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| Concert April L&L Artist Bios |
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 To purchase tickets to the Apr L&L events, click here |
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Robert Kimball |
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Vince Giordano (co-music director) and the Nighthawks |
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Joseph Thalken |
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Charles Osgood |
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Nancy Anderson |
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Jeffry Denman |
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Jason Graae |
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Randy Graff |
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Megan Sikora |
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Randy Skinner |
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| Robert Kimball |
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| Artistic Director |
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Robert Kimball is a historian of the American musical theater and artistic advisor to the Ira and Leonore Gershwin Trusts and the Cole Porter Musical and Literary Property Trusts. He is a member of the advisory committee of City Center’s Encores! Great American Musicals in Concert series and has been a consultant to the Library of Congress, the Chicago Humanities Festival and the Packard Humanities Institute’s musical theater recording project.
Kimball is currently working on two books: The Complete Lyrics of Johnny Mercer, which he is co-editing with Barry Day and Miles Kreuger for publication in the fall of 2009 during the Mercer centennial, and a volume of lyrics by Ira Gershwin to be published as part of the Library of America’s American Poets Project. He has edited The Complete Lyrics of Cole Porter (1983); The Complete Lyrics of Lorenz Hart (with Dorothy Hart, 1986); The Complete Lyrics of Ira Gershwin (1993); Reading Lyrics (with Robert Gottlieb, 2000); The Complete Lyrics of Irving Berlin (with Linda Emmet, 2001); The Complete Lyrics of Frank Loesser (with Steve Nelson, 2003) and Cole Porter: Selected Lyrics (Library of America, American Poets Project, 2006). Kimball’s other books include Cole (with Brendan Gill, 1971), The Gershwins (with Alfred Simon, 1973) and Reminiscing with Sissle and Blake (with William Bolcom, 1973).
After graduation from Yale College and the Yale Law School, Kimball pursued his longstanding interest in the American musical theater as curator of Yale University’s Collection of the Literature of the American Musical Theater from 1967 to 1971. He received a Drama Desk Award for his rediscovery of lost musical-theater manuscripts in a Secaucus (NJ) warehouse. He was artistic director for the Lyrics & Lyricists Mack Gordon (2005), Johnny Mercer (2006) and Irving Berlin (2007) programs. |
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| Vince Giordano (co-music director) and the Nighthawks |
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In 35 years as a bandleader, Vince Giordano has become the authority on recreating the sounds of 1920s and ‘30s jazz and popular music. Early appearances with Leon Redbone and on Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion and Francis Ford Coppola’s The Cotton Club led to working with Dick Hyman’s Orchestra in half a dozen Woody Allen soundtracks and appearing as the bass player in Sean Penn’s band in Allen’s Sweet and Lowdown. Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks were featured in Gus Van Sant’s Finding Forrester, Martin Scorsese’s The Aviator, Robert DeNiro’s The Good Shepherd, Tamara Jenkin’s The Savages and Sam Mendes’ Revolutionary Road. Future film projects include another Sam Mendes film, Away We Go, due this year, as well as Michael Mann’s upcoming film, Public Enemies. Also a big-band historian and collector, Giordano has more than 32,000 scores in his collection. In addition to playing the string bass, Giordano is a multi-instrumentalist on tuba, bass saxophone, banjo, rhythm guitar, piano and drums. Currently Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks can be heard every Monday evening at Sofia’s Restaurant (downstairs), located at 221 West 46th Street, adjacent to the Hotel Edison in New York City.
