Lyrics & Lyricists: Yip Harburg: Follow the Fellow Who Follows a Dream - 92Y, New York
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Lyrics & Lyricists

Yip Harburg: Follow the Fellow Who Follows a Dream

Yip Harburg: Follow the Fellow Who Follows a Dream

“When all the world is a hopeless jumble…”

These are the opening lyrics to one of the most famous songs in history, “Over The Rainbow.” Indeed, much of Yip Harburg’s long career, on Broadway and in Hollywood, carried an idealistic yearning for America’s golden promise. In a nod to the very first ever Lyrics & Lyricists event, when Harburg himself took to our stage, a stellar cast shows us how time’s perspective has proven his songs and ideas to be enduring antidotes to what can often seem a cynical world.

Jon Marans, writer
Matt Kunkel, director
Paul Masse, music director & piano

Featuring

Mikaela Bennett
Laura Darrell
Clifton Duncan
Megan Sikora
Nick Spangler

Steve Lyon, woodwinds
Kiku Enomoto, violin/viola
Laura Bontrager, cello
Lynette Wardle, harp
Kory Grossman, percussion

Jon Marans

Jon Marans wrote an entirely new book for Lerner and Loewe’s Paint Your Wagon, which was most recently seen in a production at The Muny last summer …

Jon Marans

Jon Marans wrote an entirely new book for Lerner and Loewe’s Paint Your Wagon, which was most recently seen in a production at The Muny last summer. Other work includes The Temperamentals, which ran Off Broadway for more than eight months and was nominated for the Lucille Lortel and Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Off Broadway Play. The work is currently in film/tv development with Daryl Roth Productions. Marans’ Old Wicked Songs, a Pulitzer Prize Finalist in Drama, ran for a season Off Broadway and in a London West End production starring Bob Hoskins. The play has been produced throughout the US and translated/produced in over a dozen countries. Other credits include the shows A Strange and Separate People (2014 American Library Association Stonewall Honor Book in Literature) and Jumping for Joy, the book for Legacy (based on Studs Terkel’s Coming of Age), and book & lyrics for The Irrationals (music by Edward Thomas). In film, Marans was a story editor for Stonebridge Productions, Michael Douglas’ film company at Columbia Pictures. As a screenwriter, Marans and Yuri Sivo were engaged by Universal Pictures/Tribeca Productions to write a political/war screenplay based on Roy Rowan's acclaimed book Chasing the Dragon. Marans has worked in television as writer for Cookin' in Brooklyn and writer/lyricist for the New Carol Burnett Show. He is a graduate of Duke University and a recipient of a 2013 Guggenheim Fellowship and the 2018 Robert Chesley/Victor Bumbalo Playwriting Award.

Matt Kunkel

NYC-based director Matt Kunkel was named a Newsday Rising Star. He recently directed and co-created An Evening with the Stars at the St. Louis Muny …

Matt Kunkel

NYC-based director Matt Kunkel was named a Newsday Rising Star. He recently directed and co-created An Evening with the Stars at the St. Louis Muny, as part of their 100th anniversary season which featured Chita Rivera, Tommy Tune, Heather Headley, and Matthew Morrison, and also directed A Celebration of Muny 100 with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Additional directing credits include Sunset Boulevard and Elf the Musical at the John W. Engeman Theater, and the first reading of Dick Scanlan’s new opera libretto Fallingwater for the Metropolitan Opera/Lincoln Center Theater New Works Program. This summer, he’ll be directing The Sound of Music as part of the Muny’s 102nd season. Recent associate directing credits include Candide at Carnegie Hall starring John Lithgow, Kennedy Center productions of Tommy, Footloose, and The Music Man starring Norm Lewis, Jessie Mueller, and Rosie O’Donnell; Thoroughly Modern Millie (Actors Fund Reunion Concert); 17 Again (NAMT); One Hit Wonder (ABC Television), Andrea McArdle and Donna McKechnie Celebrate Sondheim and Hamlisch (54 Below), Renascence (Transport Group), and the first-ever regional production of Jerome Robbins’ Broadway (the Muny and Theatre Under the Stars). He has worked on over 25 productions at the Muny as an associate. He is currently collaborating on the upcoming national tour of An Officer and A Gentleman. Matt is a graduate of the University of Michigan and a proud member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society. Mattwkunkel.com @Matwkunkel

