Julie Benko, Andréa Burns, Carolee Carmello & More to Honor Rebecca Luker at Benefit Concert

Symphony Space has announced full details for The Rebecca Luker Songbook: A Benefit Concert, a star-studded concert on May 22 paying tribute to the beloved Broadway star who passed away in 2020 due to ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis). A portion of the proceeds from the event will be donated to Project ALS.

The concert features 24 world-premiere songs from the The Rebecca Luker Songbook-a collection of over 80 compositions inspired by and written especially for Luker's unique and wide-ranging talent. In 2018, she performed 18 of the songs as part of the Project Broadway series at Symphony Space. The rest of the songbook has never been performed publicly.

Symphony Space, along with event producers Annette Jolles and Joel Fram, and musical director Joseph Thalken have assembled an exceptional lineup of Luker's castmates, contemporaries, and admirers to share these songs publicly for the first time. Performers include Julie Benko (Funny Girl), Mikaela Bennett (Encores! Golden Apple), Andréa Burns (On Your Feet!), Carolee Carmello (Bad Cinderella), Nikki Renée Daniels (Company), Laura Darrell (Dietland), Ali Ewoldt (Phantom of the Opera), Marina Kondo (KPOP), Emilie Kouatchou (Phantom of the Opera), Bryce Pinkham (A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder), Scarlet Strallen (Travesties), Jessica Vosk (Wicked), and Sally Wilfert (Assassins). Jolles will also direct the concert.

The May 22 concert will premiere songs by composers Carmel Dean (Renascence), Scott Eyerly (Creatures Great and Small), Jenny Giering (The Mistress Cycle), Mike Heitzman & Ilene Reid (Solana), Henry Krieger (Dreamgirls), Andrew Lippa (The Addams Family), David Loud (Musical Supervision, The Gershwin's Porgy and Bess), Joshua Rosenblum (Fermat's Last Tango), Sam Willmott (Bhangin' It), and many more, showcasing an array of styles.

"Rebecca Luker was a great friend of Symphony Space, a true champion of new work, and a deeply special person," said Jolles and Fram. "We're so thrilled to honor her with this concert of world-premiere songs, all of which were written especially for her. We could think of no better way to celebrate Rebecca's life and legacy than by showcasing these composers and partnering with Project ALS."

Tickets are available from $50 and can be purchased at symphonyspace.org.

About Symphony Space

Symphony Space is a multi-disciplinary performing arts center where bold programming, presented in a uniquely warm and welcoming environment, forges indelible relationships between artists and audiences.

Symphony Space's fundamental mission is to connect art, ideas, and community through their performances and their commitment to literacy and education through the arts. Known for an array of ground-breaking programs, including Selected Shorts, their immersive Wall to Wall concerts, and their innovative Global Arts education initiative, Symphony Space presents a full slate of original, affordable (and free) programming within New York City and in communities throughout the country through tours, public radio broadcasts, podcasts, and virtual events. On their stages and in the classrooms they serve, Symphony Space fosters access to the arts through all the disciplines.

Symphony Space was founded in the belief that the arts bring people together, transcend barriers, and celebrate both our similarities and differences. Through adventurous and impactful performances, commissions, and conversations, Symphony Space continues to invigorate these guiding principles, harnessing the power of the arts to engage, inspire, and build community.

About Project ALS

Project ALS identifies and funds the most promising scientific research that will lead to the first effective treatments and a cure for ALS. They recruit the world's best scientists and doctors to work together-rationally and aggressively-to develop a better understanding of the ALS disease process and, in parallel, better therapeutic strategies.

Project ALS is the world's first ALS organization to focus exclusively on research. They have raised over $110 million in 23 years to fund ALS research programs at leading academic institutions including Harvard University, Columbia University, UCSF, and the Salk Institute, and have made significant progress toward a cure for ALS.