The Nighthawks:
Vince Giordano, co-music director/ string bass/bass sax/tuba
Andy Stein, violin/baritone sax
Mike Ponella, trumpet
Jon-Erik Kellso, trumpet
Jim Fryer, trombone
Dan Block, alto sax/clarinet
Mark Lopeman, tenor sax/clarinet
Andy Farber, alto sax/clarinet
Ken Salvo, guitar/banjo
Arnie Kinsella, drums |
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| Joseph Thalken |
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| Co-Music Director & Piano |
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| Joseph Thalken is the composer of the musicals Was (with Barry Kleinbort) and Harold & Maude (with Tom Jones) and also contributed to Songs From an Unmade Bed (with Mark Campbell). He is a recipient of a grant and joint commission from the Signature Theatre in Arlington (VA) and the Shen Family Foundation for a new musical theater work. His past awards include the Gilbert & Gonzalez-Falla Theater Foundation Commendation Award, Meet the Composer and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. Thalken was the conductor for the Broadway production of Victor/Victoria starring Julie Andrews, and recently finished conducting Gypsy with Patti LuPone. He has also worked with Bernadette Peters, Liza Minnelli, Michael Crawford, Rebecca Luker, Audra McDonald, Faith Prince, Marin Mazzie, Jason Danieley, Kelli O’Hara, Karen Ziemba, Kristin Chenoweth, Howard McGillin, Cady Huffman, Elizabeth Futral, Catherine Malfitano, Denyce Graves, Evelyn Lear, Thomas Stewart, Nathan Gunn and Joshua Bell, among many others. He recently conducted the Kennedy Center Opera Orchestra at a gala honoring Senator Ted Kennedy. A graduate of Northwestern University, Thalken spent several years coaching and conducting opera, operetta and musicals in Germany and Switzerland, and he is a guest lecturer at Yale University. |
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| Charles Osgood |
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| Host |
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| Charles Osgood, often referred to as CBS News’ poet-in-residence, has been anchor of CBS News Sunday Morning since 1994. He also anchors and writes “The Osgood File,” a daily news commentary broadcast on the CBS Radio Network, which draws one of the largest audiences of any network radio feature. One of the most honored men in broadcast journalism, Osgood was recognized with the 2008 National Association of Broadcasters Distinguished Service Award and has received four Emmys, most recently for his 2005 story on “Playing for Peace,” about a basketball group created by Americans to bring strife-torn children of different religions and races together. He was inducted into the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame in 2000, he has earned five coveted Washington Journalism Review Best in the Business Awards for “The Osgood File,” and he received a 1997 George Foster Peabody Award for Sunday Morning. In 2008, Osgood made his big screen debut as the narrator of Horton Hears a Who, and he has performed with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and played the piano and banjo with the New York Pops and Boston Pops orchestras. His latest book is A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the White House (Hyperion, 2008), a compendium of anecdotes from the last 70 years of presidential campaigns. Osgood was born in New York. He graduated from Fordham University in 1954 with a B.S. degree in economics and holds honorary doctorates from 11 institutions of higher learning. |
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| Nancy Anderson |
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| Vocals |
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| Nancy Anderson has just returned from the Kansas City Repertory Theater, where she appeared in a musical adaptation of Sherwood Anderson’s novel, Winesburg, OH. New York audiences most recently saw her as Winnie in the City Center Encores! production of No, No, Nanette and as Helen and Eileen in the Broadway revival of Wonderful Town. Anderson made her Broadway debut as Mona in A Class Act, and she’s been seen Off-Broadway in Fanny Hill (for which she received a Drama Desk nomination for Best Actress), Jolson & Co., (earning her a Drama Desk nomination for Best Supporting Actress), A Dangerous Personality, Burleigh Grimes, Fables in Slang and The Blue Flower. She has also been seen in several York Theatre Company’s Musicals in Mufti productions, including I & Albert, Pacific 1860 and Plain and Fancy. Beyond New York, Anderson appeared as Lois/Bianca in Kiss Me, Kate, both on the West End, earning her an Olivier Award nomination, and on national tour, earning her a Helen Hayes Award nomination. In the fall, she played Miriam Aaron in Darko Tresnjack’s mounting of The Women at the Old Globe Theater in San Diego. As a concert artist, Anderson has performed with the Atlanta Symphony, and she appeared at Carnegie Hall with Michael Feinstein in “Hooray for Love Songs,” and in Broadway by the Year at Town Hall. Her debut CD is Ten Cents a Dance, and her television credits include Kiss Me, Kate and South Pacific, both for Great Performances. Anderson’s website is www.nancyanderson.name |
