It's Magic: Nine Decades of Songs from Warner Bros.

Here is a selection of songs from the upcoming Lyrics & Lyricists program,“It’s Magic: Nine Decades of Songs from Warner Bros.” Program is subject to change.

42ND STREET
Lyrics by Al Dubin; music by Harry Warren
From 42nd Street / Film (1933)

BLUE SKIES
Lyrics & music by Irving Berlin
From The Jazz Singer / Film (1927)

BLUES IN THE NIGHT
Lyrics by Johnny Mercer; music by Harold Arlen
From Blues in the Night / Film (1941)

DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES
Lyrics by Johnny Mercer; music by Henry Mancini
From Days of Wine and Roses / Film (1962)

GIVE MY REGARDS TO BROADWAY
Lyrics & music by George M. Cohan
From Yankee Doodle Dandy / Film (1942)

IT’S MAGIC
Lyrics by Sammy Cahn / music by Jule Styne
From Romance on the High Seas / Film (1948)

I ONLY HAVE EYES FOR YOU
Lyrics by Al Dubin; music by Harry Warren
From Dames / Film (1934)

ONE FOR MY BABY
Lyrics by Johnny Mercer, music by Harold Arlen
From Young at Heart / Film (1954)

SECRET LOVE
Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster; music by Sammy Fain
From Calamity Jane / Film (1953)

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Rex Reed is a critic, columnist, journalist, author and lecturer whose film reviews appear every week in the New York Observer. He has been a film critic for Vogue, GQ, Holiday and Women’s Wear Daily. For 13 years, Mr. Reed was an arts critic for the New York Daily News and for five years he was the film critic for the New York Post. Mr. Reed’s articles and essays on the arts have appeared in almost every national magazine and newspaper in London and the U.S. He is the author of eight books about the movies and his first novel, Personal Effects, sold 75,000 copies in its first printing and was optioned by NBC-TV for a four-hour miniseries.

As an actor, Mr. Reed appeared in the films Myra Breckinridge with Mae West and John Huston, Inchon! with Laurence Olivier, and Superman with Christopher Reeve and Marlon Brando. He also appeared with Melina Mercouri, Laurence Olivier, Lillian Hellman, Edward Albee and other notables in Jules Dassin’s antiwar film, The Rehearsal. He has been a member of the juries at the Montreal, Venice and Berlin film festivals, and is proud to be the only film critic in the world to have had a movie review (of the Oscarwinning anti-Vietnam film Hearts And Minds) read aloud in both houses of Congress, thus becoming a permanent part of the Congressional Record.

Mr. Reed is a member of the New York Film Critics Circle and the National Society of Film Critics. He has appeared for several years at the country’s oldest and most successful fund-raising benefit for AIDS, the S.T.A.G.E. Benefit in Los Angeles. For five years, he starred in the nationally syndicated television show, At the Movies. In 1993, he was inducted, along with James Carville and legendary Supreme Court Judge Minor Wisdom, into the Louisiana Hall of Fame in his native state. As a music critic and as an ardent supporter of Broadway show music, he shares the distinction with Kitty Carlisle Hart of being the longest-running host-narrator of Lyrics & Lyrics and he has written liner notes for Liza Minnelli, Lena Horne, Tony Bennett, Mel Tormé, Eileen Farrell, Barbara Cook and many others. Mr. Reed has been nominated for two Grammy Awards. He holds a journalism degree from Louisiana State University and an honorary degree from Brandeis University.

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Making his return to 92Y, Charles Repole’s New York directorial credits include the Broadway revival of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, which had originated at the Goodspeed Opera House, and the highly acclaimed concert versions of Dubarry was a Lady, starring Faith Prince and Robert Morse, and Call Me Madam, starring Tyne Daly, for the New York City Center Encores! series. He also directed the Lauri Strauss Leukemia Foundation Benefit at Carnegie Hall and New York Pops performances conducted by Skitch Henderson. For ten years, Mr. Repole conceived and directed 92Y’s annual fund raising gala, including, Lyrics and Lyricists 25th Year Celebration, hosted by Angela Lansbury. Currently, Mr. Repole is the Chairman of the Department of Drama Theatre and Dance at Queen’s College.

Beyond New York, Mr. Repole directed Where’s Charley? for the Kennedy Center’s concert series Words and Music in Washington, DC, and he directed and staged a concert version of Of Thee I Sing for the Chicago Humanities Festival in celebration of the 100th Birthday of George Gershwin. Also while Chicago, he earned a Joseph Jefferson Award nomination for his production of A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine.

Also an accomplished on-stage performer, Mr. Repole has appeared before Broadway audiences in Doubles; Whoopee!, for which he received a Drama Desk nomination; and Very Good Eddie, which earned him a Tony Award nomination and won him a Theatre World Award. His Off-Broadway performance credits include the Barry Harman musical Olympus On My Mind and the concert version of the 1948 musical Magdalena, with lyrics by George Forrest and Robert Wright, and music by Heitor Villa-Lobos.

