The series will kick off Jan. 12-14, 2008, with It's Magic: The Lyrics of Sammy Cahn. Tony Award winner Ted Sperling will be the artistic director for the concerts, which will explore "the wide variety of Cahn's lyric writing, the simplicity of songs like 'I Fall in Love Too Easily,' and the playfulness of novelty songs like '10432 Sheep.'" The concerts will boast the talents of Laura Marie Duncan, Julian Fleisher, Capathia Jenkins, Karen Morrow and Clarke Thorell. Musical director Jeffrey Klitz will be featured at the piano.
Rob Fisher will be the artistic director for Life Is a Cabaret: A Tribute to Fred Ebb, which will be presented Feb. 23-25. Fisher was music director and conductor for the revival of Kander and Ebb's Chicago and also knew Ebb personally. The evenings will feature songs from such Kander and Ebb scores as Cabaret, The Happy Time, Zorba, Chicago, Woman of the Year, The Rink, Kiss of the Spider Woman and Curtains. Performers will be announced shortly.
I've Got Your Number: Romance, The Rat Pack and Carolyn Leigh will feature artistic direction by Deborah Grace Winer and music direction by John Oddo. The March 29-31 concerts will pay tribute to Leigh, the lyricist of such songs as "Young at Heart," "Witchcraft," "The Best Is Yet to Come," "Rules of the Road" and "I Got Your Number." Among those scheduled to entertain are Debby Boone and Tony winners James Naughton and Karen Ziemba.
The 1959 Broadway Songbook, which will be presented May 3-5, will feature Jeff Harnar as artistic director, host and vocalist. Harnar will also be joined onstage by music director Alex Rybeck as well as singers Klea Blackhurst, David Burnham, Melissa Errico and Tony winner Donna McKechnie. The evenings will celebrate the songs that could be heard during the 1959 Broadway season, including tunes from Gypsy, The Sound of Music, Fiorello, West Side Story, The Music Man and My Fair Lady.
The season will conclude with Did the American Songbook End in 1965? under the artistic direction of Andrea Marcovicci. The May 31-June 2 concerts will feature musical director Shelly Markham on piano with vocalists Francesca Amari, Kelly Houston, Lee Lessack, Stacy Sullivan and host Marcovicci. The evenings will include songs written after 1965 that have become popular standards. Audiences can expect to hear tunes by James Taylor, Billy Joel, Joni Mitchell, the Beatles, Alan and Marilyn Bergman, Paul Simon and Stephen Sondheim. All shows are presented Saturday at 8 PM, Sunday at 3 and 8 PM and Monday at 2 and 8 PM. Individual tickets are $60 and $50; subscriptions to the entire series are $250 and $220.
The 92nd Street Y is located in Manhattan at 92nd Street and Lexington Avenue. Tickets are now on sale by calling (212) 415-5500 or by visiting www.92Y.org/lyrics.