Paul Masse

Paul Masse: 92Y: Lyrics and Lyricists: “Frank Loesser: Lyricists,” “The Sensational Songs of Cole Porter” and It Shoulda Been You …

Paul Masse

Paul Masse: 92Y: Lyrics and Lyricists: “Frank Loesser: Lyricists,” “The Sensational Songs of Cole Porter” and It Shoulda Been You, as part of An Evening of Musical Theatre with Daryl Roth. Broadway conducting credits include the original production of It Shoulda Been You, The Scottsboro Boys, The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, Dear Evan Hansen, Holler If Ya Hear Me, Fun Home, Avenue Q, Wicked, and over 30 other Broadway shows as a pianist and accordionist. Musical supervisor for London’s West End production of The Scottsboro Boys. Off Broadway: The Landing, Inner Voices (“Borrowed Dust”), Jacques Brel ... Regional: Summer of ‘42 and The Buddy Holly Story; Cabaret (Cape Playhouse); First You Dream (Kennedy Center and subsequent PBS broadcast). First national/LA: Wicked. Various film/TV soundtracks. Original cast albums: The Landing, The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, It Shoulda Been You, She Loves Me (2016 revival), The Scottsboro Boys (original cast and West End cast), Noel and Cole. Concert performances with the NY Pops, Orchestra of St. Luke’s and New York Philharmonic (PBS Live from Lincoln Center broadcast of Show Boat).

Mikaela Bennett

A graduate of The Juilliard School, Mikaela Bennett is celebrated as a singer and actress for her work on stage and in the concert hall …

Mikaela Bennett

A graduate of The Juilliard School, Mikaela Bennett is celebrated as a singer and actress for her work on stage and in the concert hall. In 2019 she was honored with a Lincoln Center Award for Emerging Artists. Mikaela made her professional stage debut starring as Penelope in The Golden Apple at City Center Encores! She starred as Maria in West Side Story at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and in the title role in Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella at The Muny. Mikaela originated the role of Norma in Dick Scanlan and Carmel Dean’s musical Renascence, and the title role in Michael Gordon’s Acquanetta at the Prototype Festival. She has performed with some of the world’s leading orchestras, and in 2019 made her return to the BBC Proms in a program broadcast live on British TV. Mikaela appeared as Maria in a concert of West Side Story with the John Wilson Orchestra at the 2018 BBC Proms. She has performed with the New York Philharmonic under Leonard Slatkin, the Philadelphia Orchestra under Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and the San Francisco Symphony and Los Angeles Philharmonic under Michael Tilson Thomas. She has also appeared as a soloist at the Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall.

Laura Darrell

Laura Darrell: Lyrics & Lyricists: “Frank Loesser: Lyricist.” Off Broadway: Sweeney Todd (Johanna/Pirelli/BW Standby, Barrow St. Theater) …

Laura Darrell

Laura Darrell: Lyrics & Lyricists: “Frank Loesser: Lyricist.” Off Broadway: Sweeney Todd (Johanna/Pirelli/BW Standby, Barrow St. Theater); Kid Victory (Suze, Vineyard Theater, Official Cast Album); The Golden Apple (Ensemble, City Center Encores!); Ten Ways on a Gun (Kate, Theater for the New City); A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Hermia, Boomerang Theatre Co.). REGIONAL: Into the Woods (Cinderella, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival), The Last Five Years (Cathy, Portland Stage), Fun Home (Medium Alison, Baltimore Center Stage), also Signature Theatre (DC), Bridge Rep of Boston, Mile Square Theatre, Ogunquit Playhouse, LA Rock Opera Co., Good Theater, MSMT, others. SELECT FILM: Creedmoria (Eileen, Cinequest Best Comedy, Alicia Slimmer, dir.); City of Angers (Emily Sullivan, Ken Wilson, dir.). TV: HAPPY! (Sister Lee/Recurring, SYFY); Dietland (Anna/Recurring, AMC); “A Very Special Christmas” (PBS, N.E. Emmy Award nominee). Sketch/Improv: UCB. Undergrad: USC (LA), NYU Tisch and BADA (UK). www.lauradarrell.com. Instagram: lauraedarrell. Love to M, D, and K. Thanks to KMR and 44 West Entertainment. NEXT: The Outsiders (Marcia) at the Goodman!

