Lincoln Center Announces New Season Featuring Clark, Peters, Mitchell, Plus Music of Coleman, Bacharach, Bucchino and More

American Songbook, the critically acclaimed Lincoln Center series devoted to the rich history and variety that is American popular song, returns for its eighth season. The series continues with 15 nights of cabaret, folk, rock, bluegrass and new country in the Allen Room in January and February 2006. In addition to returning to these performance spaces at Frederick P. Rose Hall at 60th and Broadway, this popular Lincoln Center series will close the season with a gala performance at Avery Fisher Hall with the film and stage superstar Bernadette Peters in concert with a 28-piece orchestra on May 1, 2006. Other highlights include classic cabaret evenings, new voices in bluegrass and country, tributes to songwriters from the golden age of musical standards to artist favorites from today, and three exciting concert debuts.

TICKETS for American Songbook, at $20 to $100, are on sale via CenterCharge 212-721-6500 and on Lincoln Center's website www.lincolncenter.org. Tickets can also be purchased at the Avery Fisher Hall and Alice Tully Box Offices (65th Street and Broadway), and, starting on December 29, at the Frederick P. Rose Hall Box Office (Broadway and 60th Street). Allen Room performances: premium priced tickets are for table seating.

Major support for Lincoln Center's American Songbook is provided by Richard L. Fisher. The Corporate Sponsor is Omnicom Group Inc.

"For our eighth season of American Songbook, we've assembled a superb group of award-winning talent in continuing our series' mission of exploring the many facets of traditional and contemporary American music," said Jane S. Moss, Lincoln Center's Vice President for Programming. "Songbook is much more than just a series of pop concerts. With inspired programs in some of New York's hottest venues, we offer singular, intimate musical experiences for both the audience and the artists."

Since it was launched in 1999, 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 singer-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.

Artists who have appeared on the American Songbook series include John Barrowman, Judy Blazer, Betty Buckley, Ann Hampton Callaway, Liz Callaway, Laura Cantrell, Barbara Carroll, Rosanne Cash, Michael Cerveris, Kristin Chenoweth, Peter Cincotti, Eric Comstock, Sutton Foster, Mary Cleere Haran, Darius de Haas, Rob Kapilow, Jane Krakowski, Judy Kuhn, La Chanze, Lisa Loeb, Rebecca Luker, Patti LuPone, Nellie McKay, Karen Mason, Marin Mazzie and Jason Danieley, Audra McDonald, Jane Monheit, Megan Mullally, Tonya Pinkins, Kenny Rankin, Steve Ross, Phil Roy, Stephin Merritt with The Magnetic Fields, Bobby Short, Elaine Stritch, They Might Be Giants, Margaret Whiting, Dar Williams, Julie Wilson, Michael Winther, and Carol Woods. The series has also presented concerts highlighting the music of composers and lyricists such as Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, Harold Arlen, William Bolcom and Arnold Weinstein, Michael John LaChiusa, Ricky Ian Gordon, Adam Guettel, Frank Loesser, Andy Razaf, Richard Rodgers, Arthur Schwartz, Duncan Sheik, Stephen Sondheim, Stew, Billy Strayhorn, and Jimmy Van Heusen.

Lincoln Center's American Songbook 2005-2006 Season

Allen Room, Frederick P. Rose Hall, Time Warner Center, Broadway at 60th Street

January 12 – February 25, 2006

· CLASSIC CABARET: Set against the breathtaking background of Central Park and the Manhattan skyline, the Allen Room hosts these exciting evenings of classic cabaret style beginning with Tony Award-winner Brian Stokes Mitchell on January 12, with an all new collection of songs, as well as favorites from his 2004 hit one man show "Love/Life." Hailed as "the last leading man" by The New York Times, Mitchell has reigned on Broadway in unforgettable staring roles in "Ragtime," "Kiss Me Kate," and "Man of La Mancha," as well as memorable TV appearances on Frasier and as a critically acclaimed recording artist. On January 13, Grammy Award-nominated jazz vocalist Andy Bey takes the stage with his Quartet for an evening of classic standards. In describing Bey's arresting performance style, Ben Ratliff of The New York Times wrote, "When he enters a song, he makes it deluxe, decking it out with cushions and tapestries, arranging the wall hangings; he isn't just making a quick visit."

