Week four of Lincoln Center's acclaimed series American Songbook brings to The Allen Room a hot new composer, Broadway's most popular ingénue, a Disney film and Broadway composer in a rare concert appearance, and a celebration of the music of Richard Rodgers by an acclaimed guitarist/vocalist.
On February 18th, young composer Nico Muhly, who wrote the haunting score to the Oscar-nominated film "The Reader", will collaborate with Thomas Bartlett, alternative folk/country artist Sam Amidon, and designer/illustrator Maira Kalman.
The next night, February 19th, the star of Broadway's Shrek, Sutton Foster, will sing songs old and new, including a preview of her CD, Wish. Broadway and film composer Alan Menken performs a rare concert on February 20th, sitting at the piano to perform compositions that have become part of the new American Songbook canon. To close out week four the popular John Pizzarelli will celebrate Richard Rodgers, whose iconic musicals Oklahoma!, South Pacific, The King & I and The Sound of Music, to name only a few, are a touchstone in America's musical history. American Songbook is presented in the spectacular Allen Room of Frederick P. Rose Hall. The Allen Room possesses one of New York's greatest settings - a stunning vista of Central Park and the Manhattan skyline provides an evocative backdrop for the performers.
Lincoln Center's American Songbook 2009 - Week Four
February 18 - 21, 2009
At the Allen Room, Frederick P. Rose Hall,
Broadway at 60th Street
Wednesday, February 18, 2009, 8:30 pm: NICO MUHLY: Illustrated Music, Music by Nico and his nearest and dearest collaborators, including Maira Kalman, Thomas Bartlett, and Sam Amidon Nico Muhly (right) is the composer of the moment, the young man with the buzz. Prolific and precocious, Muhly has written classical pieces for the Juilliard Orchestra, American Ballet Theater and the Boston Pops, performed with, arranged and conducted recordings for Björk, Philip Glass, Rufus Wainwright and Antony and the Johnsons, and seen his compositions premiere at Carnegie Hall and on the BBC. For American Songbook Muhly is collaborating with Thomas Bartlett, alternative folk/country artist Sam Amidon, and designer/illustrator Maira Kalman. His work with Kalman is based on her illustrations for two books: Strunk & White's Elements of Style and Principles of Uncertainty.
Thursday, February 19, 2009, 8:30 pm: Sutton Foster Broadway ingénues are no longer in great supply, but they don't have to be with Sutton Foster (left) on the scene. Foster brings a winning voice, long dancing legs and sweetly sincere acting chops to each of her Broadway roles. Her rise to fame is something out of a Busby Berkeley film: she was picked to replace the lead in Thoroughly Modern Millie during the out-of-town tryout, then went on to win the Tony Award for Lead Actress in a Musical in 2002. That was followed by Little Women, for which she received a Tony nomination, then another Tony nomination for The Drowsy Chaperone, and then she was the scene-stealing yodeler fraulein Inga in Young Frankenstein. Currently Foster (who is returning for her second Songbook appearance) is playing the role of Fiona in the new musical Shrek, and awaiting the release of her first album, Wish, from Ghostlight Records.
Friday, February 20, 2009, 8:30 pm: An Evening with Alan Menken Every generation has its soundtrack, and for many of those coming of age in the past twenty years that soundtrack includes music by the prolific Alan Menken (right). From 1982's Little Shop of Horrors through to last year's hit movie Enchanted, Menken's music for film and stage fills the public consciousness with ringing melody. Menken wrote the scores to Beauty and the Beast for the movie and stage, Aladdin (film), Little Shop of Horrors (film and stage), Pocahontas (film), and The Little Mermaid, the film and currently on Broadway, to mention only a few of his works. He is the winner of eight Academy Awards for Best Original Song and Score, ten Grammys and seven Golden Globes and was, this year, inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame. For the 2009 Grammys he's received 2 nominations, for songs from Enchanted. Menken will perform songs both known and unknown from his vast repertoire.