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Patricia Wilcox returns this season, having directed January’s Makin’ Whoopee: Walter Donaldson, Gus Kahn and the Jazz Age; she made her Lyrics & Lyricists debut directing last season’s salute to Burton Lane. She has directed productions for the Kennedy Center, Houston Symphony, Minnesota Pops and Phoenix Symphony. She co-conceived and choreographed “A Marvelous Party: the Noël Coward Celebration,” which has been produced across the country, garnering Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle, Boston Elliot Norton and Chicago Jeff awards.

Ms. Wilcox’s other US choreographic credits include the musical Children’s Letters to God Off-Broadway and the national tour and PBS broadcast of the string extravaganza “Bowfire.” She also creates choreography for Olympic Gold Medal ice skaters Viktor Petrenko, Ilia Kulik, Katya Gordeeva and Miki Ando; her work was seen in the 2010 Vancouver and 2006 Turin Olympic Games.

Among Ms. Wilcox’s many other theatrical credits are the national tour of Seussical and the New York revival, national and international tours, London production and Thames Television broadcast of Blues in the Night, earning a Drama-Logue Award and a NAACP Image Award nomination. Her regional credits include Guys and Dolls at the Paper Mill Playhouse; The Pajama Game at Chicago’s Marriott Lincolnshire, earning her a Jeff Award nomination; Smokey Joe’s Cafe, Camelot and Aida at the North Shore Music Theatre; Pirates of Penzance at Missouri Repertory Theatre; and “Broadway Under the Stars” in New York’s Bryant Park. Ms. Wilcox has served on faculty at Jacob’s Pillow for three years.

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This is Christine Andreas’ second Lyrics & Lyricists appearance this season; she was in the opening show, Makin’ Whoopee. Ms. Andreas first hit Broadway as Eliza Doolittle in the 20th anniversary production of My Fair Lady, earning a Theatre World Award. She received two Tony nominations as Laurey in Oklahoma! and as Frankie Frayne in On Your Toes, and she created the role of Marguerite in The Scarlet Pimpernel. Other Broadway credits include La Cage aux Folles, Words & Music, Angel Street, Rags, Legs Diamond and Stardust.

Ms. Andreas’ television credits include Law & Order: SVU, The Cosby Show,” PBS’ “Musical Comedy Tonight,” “Another World” and as Ava Gardner in Fox’s miniseries, Mia, Child of Hollywood. She received raves as Margaret Johnson in the national tour of The Light in the Piazza and regionally, she has embraced repertoire from Shakespeare to Sondheim in theaters from Alaska to Washington, DC.

Symphonic engagements include the Detroit, Richmond, Palm Beach Pops, Silicon Valley and Tulsa symphonies and the Caramoor Festival. She has captivated audiences at the Café Carlyle and the Oak Room at the Algonquin Hotel and other prestigious venues from Carnegie Hall to the White House; on October 8 and 15, she will appear at the new Broadway nightclub 54 Below. She has recorded three CDs in collaboration with Martin Silvestri, a Grammy-nominated producer: the romantic Love Is Good; Here’s to the Ladies, a tribute to the great ladies of the theater and recorded with a 55-piece orchestra; and The Carlyle Set. The latter two CDs were chosen by USA Today to its top 10 list. Her website is titled Storybook at christineandreas.com.

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Polly Bergen has enjoyed an illustrious career on stage, screen, television, radio and recordings. She received Emmy nominations for her roles on Desperate Housewives, The Sopranos, Winds of War and War and Remembrance and she won an Emmy for the title role of “The Helen Morgan Story.” In the theater, she received Tony and Drama Desk nominations for her performance in the Roundabout Theatre’s revival of Follies.

Ms. Bergen’s other Broadway credits include Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks, Cabaret with Raul Esparza, Love Letters, First Impressions, Champagne Complex and John Murray Anderson’s Almanac. She also starred in Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues at the Westside Theatre, and she last appeared at Lyrics & Lyricists in Rex Reed’s 2009 The Man That Got Away: Ira After George. Beyond New York, her regional credits include Plaza Suite at Chicago’s Theatre in the Round and A Little Night Music at Center Stage in Baltimore.

Ms. Bergen has accumulated more than 300 film and television credits. She is currently co-starring in Chris Colfer’s film Struck by Lightning which recently premiered to rave reviews at the Tribeca Film Festival. Among her leading films are Cape Fear, The Caretakers, Move Over Darling, Kisses for My President, John Waters’ Cry Baby and Mother Mother. She wrote the story and co-produced the NBC movie of the week, Leave of Absence. Ms. Bergen has recorded numerous successful albums, including the award-winning Bergen Sings Morgan, and she has written three bestsellers. Well known as a woman’s activist since the 1960s, she is involved with both NARAL and Planned Parenthood.

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Jason Graae has starred on Broadway in A Grand Night For Singing, Falsettos, Stardust, Snoopy! and Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up? His Off- Broadway credits include Forever Plaid, Olympus on My Mind, All in the Timing and Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh, for which he received a Drama Desk nomination. In Los Angeles, his credits include the US premiere of Ragtime and both The Music Man and Guys and Dolls at the Hollywood Bowl; he has won two LA Drama Critics Circle Awards and an Ovation Award.