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| Jeffry Denman |
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| Vocals & Dancer |
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| Jeffry Denman starred in the Danny Kaye role in Irving Berlin’s White Christmas on Broadway this past December, after originating the role in San Francisco and reprising it in Boston (earning the IRNE Award), Los Angeles and St. Paul, and making the studio recording. Denman also appeared in Broadway’s The Producers, Dream, How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and Cats, and in City Center Encores! productions of Face the Music and Of Thee I Sing. He is also a regular in the Town Hall Broadway series, directing, choreographing and starring in the 1924 and 1947 editions of Broadway by the Year and Tribute to Lerner and Loewe. In Los Angeles, Denman received an Ovation nomination for his performance in LA Reprise’s On Your Toes and appeared in the Alley Theatre’s world premiere of The Gershwins’ An American in Paris. Denman has choreographed for and starred in concerts with Marvin Hamlisch, Michael Feinstein, Debbie Gravitte, Ron Raines, Susan Egan and Rebecca Luker for such organizations as the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, The Philadelphia Orchestra and the National Symphony. He has been choreographer for Off-Broadway’s Naked Boys Singing, Gallery Player’s Yank and Studio Arena’s Dancing in the Dark, earning him an ARTIE Award for Best Choreography. Denman is also a winner of a Back Stage Bistro Award for Jazz Turns, his solo show at Birdland. He is author of the book A Year With The Producers (Routledge, 2002), about his time with the Mel Brooks’ hit. His website is www.jeffrydenman.com |
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| Jason Graae |
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| Vocals |
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| Jason Graae has starred on and off-Broadway in A Grand Night For Singing, Falsettos, Stardust, Snoopy!, Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?, Forever Plaid, Olympus on My Mind, All in the Timing and Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh, for which he received a Drama Desk nomination for Best Actor in a Musical. As a cabaret artist, Graae has received the New York Nightlife Award and five Back Stage Bistro Awards, and his show, “Coup de Graae!,” was listed in Time Out New York’s Top 10 Cabaret shows of 2006. He has since performed his show across the country, including Caramoor, Wolf Trap, Feinstein’s in L.A. and The Plush Room in San Francisco. Active in the Los Angeles theatrical community, Graae recently won his second L.A. Drama Critics Circle Award— the 2008 Joel Hirschorn Award for Outstanding Achievement in Musical Theatre. Graae made his Los Angeles Opera debut as Njegus in The Merry Widow, repeating the role in Dallas, Houston and New Orleans, and his other operatic roles include Offenbach in The Grand Duchess and Frosch in Die Fledermaus. Graae’s film appearances include Home on the Range, Gepetto and the upcoming Awakening of Spring, and he has appeared on such TV shows as Six Feet Under, Friends, Frasier, Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Evening at Boston Pops. Graae has recorded over 40 CDs, including two solo CDs: You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile—Jason Graae Sings Charles Strouse and Jason Graae LIVE at The Cinegrill. His website is www.jasongraae.com |
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| Randy Graff |
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| Vocals |
