On Saturday March 19, as the musicians sound the first notes of a jaunty overture and a cast of Broadway’s brightest talent hurries to their places on the stage of Kaufmann Concert Hall, an exuberant celebration of the American Songbook will begin – just as it has for much of 50 years.
Lyrics & Lyricists was launched at The 92nd Street Y in 1970. The brainchild of series founder Maurice Levine, who also served as its first artistic director and host, Lyrics & Lyricists was built around the innovative idea of examining the songs of musical theater through the lyricists who wrote them. That first 1970-71 season featured lyric writing icons Yip Harburg, Johnny Mercer, Alan Jay Lerner and, on May 2, 1971 – just weeks after Follies premiered on Broadway – a young Stephen Sondheim in his very first public speaking appearance.
The early seasons were built around Levine’s one-on-one conversations with the highlighted lyricist, joined by two or three vocalists and a pianist who peppered the conversational exchanges with songs. The conversation with Sondheim included his reflections on what he called “the craft, not the art” of lyric writing, on why it’s the simplicity of the line, “I just kissed a girl named Maria” – not the grand part – that makes that song soar, and so much more. Audiences were rapt. The New York Times wrote, “The series soon became one of the hottest tickets in town.”
In its half century on our stage, Lyrics & Lyricists has spotlighted virtually every major lyricist from Broadway and the American Songbook. And through the years the format evolved, from the intimate conversations with piano and singers Levine conceived to “inform people entertainingly” to full-length shows bursting with musical numbers, enriched with illuminating insights about the lyrics and music. “In its 50 years, Lyrics & Lyricists has been unparalleled in celebrating the music of the American Songbook, and we’re thrilled about its return to our stage,” says Nicholas Russotto, The 92nd Street Y’s Senior Director of Music Programming, who spearheaded the new season. “For this 50th anniversary year, we’re paying tribute to all facets of the American song – the creators who wrote the lyrics, and those who bring the music to life, on and off the stage.”
To realize it all, Russotto brought in three of Lyrics & Lyricists most gifted collaborators as this season’s artistic directors: David Loud, Darius de Haas and Ted Sperling. “Each has deep roots in the history of the American Songbook, and each is creating a show that looks back, but in a conception that is entirely and thrillingly new,” he says.
David Loud celebrates his Broadway-spanning career in a joyful, big-hearted show, “David Loud: Facing the Music” (Mar 19-21), sparked by his new memoir. It’s the ultimate insider’s look at a Broadway life from the legendary music director of shows including Ragtime, She Loves Me, Sondheim by Sondheim, The Scottsboro Boys, and more – filled with behind-the-scenes stories of his work with Sondheim, Kander & Ebb and others, and brimming with unforgettable music.
Award-winning Broadway dynamo Darius de Haas creates and stars in a show spotlighting the remarkable life and indelible songbook of the great Sam Cooke in “You Send Me: The Songs and Soul of Sam Cooke” (Apr 23-25). De Haas recreates Cooke’s enduring songs, from classics of romance (“You Send Me,” “Wonderful World,” “Cupid” and others) to the civil rights anthem “A Change is Gonna Come,” all in the context of Cooke’s extraordinary, trailblazing life.
Fittingly, this 50th anniversary season closes with a celebration of the lyricist who was part of our very first, with Tony Award-winning Ted Sperling’s “Isn’t It Bliss?: Sondheim on Love” (Jun 18-20). A look at love through the Sondheim songbook, the show’s incomparable songs address love in all its phases: its giddy heights (“What More Do I Need”), crushing heartache (“Not a Day Goes By”), manic panic (“Getting Married Today”), the emotional ambivalence Sondheim captured with perfect pitch (“Being Alive”), and much more, in a one-of-a-kind celebration of the most influential composer-lyricist in Broadway history.
“The American Songbook is a living, vibrant, continually relevant, continually captivating body of work,” says Russotto. “Composers craft the melodies that stay with us forever, but it’s the lyricists who write the words that capture the emotions we all share. And nothing delivers that magic like Lyrics & Lyricists.”
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Shows are live and in person only!
Learn more about Lyrics & Lyricists’ 50th anniversary season.
Major support for 92Y Lyrics and Lyricists is provided by The Hite Foundation, The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, Ellen F. Marcus, Howard and Eleanor Morgan, Suzi and Martin J. Oppenheimer, Lynda and Robert Safron / The Edythe Kenner Foundation. With additional support provided by Karen and Edward Applebome in memory of Theodore Cohn, Gerald J. Grossman, Bruce Horten and Aaron Lieber z”l, Stuart and Barbara Kreisberg, and Arthur Riegel.