Clifton Duncan

Clifton Duncan: Broadway: The Play that Goes Wrong. Off Broadway: Carmen Jones …

Clifton Duncan

Clifton Duncan: Broadway: The Play that Goes Wrong. Off Broadway: Carmen Jones (Classic Stage Company; AUDELCO and Lucille Lortel Award nominee, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical); Assassins (City Center Encores!); Kung Fu (Signature Theatre); Good Person of Szechwan (Public Theatre). Regional: Arena Stage, Yale Repertory Theatre, Shakespeare Theater Company, Old Globe and others. Television: Bluff City Law (NBC), NCIS: New Orleans (CBS), Proven Innocent (Fox), The Onion Sports Dome (Comedy Central), and Flesh and Bone (Starz), Training: NYU Graduate Acting Program, MFA.

Megan Sikora

Megan Sikora has been seen on Broadway in Irving Berlin’s Holiday Inn (Lila Dixon/Chita Rivera Award winner), The Nance (Standby), How To Succeed In Business (Miss Krumholtz) …

Megan Sikora

Megan Sikora has been seen on Broadway in Irving Berlin’s Holiday Inn (Lila Dixon/Chita Rivera Award winner), The Nance (Standby), How To Succeed In Business (Miss Krumholtz), Promises, Promises (Miss Polanski, Sylvia), Curtains (Bambi/LA Ovation Award Nomination, Best Supporting Actress in a Musical), Showboat at Carnegie Hall (Ellie), Wicked (u/s Glinda, Nessarose), Dracula (u/s Lucy, Mina), Wonderful Town, Thoroughly Modern Millie (Ruth) and 42nd Street (Lorraine). She has been seen Off Broadway in #DateMe (Woman 1), Chick Flick (Dawn), Clueless (Miss Geist/Ms. Stoeger), Church and State (Sara Whitmore), Under My Skin (Nanette), Andrew Lippa’s The Wild Party, and the Encores! productions of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (Gloria) and Applause (Bonnie). She has toured as Adelaide in Guys and Dolls and played Judy in White Christmas. Regional credits include: Singin’ in the Rain (Lina Lamont), The Muny; Kiss Me Kate (Bianca/Lois), Old Globe and Hartford Stage; Can-Can (Claudine) and Oklahoma! (Ado Annie), Paper Mill Playhouse; A Christmas Story (Miss Shields), TUTS; Cabaret (Sally Bowles), Marriott Lincolnshire. Film/ TV: Chuck (Indie), Ted 2, Pose, Gypsy (Netflix), Bull, The Good Fight, BrainDead, Elementary, The Sound of Music Live on NBC, Boardwalk Empire and Important Things with Demetre Martin.

Nick Spangler

Nick Spangler has been seen in the original Broadway casts of The Book of Mormon, Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella, Tootsie, and It Shoulda Been You …

Nick Spangler

Nick Spangler has been seen in the original Broadway casts of The Book of Mormon, Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella, Tootsie, and It Shoulda Been You, in which he created the role of best man Greg Madison. He toured the country in the first national tour of An American in Paris as Henri Baurel. His Off Broadway performance as Matt in The Fantasticks garnered him the Theater Hall of Fame Elaine and Jerry Orbach Fellowship Award. Regional favorites: The Sound of Music at Carnegie Hall; GIANT (world premiere, Signature Theatre); Saved (Kansas City Rep); Avenue X (Alliance Theatre), and Fantasy Football: the musical? (NYMF). In 2008 Nick was the winner of the CBS reality series The Amazing Race.

Steven Lyon

Steven Lyon is a New York City-based multi-woodwind artist. He regularly works in a wide range of musical settings and styles …

Steven Lyon

Steven Lyon is a New York City-based multi-woodwind artist. He regularly works in a wide range of musical settings and styles. He has performed in over 30 Broadway and Off Broadway shows. Mr. Lyon has also recorded with such singers as Placido Domingo and Kelli O'Hara, and for a variety of TV shows and documentaries.