· CONCERT DEBUTS: One of the opera world's most beloved divas, Deborah Voigt, takes the stage on January 25 in her long anticipated cabaret debut. Collaborating with musical director Ted Sperling, Tony Award-winner for The Light in the Piazza, Voight will treat audiences to an evening of her favorite pop standards, as well as a few surprises. On February 10, Broadway darling Victoria Clark makes her solo concert debut. This 2005 Tony Award-winner for Best Actress in a Musical for The Light in the Piazza is a long-time champion of new theater and contemporary song cycle and will share works by some of her favorite composers. Tony Award-winner James Naughton leads a family affair on February 23 with James, Greg and Keira: The Naughton Family. This multi-genre evening of music features Tony-winning Broadway star James sharing the stage for the first time with his son Greg, lead singer for the band Stark Naked Sole and a songwriter who has composed for his father, and daughter Keira, who made her Lincoln Center debut in 2004's The Rivals at Lincoln Center Theater and can be seen regularly performing with the downtown comic-rock outfit The Petersons.

· GREAT AMERICAN SONGWRITER TRIBUTES: This season, American Songbook will celebrate the lives and work of five great American songwriters: two classic composers and three contemporary favorites. On January 27, Daisy Prince directs It's Only Life: The Songs of John Bucchino. This popular cabaret songwriter is a favorite among artists in New York's top rooms. Jessica Molaskey and Billy Porter will join a cast of talented vocalists in bringing favorites like "Sweet Dreams" and "Grateful" to life. Eric Comstock celebrates the centennial of the great Jule Styne on February 8 with The Music That Makes Me Dance: A Jule Styne Songbook. A veteran of the American Songbook series, Comstock presents an all new tribute to the songwriter who gave the world such stage and screen classics as "Three Coins in the Fountain," "Diamonds Are a Girls Best Friend," "Everything's Coming Up Roses," and "Let Me Entertain You." The season of tributes takes a hipster turn on February 11 with Loser's Lounge Tribute to Burt Bacharach. Music director Joe McGinty, formerly of 80s new wave favorites The Psychedelic Furs, has curated this popular downtown collective since 1993, assembling a who's who of indie music stars – Deborah Harry, Michael Cerveris, John Flansburgh, Nick Danger, Patti Rothberg, Steve Wynn – to interpret some of the best of popular music. The music of David Zippel fills the Allen Room on February 24 with Go the Distance: The Lyrics of David Zippel. Barbara Cook, Brent Barrett and Brian d'Arcy James will be among the great singers celebrating the work of this prolific lyricist, whose work includes "The Woman n White," a current hit on London's West End, and "City of Angels," for which he won the 1990 Tony Award for Best Original Score, as well as Oscar-nominated songs from the Disney hits "Mulan" and "Hercules." Closing the Allen Room season will be the great Lillias White in My Guy Cy: Lill' Celebrates Cy Coleman on February 25. White won a Tony Award in 1997 for her star turn in Coleman's "The Life." Here, this formidable songstress, who set the house on fire at Lincoln Center's 2005 True Colors concert, pays tribute to the genius of Coleman, who brought the world pop hits like "The Best Is Yet To Come" and "Witchcraft," as well as music for such Broadway hits as "Sweet Charity," "Barnum," and "The Will Rodgers Follies."

· BLUEGRASS AND NEW COUNTRY: Rhonda Vincent and the Rage bring its rootsy American music style to Lincoln Center on January 26. Vincent brilliantly fuses the bluegrass traditions of her Missouri childhood with modern influences. This winning style has helped her win the International Bluegrass Music Association's Female Vocalist of the Year award five years running (2000-2004). On February 9, Brooklyn-based Hem brings its brand of new country to the Lincoln Center stage. Time Out New York hails the band's sound as "an artfully understated brand of pastoral chamber folk whose hushed, rustic eloquence elevates it several notches above standard-issue Americana."

· LYRICAL ROCK: Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Sufjan Stevens makes his Lincoln Center debut on January 14. Weaving folk, rock, and chamber pop influences into songs that reflect his wonderful gift for storytelling, Stevens has bewitched both critics and fans with his fascinating musical style. His acclaimed third album, Greetings From Michigan, a tribute to his home state, is the second in an ambitious series for which he plans to create tribute albums for all fifty states. Grammy Award-nominated pop band Fountains of Wayne give a rare acoustic performance for American Songbook on January 28. The ubiquitous 2003 single "Stacy's Mom" and album Welcome Interstate Managers earned the band critical praise worldwide, with Entertainment Weekly declaring them "America's greatest extant rock and roll band." The band's current album, Out of State Plates, has helped the band continue as a critical and fan favorite. Grammy nominee Duncan Sheik returns to American Songbook on February 22, following last year's critically lauded concert reading of his musical "Spring Awakening." This time around, he'll play a more traditional concert of material from his upcoming album with his band.

