Arden, Darrington, et al. Set for 92YTribeca's Ahrens and Flaherty Event

Casting is set for the debut of "Lyrics & Lyricists Downtown," the new L&L^TM series at 92YTribeca, the 92nd Street Y's downtown arts and culture venue. The premiere one-night-only performance and conversation on Monday, April 19 features the Tony Award-winning songwriting team of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty. The duo talks about their craft and their experiences in musical theater with Flaherty at the piano, joined by vocalists Michael Arden, Quentin Earl Darrington, Kecia Lewis Evans, and Christiane Noll to perform selections from their catalog.

The evening is hosted by playwright Terrence McNally, who worked on the books for RAGTIMEA MAN OF NO IMPORTANCE. Some cast members have also worked with Ahrens and Flaherty: Noll and Darrington recently starred in the recent Broadway revival of RAGTIME; Evans was one of the original stars of both ONCE ON THIS ISLAND (Broadway) and Dessa Rose(Lincoln Center Theater). Arden starred in the Broadway revival of BIG RIVER and Broadway's THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN.'

In addition to winning the Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards for RAGTIME, Ahrens and Flaherty received Tony nominations for ONCE ON THIS ISLAND, and Grammy nominations for RAGTIME and SEUSSICALl, one of the most frequently-performed shows in America. The Kennedy Center revival of RAGTIME (which moved to Broadway last fall) just garnered six Helen Hayes Award nominations; and their 2002 musical A MAN OF NO IMPORTANCE (with book by their RAGTIME collaborator Terrence McNally), recently debuted in London's West End. Ahrens and Flaherty are also two-time Academy Award nominees for the movie musical "Anastasia."

Lyrics & Lyricists Downtown features intimate, informal conversations with songwriters working in today's musical theater, all in a nightclub setting (complete with full bar).

For more information or to order tickets, visit online at http://www.92y.org..

Photo Credit: Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.