Lynette Wardle

An orchestra harpist, chamber musician, recording artist, and soloist, Lynette Wardle enjoys a varied and rewarding performing career …

Lynette Wardle

An orchestra harpist, chamber musician, recording artist, and soloist, Lynette Wardle enjoys a varied and rewarding performing career, recognized for her “refined tone production and spot-on rhythmic sense.” In addition to her role as principal harpist of both the Richmond Symphony and the Albany Symphony, she performs regularly with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and the New York City Chamber Orchestra. Lynette can be heard on Grammy Award-winning recordings by the Albany Symphony, and Original Cast Albums for Amélie, the Musical; Renascence; The Beast in the Jungle, and The Mad Ones. She has performed in the orchestra for holiday season productions of A Christmas Story, the Musical, and the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. Lynette is an integral part of Sax-O-Philm, Sounds and Sights of the 20s, a multimedia concert production created by virtuoso saxophonist Chad Smith. She has shared the stage and studio with Megan Hilty, David Burnham, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Johnny Mathis, Marvin Hamlisch, Edgar Meyer, Yo-Yo Ma, Gil Shaham, Joshua Bell, Deborah Voigt, and Luciano Pavarotti. Ms. Wardle holds an MA in Orchestral Performance from Manhattan School of Music.

Kiku Enomoto

Violinist Kiku Enomoto has a dynamic and versatile career as a multifaceted musician. A native of Las Vegas, she began her studies at the Nevada School of the Arts …

Kiku Enomoto

Violinist Kiku Enomoto has a dynamic and versatile career as a multifaceted musician. A native of Las Vegas, she began her studies at the Nevada School of the Arts and made her solo debut at the age of 10 with the Las Vegas Symphony Orchestra. She attended high school at the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan. Since moving to New York to study at Manhattan School of Music, Kiku has had the opportunity to collaborate with artists in a variety of musical genres. As a classical violinist, she has performed with Pierre Boulez, John Williams, Luciano Pavarotti, Mark Morris Dance Company, ICE and Alarm Will Sound. On the popular music circuit, she has worked with Jay-Z, Beyonce, Adele, Kanye West, Sufjan Stevens, James Blake, Tony Bennett, The Who and Mary J Blige, among others. Kiku is committed to playing and premiering new music and has worked with numerous ensembles and composers worldwide. Her Broadway credits include Ragtime, West Side Story, Follies, Nice Work If You Can Get It, The Bridges of Madison County, On the Town, Allegiance, and most recently, The Cher Show. Off Broadway shows include Giant, Kid Victory, The Mad Ones, and Einstein’s Dreams.

Laura Bontrager

Laura Bontrager received her BA and MA from The Juilliard School. Her commitment to contemporary and other musical idioms led her into jazz, rock, and popular music …

Laura Bontrager

Laura Bontrager received her BA and MA from The Juilliard School. Her commitment to contemporary and other musical idioms led her into jazz, rock, and popular music. She kept these interests alive as a member of the classical/crossover cello quartet CELLO. Laura has performed and recorded with many artists, including Leonard Bernstein, Michael Tilson Thomas, Paul Simon, Alanis Morissette, Billy Ocean, Bernadette Peters, Audra McDonald, Kristin Chenoweth, Bodeans, and Josh Groban. She played at the Metropolitan Opera House with Pete Townshend in the stage production of Quadrophenia, and with Elvis Costello in concert performances of music from his collaboration with Burt Bacharach, Painted From Memory, at Radio City Music Hall and Sessions at West 54th. She has appeared at Le Poisson Rouge, Birdland, the Winter Garden, Joe's Pub, Cafe Carlyle, and 54 Below. On Broadway, she has performed in The Producers; Les Misérables; Miss Saigon; Ragtime; Follies; Promises, Promises; The Who’s Tommy, Mean Girls, Kinky Boots, and Ain't Too Proud. Laura plays regularly with the New York City Ballet, the Westchester Philharmonic, and the Knickerbocker Chamber Orchestra.

Kory Grossman

Kory Grossman holds an MA from the Manhattan School of Music. He is currently a member of the American Symphony Orchestra …

Kory Grossman

Kory Grossman holds an MA from the Manhattan School of Music. He is currently a member of the American Symphony Orchestra and serves as principal percussionist of the Bard Music Festival and the Mostly Mozart Orchestra. Other musical organizations he regularly performs with include the Stamford Symphony, New Jersey Symphony, American Composers' Orchestra, and New York Pops. He has played in numerous Broadway shows, including most recently, My Fair Lady, Fiddler on the Roof, and Sunday in the Park with George. Additional shows include Follies, Les Miserables, 42nd Street, and Ragtime. He has also worked with many contemporary artists, ranging from Chita Rivera and Sutton Foster to Queen Latifah.

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George Gershwin: You’ve Got What Gets Me
Mar 21-23

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