Songs of America: From Stephen Foster to Bob Dylan and Beyond

America is often described as a “melting pot,” and our music is a symphony that mixes elements from across the globe. Of course, American music has not only been influenced by the influx of immigrants over the years, it has also been hugely influential throughout the world. It’s hard to think of rock and roll or jazz as a simply American style of music anymore. Interestingly, what we here at 92nd Street Y call “the American Songbook,” i.e. songs that came originally from Broadway and Hollywood, are still uniquely American. No other country, not even Great Britain, has adopted this style as its own. But of course the American Songbook was born of many influences: European operetta, ragtime, jazz, blues, klezmer, gypsy music, country, gospel. And in turn, the American Songbook inspired future generations of composers, singers and songwriters who listened to Rodgers and Hammerstein on their parents’ phonographs and went on to create new genres of their own.

My expertise is the Broadway songbook, so I have used past shows at 92Y as an opportunity for me to explore writers within that genre that I didn’t know too much about. My last program, on Hoagy Carmichael, was the first that wasn’t about a New York writer. And it led to me think about all the songs that have been created outside the realms of Broadway and Hollywood, and how they deserve a program here at Lyrics & Lyricists.

So what is tonight’s program about? Simply put, it’s my own idiosyncratic look at what feels and sounds like an American song. Some choices may seem surprising—in fact, I hope so—while others may be comforting and familiar. This is not an evening of pure patriotic uplift, but rather an exploration of the breadth and variety of music in our history, a look at how we as a community have expressed our fears and hopes, our struggles and triumphs, our diversity and unity. In picking the material, I looked for songs that held a story, that crystallized a moment in our history that was potent and iconic.

In this period of great uncertainty about what our country stands for, and the direction we are headed, it seemed to me a good time to examine how music has helped shape the way we Americans feel about our country and each other. Please join me in honoring our country’s astounding and varied musical history, one that’s still being written. I look forward to sharing the program with you.

—Ted Sperling

Here is a selection of songs from the upcoming Lyrics & Lyricists program, “Songs of America: From Stephen Foster to Bob Dylan and Beyond.” Program is subject to change.

AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL
Lyrics by Katharine Lee Bates; music by Samuel A. Ward (1910)

AMERICAN TUNE
Lyrics & music by Paul Simon (1973)

BROTHER, CAN YOU SPARE A DIME?
Lyrics by E. Y. "Yip" Harburg & composer Jay Gorney
From Americana / Musical (1932)

CALIFORNIA, HERE I COME
Lyrics by Al Jolson & Buddy DeSylva; music by Joseph Meyer (1924)

COTTON FIELDS
Lyrics & music by Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter (1940)

HOW CAN YOU TELL AN AMERICAN
Lyrics by Maxwell Anderson; music by Kurt Weill
From Knickerbocker Holiday / Musical (1938)

IF I HAD A HAMMER
Lyrics & music by Pete Seeger & Lee Hays (1949)

I’LL FLY AWAY
Lyrics & music by Albert E. Brumley (1929)

JOHN HENRY
Traditional ballad (date unknown)

LITTLE TIN BOX
Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick; Music by Jerry Bock
From Fiorello / Musical (1961)

LOUISIANA PURCHASE
Lyrics & music by Irving Berlin
From Louisiana Purchase / Musical (1940)

OH! SUSANNAH
Lyrics & music by Stephen Foster (1847)

RHODE ISLAND IS FAMOUS FOR YOU
Lyrics by Howard Dietz; music by Arthur Schwartz
From Inside U.S.A. / Revue (1948)

SHENANDOAH
Traditional ballad (date unknown)

SIXTEEN TONS
Lyrics & music by Merle Travis (1946)

THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN’
Lyrics & music by Bob Dylan (1963)

WADE IN THE WATER
Traditional spiritual (date unknown)

Ted Sperling

Ted Sperling , music director, conductor, actor, pianist, violinist, singer, director and arranger, has been active in the New York theater and concert world for nearly 30 years. He was music director and conductor of South Pacific at Lincoln Center Theater, and he won the 2005 Tony and Drama Desk awards for his orchestrations of The Light in the Piazza, for which he was also music director. Mr. Sperling was music director and arranger for Guys and Dolls, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The Full Monty and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. His other Broadway credits include My Favorite Year, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Angels in America, Falsettos, Les Misérables, Drood, Roza and Sunday in the Park with George. Mr. Sperling was an original cast member of Titanic, playing bandleader Wallace Hartley.

