at 34th Street. Tickets, priced at $10, are available by calling (212) 817-8215. (Wing members can reserve free of charge through the Wing.) Visit www.americantheatrewing.org for more information.