Audra McDonald, Joshua Henry, Stephanie J. Block & More to be Featured in 92NY 2023-24 Season

The 92nd Street Y, New York announces the new Lyrics & Lyricists™ season along with an expanded lineup of American Songbook concerts with some of today’s most celebrated artists. The concerts are part of the 2023/24 Tisch Music season at the renowned cultural center, which is celebrating its historic 150th anniversary. 

L&L, the country’s preeminent American Songbook series, continues exploring many facets of popular music, from the pop, soul, R&B, funk and gospel songs of Stevie Wonder and Laura Nyro to shows honoring legendary lyricists Howard Ashman and Sheldon Harnick. A one-night-only special event with three-time Tony Award winner Jason Robert Brown makes it a season that shines a spotlight on three generations of lyric-writing greats.

This 92NY anniversary concert season also includes exclusive NYC performances with Broadway stars Audra McDonald, Joshua Henry and Stephanie J. Block.

“I’m thrilled to be expanding our offerings to include three new and exclusive songbook concerts and a special one-night only event, in addition to the four stellar productions in our acclaimed Lyrics and Lyricists series,” comments Amy Lam, Vice President, Tisch Music. “This new season continues the L&L  tradition of exploring significant American songs through the genius of their creators, taking an expansive view of what ‘American Songbook’ means. The newly added songbook concerts bring fresh interpretive perspectives to this treasured artform."

LYRICS & LYRICISTS 2023/24 SEASON
All Concerts In Person

TALE AS OLD AS TIME: THE SONGS OF Howard Ashman

Matt Kunkel, artistic director
Sat, Oct 28, 2023, 7:30 pm
Sun, Oct 29, 2 pm
Mon, Oct 30, 7:30 pm
Known by many as the lyricist behind “Beauty and the Beast,” “Under the Sea,” “Friend Like Me” and the many other iconic songs he and Alan Menken wrote for Disney films, Howard Ashman’s musical legacy is wider and deeper. Artistic director Matt Kunkel kicks off our new Lyrics & Lyricists season with this celebration of Ashman’s brilliant songbook, with music from Little Shop of Horrors  – the cult favorite that catapulted his career – the lost-and-found gem Smile, and more, including his glorious songs for the animated classics Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and others. 
 

IN THE KEY OF LIFE: THE GENIUS OF Stevie Wonder

Darius de Haas, artistic director
Sat, Dec 2, 7:30 pm
Sun, Dec 3, 2 pm
Mon, Dec 4, 7:30 pm
A one-of-kind celebration of the towering songwriter and artist with 25 Grammy Awards and a litany of smash hits spanning R&B, pop, soul, gospel, and funk. Stevie Wonder is a music icon – one of the greatest and most prolific songwriters and artists of all time, with a songbook of hits including “For Once in My Life,” “Signed, Sealed, Delivered,” “You Are the Sunshine of My Life,” “Isn’t She Lovely,” “Superstition,” “My Cherie Amour,” and countless others. 
 

SOUL PICNIC: THE SONGS AND LEGACY OF Laura Nyro

Judy Kuhn, artistic director
Sat, Mar 2, 7:30 pm
Sun, Mar 3, 2 pm
Mon, Mar 4, 7:30 pm
Music icons from Joni Mitchell to Elton John to Elvis Costello acknowledge the profound influence of groundbreaking songwriter and artist Laura Nyro on their work. Barbra Streisand, Blood, Sweat and Tears, and The Fifth Dimension all made hit records of her songs.  “Passionate, romantic, ethereal, eternal” is how Bette Midler described Nyro’s songs upon her posthumous induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  
 
Tony and Grammy nominee Judy Kuhn leads this celebration of Nyro’s extraordinary musical contributions, and its unique blend of poetic, confessional lyrics, social consciousness, and irresistible pop melodies. Acclaimed for her work on Broadway in shows including Fun Home, She Loves Me, Les Miserables, and more, Kuhn is deeply connected to Nyro’s music. She earned an Obie Award for her role in Diane Paulus’ Laura Nyro musical Eli’s Comin’  and later recorded an album of Nyro’s music, The New York Times writing that Kuhn “comes as close to channeling Ms. Nyro’s essence as any performer I’ve heard.” Through songs including “Stoned Soul Picnic,” “Wedding Bell Blues”, “Stoney End”, “And When I Die,” “Sweet Blindness,” and more, we celebrate a pioneering contributor to the American Songbook. 

AN EVENING WITH Jason Robert Brown - A ONE-NIGHT-ONLY LYRICS AND LYRICISTS SPECIAL EVENT

Thu, May 9, 7:30 pm
Hailed as “one of Broadway’s smartest and most sophisticated songwriters since Stephen Sondheim” by The Philadelphia Inquirer, triple Tony Award winner Jason Robert Brown joins us for a special one-night-only Lyrics & Lyricists event. Brown is renowned for his songs and scores for Parade’s recent hit revival production, The Bridges of Madison County, Mr. Saturday Night, The Last Five Years , and other acclaimed and influential musicals over the past 30 years. His songs including “Stars and the Moon,” “Someone to Fall Back On,” and “All Things in Time,” have become American Songbook classics, performed and recorded by artists from Audra McDonald to Ariana Grande. Brown joins us for an evening performing these and more himself, all in the engaging style that has made him a sensation in NYC clubs. And he illuminates his songs with the kind of stories that are at the heart of Lyrics & Lyricists – the ones no one can tell like their creator.