Off-Broadway, Mr. Sperling directed the world premieres of V-Day, See What I Wanna See and Striking 12. His Off-Broadway credits as music director include A Man of No Importance, Stephen Sondheim’s Wise Guys, Saturn Returns, Floyd Collins, A New Brain and Romance in Hard Times. He has directed many programs for Lincoln Center’s American Songbook series, for Joe’s Pub and for Town Hall. This is his fifth appearance at Lyrics & Lyricists; his most recent was the 2010 program on Hoagy Carmichael. His regional directing credits include the world premiere of Charlotte: Life? or Theater? and a revival of Lady in the Dark starring Andrea Marcovicci at the Prince Music Theater in Philadelphia.

In the opera world, Mr. Sperling has conducted Ricky Ian Gordon’s The Grapes of Wrath at Carnegie Hall, Kurt Weill’s The Firebrand of Florence at Alice Tully Hall and a double bill for the Houston Grand Opera and Audra McDonald: La voix humaine by Poulenc and the world premiere of Send (who are you? i love you) by Michael John LaChiusa. Mr. Sperling has been Ms. McDonald’s music director for more than 10 years, and he has performed with her throughout the US, in London and in Paris. Mr. Sperling is also music director for sopranos Victoria Clark and Deborah Voigt, and he has conducted symphony concerts for Nathan Gunn, Patti LuPone, Kelli O’Hara and Paulo Szot. He recently conducted for Michael Bublé on “Saturday Night Live,” and will be directing and conducting The Mikado at Carnegie Hall later this season.

Mr. Sperling conducted the world premiere recording of Ragtime, songs for the animated film Anastasia and the film scores of The Manchurian Candidate, Everything is Illuminated and the recent Sundance Award-winning 3 Backyards. He made his film directorial debut with the short musical film Love, Mom, for which he won the Director’s Choice Award at the Black Maria Film and Video Festival.

Mr. Sperling was a recipient of the 2006 Ted Shen Family Foundation Award for leadership in the musical theater. He is the director of the Music Theater Initiative at the Public Theater, as well as the creative director of “The 24 Hour Musicals.”

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Jeffrey Klitz

Jeffrey Klitz is a noted music director, arranger, orchestrator, conductor and performer. He has been music director and pianist for Judy Kuhn, Judy Collins, Joel Grey, Betty Buckley, Tommy Tune and others. On Broadway, he is currently music director and conductor for Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, and he was conductor for the recent revival of Guys and Dolls; music director and conductor for Lennon and Hot Feet; and conductor and choral arranger for Song and Dance and On Your Toes. His Broadway orchestra performance credits include Chicago, Grand Hotel and Stardust.

Mr. Klitz has also been music director for Lincoln Center’s American Songbook series and this is his seventh appearance at 92Y’s Lyrics & Lyricists; his most recent was as music director for the 2010 salute to Hoagy Carmichael, led by Ted Sperling.

On the national scene, Mr. Klitz won the Joseph Jefferson Award for his music direction of The House of Martin Guerre at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre. He provided new arrangements for the national tour of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas starring Ann-Margret, and arrangements and orchestrations for Andrea Marcovicci’s one-woman show. Among his studio work, Klitz produced and arranged Tony Award nominee Judy Kuhn’s CD, Serious Playground, and he contributed arrangements and orchestrations to Tony Award-winner Victoria Clark’s CD, Fifteen Seconds of Grace.

Klitz’s film and television credits include arrangements and piano performance for Lucas, “One Life to Live” and “All My Children,” as well as arrangements and orchestrations for Disney’s Dumbo II. He has served as arranger and producer for Paul McCartney’s music publishing house, MPL Music Publishing. He received a degree in music from Yale University.

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Andrew Palermo

Andrew Palermo is the artistic director and co-founder (along with childhood best friend Taye Diggs) of dre.dance, a New York City-based contemporary dance company. Since its premiere in 2005, the company has earned a reputation for authentically poignant and powerful dancing with performances and residencies in New York City and across the country.