AVERY FISHER HALL, Columbus Avenue at 64th Street

· On May 1, Bernadette Peters in Concert features the superstar of stage and screen with a 28-piece orchestra for Lincoln Center's annual Spring Gala. With two Tony Awards, three Drama Desk Awards, and a Golden Globe among the many accolades she's received over her illustrious career, this Ozone Park native remains one of New York's most beloved stars. This one night only event promises to be one of the most magical nights of the spring season. For more information on Spring Gala tickets, please call the Lincoln Center Special Events Office at 212-875-5460.

TICKETS for American Songbook, at $20 to $100, go on sale Wednesday, September 21, via CenterCharge 212-721-6500 and on Lincoln Center's website www.lincolncenter.org. Tickets can also be purchased at the Avery Fisher Hall and Alice Tully Box Offices (65th Street and Broadway), and, starting on December 29, at the Frederick P. Rose Hall Box Office (Broadway and 60th Street). Allen Room performances: premium priced tickets are for table seating.

Tickets for Orpheus and Euridice, at $65, $58, $45 and $30, are on sale now.

Major support for Lincoln Center's American Songbook is provided by Richard L. Fisher. The Corporate Sponsor is Omnicom Group Inc. Additional support is provided by The DuBose and Dorothy Heyward Memorial Fund, F. M. Kirby Foundation, Inc., The Shubert Foundation, The Evelyn Paige Foundation, Inc., Great Performers Circle, Chairman's Council, Friends of Lincoln Center and American Songbook.

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 2005-2006

At the Allen Room, Frederick P. Rose Hall Broadway at 60th Street

Thursday, January 12, 2006 at 7:30 and 9:30 PM
Brian Stokes Mitchell
Tickets: $40, 60, 75

Friday, January 13, 2006 at 8:30 PM
The Andy Bey Quartet
Tickets: $30, 40, 55

Saturday, January 14, 2006 at 8:30 PM
Sufjan Stevens
Tickets: $20, 30, 45

Wednesday, January 25, 2006 at 8:30 PM
Deborah Voigt
Tickets: $40, 60, 75

Thursday, January 26, 2006 at 8:30 PM
Rhonda Vincent and the Rage
Tickets: $30, 40, 55

Friday, January 27, 2006 at 8:30 and 10:30 PM
It's Only Life: The Songs of John Bucchino
Daisy Prince, director
Jessica Molaskey, vocalist
Billy Porter, vocalist
Additional cast to be announced
Tickets: $30. 40, 55

Saturday, January 28, 2006 at 8:30 PM
Fountains of Wayne Acoustic
Tickets: $30, 40, 55

Wednesday, February 8, 2006 at 7:30 and 9:30 PM
The Music That Makes Me Dance: A Jule Styne Songbook
Eric Comstock, Piano and vocals
Tickets: $30, 40, 55

Thursday, February 9, 2006 at 8:30 PM
Hem
Tickets: $20, 30, 45

Friday, February 10, 2006 at 8:30 and 10:30 PM
Victoria Clark
Tickets: $30, 45, 60

Saturday, February 11, 2006 at 8:30 PM
Loser's Lounge Tribute to Burt Bacharach
Tickets: $30, 40, 55

Wednesday, February 22, 2006 at 8:30 PM
Duncan Sheik
Tickets: $20, 30, 45

Thursday, February 23, 2006 at 8:30 PM
James, Greg and Keira: The Naughton Family
Tickets: $30, 45, 60

Friday, February 24, 2006 at 8:30 PM and 10:30 PM
Go the Distance: The Lyrics of David Zippel
Brent Barrett, vocalist
Barbara Cook, vocalist
Brian d'Arcy James, vocalist
Additional cast to be announced
Tickets: $30, 40, 55

Saturday, February 25, 2006 at 8:30 and 10:30 PM
Lillias White's My Guy Cy: Lill' Celebrates Cy Coleman
Tickets: $30, 45, 60

At Avery Fisher Hall Columbus and 64th Street

Monday, May 1, 2006 at 8:00 PM
Bernadette Peters in Concert
Tickets: $55, 75, 100 For more information on Spring Gala tickets, please call the Lincoln Center Special Events Office at 212-875-5460.