Hosted by Seth Rudetsky, the Feb. 26 concert will be held at 37 Arts and will feature direction by Robert Bartley with musical direction by Mark Janas. The evening — where men will sing tunes originally performed by women, and vice versa — will also boast the previously announced Betty Buckley, Len Cariou, Rosie O'Donnell, Constantine Maroulis, Kate Reinders, Charles Busch, Richard Kind, Gary Beach, Liz Callaway, Tony Roberts, Jose Llana, Ken Alan, Brad Anderson, Paul Castree, Anika Larsen, Michael McElroy, Tony Yazbeck, Ana Gasteyer, Tituss Burgess, Nina Hennessey, Megan Jacoby, Kate Pazakis and Jason Michael Snow. Show time is 8 PM.
One highlight of the evening promises to be a duet of "Class" from Chicago performed by Tony Roberts and Len Cariou.
The inaugural Broadway Backwards concert — held June 5, 2006 — featured the talents of Matt Cavenaugh, Cheyenne Jackson, Karen Mason, Andrea McArdle, Michael McElroy, Pamela Myers and Christine Pedi, among others.
Lauren Kennedy played the Lady of the Lake in the Tony-winning musical Spamalot. She covered the role of Daisy Hilton in the Broadway production of Side Show and also appeared in the New York companies of Sunset Boulevard and Les Misérables. Kennedy starred in The Rhythm Club and was also a part of the early incarnations of Jason Robert Brown's The Last Five Years, playing the role that would be played Off-Broadway by Sherie Rene Scott, when Kennedy crossed the Atlantic to star in the National Theatre's revival of South Pacific. Kennedy also appeared in The Ten Commandments: The Spectacle Musical, and her debut solo CD is titled "The Songs of Jason Robert Brown."
Jazz singer Marilyn Maye has recorded seven albums and 34 singles. She appeared 76 times on "The Tonight Show" (with host Johnny Carson), and her recording of "Too Late Now" was chosen by The Smithsonian as one of the 100 best recordings of the 20th century. Maye will play the Metropolitan Room in Manhattan March 22-April 1. 37 Arts is located in Manhattan at 450 West 37th Street. Tickets, priced $35-$5,000, are available by visiting Ticketmaster.com or by calling (212) 307-4100.
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