In addition to dre.dance, Mr. Palermo maintains a schedule of direction and choreography for stage and screen and is in consistent collaboration on a variety of projects in development. His New York credits include “Kristin Chenoweth at Carnegie Hall;” DanceBreak 2011; Esther Demsack for the Summer Play Festival (SPF)/The Public Theater; and V-Day and Journey to the West for the New York Music Theatre Festival (NYMF). Regionally, he has done directorial and choreographic work on Ace at The Old Globe in San Diego, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park and Repertory Theater of St. Louis; Bright Lights, Big City at the Prince Music Theater in Philadelphia; Vices at Theatre Aspen; Aida at Music Theater Wichita; Man of La Mancha at Sacramento Music Circus; and Two Gentlemen of Verona at the University of Cincinnati/College Conservatory of Music, among others.

Mr. Palermo’s performance career has included the Broadway companies of Wicked, Annie Get Your Gun and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. He also appeared in Michael John LaChiusa’s Little Fish at Second Stage, national and international tours of West Side Story and performances at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, The Hollywood Bowl and numerous regional theaters.
 

Lawrence Clayton

Lawrence Clayton is making his 92nd Street Y debut with these performances. He most recently starred as Jean Valjean in the 25th anniversary production of Les Misérables. He also starred in the New York premiere of Jerry Springer: The Opera at Carnegie Hall with Harvey Keitel and reprised the role at the Sydney Opera House. Mr. Clayton’s Broadway appearances include Bells Are Ringing, It Ain’t Nothin’ But the Blues, The Civil War, Once Upon a Mattress and Dreamgirls. His Off-Broadway credits include Crowns at Second Stage, Saturn Returns and Romance in Hard Times at The Public Theater and Jesus Christ Superstar as Judas at the Paramount Theater at Madison Square Garden.

Regional audiences have seen Mr. Clayton in productions of Big River, Jesus Christ Superstar, The Boys from Syracuse, Betsy Brown, Sophisticated Ladies and Avenue X. He has also appeared as the tenor in “Too Hot to Handel: The Gospel Messiah” with the Baltimore and Colorado symphonies under the direction of Marin Alsop.

On the small screen, Mr. Clayton has appeared in episodes of “The Big C,” “All My Children,” “Another World,” “As the World Turns,” “One Life to Live,” “Deadline,” “Law and Order: Criminal Intent” and the made-for-TV movie Mary and Rhoda. He lent his voice to the Rankin-Bass animated Christmas special Santa Baby, starring Vanessa Williams, Gregory Hines and Eartha Kitt. His recordings include the Broadway cast albums of Bells Are Ringing and Once Upon a Mattress and Adam Guettel’s Myths and Hymns.

Kecia Lewis-Evans

This is Kecia Lewis-Evans’ second Lyrics & Lyricists engagement, having helped launch “Lyrics & Lyricists Downtown” in April 2010 at 92YTribeca with a salute to Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty. She returns to Broadway this spring in Leap of Faith, the new musical by Alan Menken and Glen Slater, having appeared in its premiere at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles. She was last seen on Broadway as Matron “Mama” Morton in Chicago, and her other Broadway credits include the original casts of The Drowsy Chaperone, Once on This Island, Ain’t Misbehavin’, The Gospel at Colonus, Big River and Dreamgirls. Off-Broadway, she received a Drama Desk Award nomination for her performance in Dessa Rose at the Lincoln Center Theater, and she appeared in From the Mississippi Delta at Circle in the Square Theatre.

Regionally, last year Ms. Lewis-Evans was seen in the musical Sleeping Beauty Wakes at both the La Jolla Playhouse and the McCarter Theatre. She won an L.A. Ovation Award for Dreamgirls and a Bay Area Outer Critics Circle Award for Polk County. She has also appeared in regional productions of Ain’t Misbehavin’, Hairspray (as Motormouth Mabel), Smokey Joe’s Cafe, The King and I, South Pacific, The Sound of Music and Shrek.