As a cabaret artist, Mr. Graae has received the New York Nightlife Award and four New York Bistro Awards. He has appeared in Birdland and the Metropolitan Room in New York, Feinstein’s in Los Angeles, and the leading venues of San Francisco, New Orleans and Dallas. In his newest role as awards show host, Mr. Graae recently emceed the 2012 LA Drama Critics Circle Awards and the New York MAC Awards at BB King’s. He made his Metropolitan Opera House debut as featured vocalist in Twyla Tharp’s Everlast with the American Ballet Theatre, and he has played roles in Die Fledermaus and The Merry Widow with opera companies across the country.

His television credits include Chad on Rude Awakening, Dennis on Six Feet Under and guest starring roles on many shows including Frasier, Friends and Sabrina. Mr. Graae has recorded more than 45 CDs, including original cast albums, concerts and compilations. He recently released his third solo CD, Perfect Hermany: Jason Graae sings Jerry Herman and had a successful run of that show at the Laurie Beechman Theatre. His website is jasongraae.com.

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One of the great jazz singers of our times, Sue Raney had her own radio show at age 12 and became a regular on Jack Carson’s radio show in Los Angeles at age 16. Within the next year she would have a contract with Capitol Records and her first album, When Your Lover is Gone, with Nelson Riddle.

During the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, Ms. Raney toured with the Four Freshmen. She appeared on numerous TV variety shows, led by countless appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson as well as The Joey Bishop Show, The Mike Douglas Show, The Dean Martin Show, The Danny Kaye Show and The Red Skelton Show. She appeared with Bob Hope, and co-starred with Don Rickles and Bob Newhart in their Las Vegas shows. In more recent times, Ms. Raney has performed across the country with pops conductor Richard Kaufman. She has also toured with Michel Legrand and performed in jazz festivals in the US and abroad.

A four-time Grammy Award nominee, In 2007, Ms. Raney found herself back in Studio A of Capitol Records, where she had cut her first record, to make the CD Heart’s Desire, a tribute to Doris Day. She was accompanied by a full orchestra arranged and conducted by the Grammy Award-winning Alan Broadbent, and the disc received some of the best reviews of her career. Last year, she reunited with Mr. Broadbent—this time alone at the piano—for Listen Here, a set of classic songs. Her website is sueraneysro.com.

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Tom Wopat first came to public attention as the freewheeling Luke Duke on The Dukes of Hazard, but his classically trained vocals soon landed him a role on Cy Coleman’s I Love My Wife in his Broadway debut. Since then, he has received Tony Award nominations for Annie Get Your Gun opposite Bernadette Peters and A Catered Affair, and he has appeared in the Tony Award-winning musicals City of Angels, Guys and Dolls, 42nd Street and Chicago. In 2005, he made his Broadway dramatic debut in the Tony Award-winning revival of Glengarry Glen Ross. Most recently, he starred in 2011’s Catch Me if You Can and 2010’s Sondheim on Sondheim.

Not content to leave television behind, Mr. Wopat followed his “Dukes” success with a leading role in Cybill and a recurring role in Home Improvement. He has also starred in several made-for-television movies, including his reunion with fellow Duke John Schneider in “Christmas Comes to Willow Creek” for CBS, HBO’s “Taking Chance” with Kevin Bacon and “Just My Imagination” for NBC. Mr. Wopat also has many film credits to his name, including Quentin Tarantino’s latest feature, Django Unchained.

As a recording artist, Mr. Wopat first hit the country charts with Top 20 hits like “The Rock and Roll of Love” and “Susannah.” In 2000, he released Still of the Night, an album of standards done in the style of the crooners from the 40’s and 50’s. His latest album, Consider it Swung, offers both: a little bit Broadway and a little bit country. His website is tomwopat.com.

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Dave Ratajczak is one of the most sought-after percussionists in the New York metropolitan area. He is currently performing in the Broadway production of Mary Poppins, and he has performed in the orchestras for such Tony Award-winning and nominated shows as City of Angels, Crazy For You, Titanic, Music Man, Wonderful Town and Sweet Charity. As a studio musician, Mr. Ratajczak has performed on several movie soundtracks, including Dead Man Walking, Cradle Will Rock, Wolf, The Pelican Brief, Miller’s Crossing, Brighton Beach Memoirs and Biloxi Blues.

Mr. Ratajczak has performed and recorded with a wide variety of artists. Ensembles include the Woody Herman Orchestra, John Fedchock’s New York Big Band, New York Philharmonic, Boston Pops and Orchestra of St. Luke’s. Among popular and Broadway stars are Kenny Rankin, Audra McDonald, Barbara Cook, Rosemary Clooney, Bebe Neuwirth, Christine Ebersole and Lea Salonga. Mr. Ratajczak has also worked with jazz greats like Gerry Mulligan, Eddie Daniels, Grady Tate, Milt Hinton and Kenny Rankin. One of his career highlights was recreating the role of jazz drumming great Gene Krupa with Bob Wilbur’s orchestra in a Carnegie Hall performance celebrating the 50th anniversary of Benny Goodman’s historic 1938 jazz concert. Mr. Ratajczak is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music.

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