WONDER OF WONDERS: CELEBRATING Sheldon Harnick

Ted Sperling, artistic director
Sat, Jun 1, 7:30 pm
Sun, Jun 2, 2 pm
Mon, Jun 3, 7:30 pm
A celebration of the extraordinary legacy of the late Sheldon Harnick – Fiddler on the Roof lyricist, triple Tony Award winner, and Broadway legend – led by Lyrics & Lyricists favorite Ted Sperling.

Harnick was a beloved part of Lyrics & Lyricists from its inaugural season in 1971, appearing in more than 20 productions and events on our stage over 50-plus years. Sperling leads this loving look at Harnick’s remarkable body of work, with music from Fiddler, his Pulitzer Prizewinning Fiorello!, She Loves Me, and more, and filled with reflections on his wondrous life in musical theater. 

AMERICAN SONGBOOK CONCERTS
All Concerts In Person

92NY 150TH ANNIVERSARY EVENT
AN EVENING WITH Audra McDonald

Andy Einhorn, music director and pianist
Thu, Oct. 12, 7:30 pm
Fri, Oct. 13, 7:30 pm
The Tony-est performer of all time, the one-and-only Audra McDonald joins us for an exclusive 92NY 150th anniversary event – a celebration of her remarkable 30-year Broadway career. The Emmy, Grammy, and six-time Tony Award-winning icon joins us with her longtime music director and pianist (and Lyrics & Lyricists favorite) Andy Einhorn for an evening of songs and stories reflecting on one of the most extraordinary careers in theater. Two nights only!

Joshua Henry’S GET UP, STAND UP

Sat, Nov 18, 7:30 pm
Grammy Award winner and triple Tony nominee Joshua Henry has dazzled Broadway audiences as Aaron Burr in Hamilton, starring opposite Audra McDonald in Shuffle Along, and in his Tony nominated run as Billy Bigelow in the hit revival of Carousel. Now it’s Joshua Henry as Joshua Henry, as he joins us for the only NYC performance of his sensational concert production Get Up Stand Up – a brilliant survey of the soul, R&B, and funk that fuels his artistry. Featuring classic songs by Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, James Brown, John Legend, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and more, and including a breathtaking “History of Soul in 25 Minutes,” Henry swings as naturally from epic Earth, Wind & Fire to a Rodgers & Hammerstein gem.

AN EVENING WITH Stephanie J. Block 

Thu, Feb 22, 7:30 pm
Tony Award-winning vocal powerhouse Stephanie J. Block returns following her triumphant 2022 92NY performance with an all-new show. Beloved and celebrated for her roles in Wicked, The Cher Show, Falsettos, Anything Goes, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, and more, she joins us with her distinctive interpretations of new selections from the Broadway songbook in her only NYC concert appearance of the season.

TISCH MUSIC 2023/24 SEASON

The 2023/24 Tisch Music Season builds exponentially on the organization’s rich history of presenting the best and most innovative musicians performing across a wide range of genres, from classical to jazz and American Songbook, with the goal of advancing and expanding each genre through commissions and multi-disciplinary collaborations. Working within 92NY’s 150th Anniversary theme, Inspired by the Past, Transforming for the Future, 92NY’s Vice President, Tisch Music Amy Lam has curated a season featuring newly commissioned works and premieres and artist-driven programs that take, as a reference point, the history of 92NY, the artists themselves and music more broadly.

Highlights of the 2023/24 Tisch Music Season include:

Opening night performance by the great jazz saxophonist Joshua Redman

Celebrations of the 150th Anniversary of the 92NY with shows featuring six-time Tony

Award-winner Audra McDonald and the world premiere of a new, interdisciplinary project by genre-sweeping songstress Cécile McLorin Salvant

New York premieres of new work by Tyshawn Sorey and COTTON by composer Damien Geter

New York concert debuts of the Isidore String Quartet and of pianist Tony Siqi Yun
Pianist Conrad Tao returns to 92NY as part of the global celebration of Rachmaninoff at 150

Ongoing partnerships continue with concerts from the Curtis Institute of Music, the New York Philharmonic, and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra with special guest artists

Art of the Guitar Series with Beijing Guitar Duo, David Russell and Manuel Barrueco

2023/24 Lyrics & Lyricists series celebrating Howard Ashman, Laura Nyro, Stevie Wonder, and Sheldon Harnick in a special event led by Ted Sperling honoring the legacy of the triple Tony Award winner and Broadway legend, as well as a one-night-only appearance by three-time Tony Award winner Jason Robert Brown

Expanded American Songbook offerings to include exclusive concerts by Audra McDonald, Joshua Henry and Stephanie J. Block