Ms. Lewis-Evans’ film and television credits include Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, “Law & Order,” “Kate Brasher,” “Crossing Jordan” and “The Hughleys.” In November 2010, she made her Carnegie Hall debut in “Too Hot to Handel: The Gospel Messiah” with the Baltimore Symphony. Her recordings include several cast albums and two solo CDs: WWW (Word Worship Warfare) and Somone’s Gotta Say It.  

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Jamie Leonhart

Drawing comparisons to Norah Jones, Feist, Laura Nyro, Madeleine Peyroux and even Sarah Vaughan, the sharp-witted chanteuse Jamie Leonhart is an artist who refuses to be categorized: dynamic in emotional range and diverse in genre-crossing ability. With a lithe and lyrical three-and-a-half octave voice, Ms. Leonhart has performed as a soloist on stages ranging from great New York institutions like Avery Fisher Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall to intimate venues such as Joe’s Pub, the Living Room and Rockwood Music Hall. Her debut recording, The Truth About Suffering, was released on Sunnyside Records, and she is currently recording a new solo project, to be released later this year.

Born in New York City and the granddaughter of a cantor, Ms. Leonhart began studying the violin at the age of three and started singing soon after. After graduating with a degree in English literature from Barnard College, she continued her musical journey by leading a “pop” band, singing as a soloist in the New York Metro Mass Gospel Choir and performing as a solo artist in various New York venues.

Ms. Leonhart is employed as both a voice actor and vocalist for television, radio and commercials, and has been featured in projects for Lifetime, Oxygen, Johnson & Johnson, TRESemmé, Neutrogena, Kohl’s, Betty Crocker and more. She also works extensively as a background and session singer with such artists as the Brooklyn Rundfunk Orkestrata, Judy Kuhn and Paul Brill. Her music was featured in a nationally broadcast commercial for TRESemmé Flawless Curls. Her website is jamieleonhart.com.

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David M. Lutken

Also making his 92nd Street Y debut is David M. Lutken. Mr. Lutken has appeared on Broadway in Inherit the Wind, Ring of Fire, The Civil War and The Will Rogers Follies. He last appeared in New York in Cap 21 Theatre Company’s October 2011 production of the new musical Southern Comfort. His other Off-Broadway credits include Stars in Your Eyes, Woody Guthrie’s American Song, Winterman and The Portable Pioneer and Prairie Show. He appeared as the Balladeer in New York City Opera’s production of Benjamin Britten’s Paul Bunyan, which was broadcast on PBS’ “Live from Lincoln Center.”

Beyond New York, Mr. Lutken has created a touring show, Woody Sez, about the life of folk singer Woody Guthrie, which premiered at the Edinburgh Festival in 2007. It received an Evening Standard Theatre Award nomination for Best Musical for its 2011 London run, and its 2012 engagements include the American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge and festivals in Glasgow, Berlin and Munich. Mr. Lutken has also appeared in regional theater productions of Man of La Mancha, Big River, Elmer Gantry, Finian’s Rainbow, Pump Boys and Dinettes, Stand by Your Man, The Love List, The Man Who Came to Dinner, On Golden Pond and In the Deep Heart’s Core. A native of Dallas, Mr. Lutken received a bachelor’s degree in classical studies from Duke University. He studied in London at the Royal School of Church Music, the Royal College of Music and the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Arts. He is the principal banjoist for the Baton Rouge Symphony.

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Clarke Thorell

A native of San Diego, Clarke Thorell made his Broadway debut in The Who’s Tommy. He originated the roles of Corny Collins in the Broadway company of Hairspray and Jim Farrell in Titanic. He pinch-hit for John Pizzarelli at Radio City Music Hall in Sinatra: His Voice. His World. His Way, and last year joined the long-running Mamma Mia! as Harry Bright. His Off-Broadway credits include Satellites at the Public Theater, Lone Star Love at the John Houseman Theater, Sondheim’s Saturday Night, and the New York Theatre Workshop’s developmental production of Sondheim’s Wise Guys, directed by Sam Mendes with musical direction by Ted Sperling. Other favorite roles include Orsino in Twelfth Night, directed by Jack O’Brien, and Homer in Floyd Collins, directed by Tina Landau, with musical direction by Ted Sperling.