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| Randy Graff was last seen on Broadway as Golde in the revival of Fiddler on the Roof, for which she received Drama League and Outer Critic’s Circle nominations. She received a Tony and Drama Desk Award for City of Angels, and Outer Critics’ Circle, Drama Desk and Tony Award nominations for A Class Act. Also on Broadway, Graff created the role of Fantine in Les Misérables, for which she received a Helen Hayes nomination, and she appeared in Falsettos and High Society. She has co-starred with Nathan Lane in Neil Simon’s Laughter on the 23rd Floor and Do Re Mi for City Center’s Encores!, and she shared the stage with Carol Burnett in Moon Over Buffalo. Her other New York theatrical work includes Meg in Damn Yankees for City Center Summer Stars, The Long Christmas Ride Home at the Vineyard Theatre, for which she received a Drama League nomination, Neil Simon’s Hotel Suite at the Roundabout Theatre, and shows at Manhattan Theatre Club, Playwright’s Horizons and the Village Gate. Randy created the role of Ann Landers in The Lady With All the Answers, a one woman show, for the Old Globe Theater. For the Kennedy Center’s Sondheim Festival, she appeared as the Countess in A Little Night Music. Her television and film credits include Notes From the Underbelly, Cashmere Mafia, Law & Order, Twins, Ed, Mad About You, Moon Over Broadway, Keys to Tulsa and The Tonight Show. Recordings include cast albums of Fiddler on the Roof, Les Misérables, City of Angels, Do Re Mi, High Society and A Class Act, and her own solo CD, Randy Graff Sings Cy Coleman. |
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| Megan Sikora |
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| Vocals & Dancer |
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| Megan Sikora was most recently seen on Broadway as Bambi Bernet in Kander & Ebb’s Curtains, securing her reputation as a “triple-threat” Broadway star. Her other Broadway credits include dance captain and understudy for Lucy and Mina in Dracula, the Musical, cast member and understudy/replacement for both Glinda and Nessarose in Wicked, Ruth in Thoroughly Modern Millie, Wonderful Town, 42nd Street and the 2005 Actors Fund benefit performance of On the Twentieth Century. She also appeared in New York at Carnegie Hall in Showboat as Ellie; in the Manhattan Theater Club’s staging of The Wild Party as Peggy; and in Center City Encores! productions of Applause as Bonnie and A Connecticut Yankee as Angela. Nationally, Sikora earned a Los Angeles Ovation nomination for her role as Bambi in the L.A. production of Curtains, and she appeared as Judy Haynes in Irving Berlin’sWhite Christmas at the Fox Theater in Detroit and Ado Annie in Oklahoma! at Paper Mill Playhouse, among other productions. Sikora can be heard on five original cast recordings, including Curtains!, and her television appearances include Comedy Central's Important Things with Demetri Martin, the 2009 Academy Awards broadcast with Hugh Jackman and the 2006 Kennedy Center Honors. As an active and dedicated member of the Broadway community, Sikora has appeared in several benefits, including the recent Here’s to the Ladies who Care, KICKIN’ IT: Broadway Gives Back and Broadway Bares XVII: Myth Behavior. She holds a bachelor’s degree in dance from Point Park University, Pittsburgh (PA). |
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| Randy Skinner |
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| Stage Director & Choreographer |
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| Randy Skinner was represented on Broadway this season as choreographer for Irving Berlin’s White Christmas. He received Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics and Astaire award nominations for his choreography of the revival of 42nd Street and Tony and Outer Critics nominations for Ain’t Broadway Grand. His other Broadway credits include State Fair, which he also co-directed and for which he received a third Outer Critics nomination, and After the Night and the Music. Skinner has choreographed four City Center Encores! productions—Do Re Mi, Of Thee I Sing, Face the Music and No, No, Nanette—and he earned a Lucille Lortel nomination for Lone Star Love. In Los Angeles, Skinner has received the L.A. Drama Critics and Dramalogue awards for his work on such shows as Hello, Dolly! with Nell Carter, Pal Joey with Dixie Carter and Elaine Stritch, and Strike Up the Band with Tom Bosley. His other regional credits include Broadway: Three Generations at the Kennedy Center, Stormy Weather with Leslie Uggams at the Pasadena Playhouse and The Gershwins’ An American in Paris at the Alley Theatre in Houston, earning him such honors as the Bay Area Critics, Connecticut Critics and Cleveland Times Theatre awards. |
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© 2010 92nd Street Young Men's and Young Women's Hebrew Association
All Rights Reserved. |
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