Foster, Menken And More In American Songbook Week Four

By: Feb. 02, 2009
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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.

Saturday, February 21, 2009, 8:30 and 10:30 pm: With a Song in My Heart: John Pizzarelli Salutes Richard Rodgers with Jessica Molaskey Acclaimed guitarist/vocalist John Pizzarelli (left) swings with the best of them, and his newest CD celebrating the music of Richard Rodgers is no exception. The album, and the concert Pizzarelli brings to American Songbook, includes such songs as "This Can't Be Love," "Lady is a Tramp" and "You've Got to Be Carefully Taught." He's nominated for a Grammy for the arrangements of a song from the new album. Rodgers' inventive melodic style paired with some of the greatest lyrics ever written give Pizzarelli material that is timeless and transporting. Pizzarelli will be joined by his wife, Broadway and nightclub singer Jessica Molaskey, whose voice blends the tenderness and emotional electricity ideal for a Richard Rodgers evening.

Since it was launched in 1998, American Songbook has been dedicated to celebrating the extraordinary achievements of the popular American songwriter from the turn of the 20th century to the present day. Spanning all styles and genres from Tin Pan Alley and Broadway to the eclecticism of today's songwriters working in pop, cabaret, rock, folk and country, American Songbook traces the history and charts the course of the American song from its past and current forms to its future direction. American Songbook also showcases the outstanding interpreters of popular song.

Artists who have appeared on the American Songbook series include Andy Bey, Betty Buckley, Ann Hampton Callaway, Calexico, Liz Callaway, Neko Case, Rosanne Cash, Michael Cerveris, Kristin Chenoweth, Peter Cincotti, Eric Comstock, Victoria Clark, Mos Def, Christine Ebersole, Sutton Foster, Mary Cleere Haran, Darius de Haas, Joe Henry, Fred Hersch, Jane Krakowski, Judy Kuhn, LaChanze, k.d. lang, Bettye LaVette, Rebecca Luker, Patti LuPone, Nellie McKay, Marin Mazzie and Jason Danieley, Audra McDonald, Lori McKenna, Jane Monheit, Megan Mullally, Kelli O'Hara, Tonya Pinkins, John Pizzarelli, Punch Brothers featuring Chris Thile, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Steve Ross, Stephin Merritt with The Magnetic Fields, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Bernadette Peters, Jimmy Scott, Patti Smith, Sufjan Stevens, Billy Stritch, Elaine Stritch, The Fountains of Wayne, They Might Be Giants, Rhonda Vincent and the Rage, Deborah Voigt, Lillias White, Dar Williams, David Yazbek and John Lloyd Young. The series has also presented concerts highlighting the music of composers and lyricists such as Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, Harold Arlen, Alan and Marilyn Bergman, Leonard Bernstein, Jason Robert Brown, WIlliam Bolcom and Arnold Weinstein, John Bucchino, Michael John LaChiusa, Cy Coleman, Ricky Ian Gordon, Adam Guettel, Frank Loesser, Andy Razaf, Richard Rodgers, Arthur Schwartz, Duncan Sheik, Stephen Sondheim, Stew, Billy Strayhorn, Charles Strouse, Jule Styne, Jimmy Van Heusen, and David Zippel.

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (LCPA) serves three primary roles: presenter of superb artistic programming, national leader in arts and education and community relations, and manager of the Lincoln Center campus. As a presenter of over 400 events annually, LCPA's programs include American Songbook, Great Performers, Lincoln Center Festival, Lincoln Center Out of Doors, Midsummer Night Swing, and the Mostly Mozart Festival and Live From Lincoln Center.

Lincoln Center is committed to providing and improving accessibility for people with disabilities. For information, or to receive a Lincoln Center accessibility guide, call the Department of Programs and Services for People with Disabilities at (212) 875-5375.


LINCOLN CENTER PRESENTS AMERICAN SONGBOOK 2009
At The Allen Room, Frederick P. Rose Hall
Broadway at 60th Street

All American Songbook shows do not have an opening act, beginning promptly at 8:30pm (and 10:30pm if there is a late show.)

Wednesday, February 18, 2009 at 8:30 pm
Nico Muhly: Illustrated Music
Music by Nico and his nearest and dearest collaborators, including Maira Kalman, Doveman and Sam Amidon
Tickets: $35, 50, 60, 75

Thursday, February 19, 2008 at 8:30 pm
Sutton Foster
Tickets: $45, 65, 80, 95
Friday, February 20, 2008 at 8:30 pm
An Evening with Alan Menken
Tickets: $45, 65, 80, 95
Saturday, February 21, 2008 at 8:30 and 10:30 pm
With A Song in My Heart: John Pizzarelli Salutes Richard Rodgers, with Jessica Molaskey
Tickets: $45, 65, 80, 95

 



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