Mr. Thorell’s film and television credits include the upcoming Men in Black III and the CBS drama The 2-2; Kings,Rescue Me, the Law & Order franchise, Strong Medicine, Ed, Far East, The Sopranos and The Winning Season. Portraying Andy Williams, Mr. Thorell toured the globe with Liza Minnelli, recreating the 1948 nightclub act made famous by Kay Thompson & The Williams Brothers. As a vocalist, Mr. Thorell has performed with artists including ABBA, The Red Clay Ramblers, Dave Brubeck and Pete Townshend, and he is a member of Michael McElroy’s Broadway Inspirational Voices. His previous Lyrics & Lyricists appearances, where he could display his talents on banjo and ukulele, honored the works of “Yip” Harburg, Frank Loesser, Sammy Cahn and Hoagy Carmichael.

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Antoine Silverman

Antoine Silverman has a versatile career as violinist and music contractor-coordinator. He is music coordinator and concertmaster for Spiderman: Turn off the Dark, and he has been concertmaster of Shrek The Musical, Legally Blonde, Urban Cowboy, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, High Fidelity and others. He has contracted orchestras for film and TV projects like The Tempest, Across the Universe, Remember Me, “Boardwalk Empire” and “The Big C.” Adept in many musical styles, Mr. Silverman has worked with artists as diverse as Michael Jackson, Garth Brooks, Moby, Rod Stewart, Sheryl Crow, Lou Reed, Lenny Kravitz and Audra McDonald, and he has been a soloist with the Boston Pops. Mr. Silverman has two solo records—Swing Shift and Blue Moods—and he has written two educational books: Step One: Play Violin and Fiddle Tunes, Basic and Beyond. His website is antoinesilverman.com.

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Kevin Kuhn

Kevin Kuhn is currently guitarist for Disney’s The Lion King. His other Broadway credits include The Coast of Utopia (Part 1—Voyage), The Who’s Tommy, The Secret Garden and Chess. He has also appeared with Carter Burwell’s Theater of the New Ear, The Philadelphia Orchestra and most of the resident companies of Lincoln Center. Mr. Kuhn has performed with such artists as Audra McDonald, Sutton Foster, Jane Krakowski, Sarah Brightman, Rita Coolidge, LeAnn Rimes, Elton John and Quincy Jones. His discography includes Mary Fahl’s The Other Side of Time, Chaka Khan’s ClassiKhan and the soundtracks of The Informant, Gangs of New York and Birdy, in which he also appeared onscreen in the band. As a composer, Mr. Kuhn has been on the staff at Score Productions, Big Wave Music and Shelly Palmer Productions.

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Pete Donovan

Pete Donovan is currently bass player for Broadway’s Mary Poppins and has played for Fiddler on the Roof, Oklahoma!, On the Town, High Society and The Producers, as well as the “Radio City Christmas Spectacular.” He has worked with a diverse array of artists including Bono, Wynton Marsalis, The Who, Joshua Bell, Dawn Upshaw, Placido Domingo, Marvin Hamlisch and Patti LuPone. He has also performed with such leading orchestras and companies as the New York Philharmonic, the Boston Pops, the National Symphony and The Metropolitan Opera. He has appeared at the Ravinia, Tanglewood, Caramoor and San Francisco Jazz festivals. He can be heard on numerous cast recordings, including The Light in the Piazza, Floyd Collins and South Pacific, and on the soundtrack of films like Across the Universe and You’ve Got Mail. His website is reverbnation.com/petedonovan.

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Warren Odze

Drummer Warren Odze has been in the music business for 40 years. He has played on Broadway in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Come Fly Away, The Wedding Singer, Lennon, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Seussical, Kat and the Kings, The Civil War and The Life. He has performed and recorded with such artists as Judy Collins, Peter Allen, Barbara Cook, Hank Jones, Johnny Hartman, Audra MacDonald, Kenny Rankin, Phoebe Snow, Art Garfunkel and Rod Stewart. Mr. Odze was drummer for “The Dick Cavett Show,” and his other television credits include broadcasts of the Tony Awards Show and the Memorial Day and “A Capital Fourth” concerts with the National Symphony on PBS. He is a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music.  

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