Michael R. Jackson, John Gallagher, Jr. & More to be Featured in Lincoln Center Theater/LCT3 Concert Series

Lincoln Center Theater/LCT3 will present NEXT@LCT3, a concert series of performances at the Claire Tow Theater (150 W. 65th Street) featuring Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winner Michael R. Jackson, Melissa Li and Kit Yan, The Bengsons, and Tony Award-winner John Gallagher, Jr.

Bringing together theater's most exciting new songwriters and composers, NEXT@LCT3 is a concert series featuring original music in the intimate setting of the Claire Tow Theater. Each week, a new act will perform both new music and the songs you already love. This once in a lifetime event gives audiences the chance to experience the great composer/songwriters of our time up close and personal.

Tickets are on sale now for all NEXT@LCT3 performances, priced at $30. Tickets are currently available at the Lincoln Center Theater box office, at telecharge.com, or by visiting www.LCT.org.

LCT3 is dedicated to producing the work of new playwrights, directors, and designers and engaging new audiences. André Bishop is Producing Artistic Director of Lincoln Center Theater. Evan Cabnet is Artistic Director of LCT3.

In addition to NEXT@LCT3, Lincoln Center Theater is currently producing Lerner and Loewe's Camelot, featuring a book by Academy and Emmy Award-winning writer Aaron Sorkin, based on the original book by Alan Jay Lerner, and direction by Bartlett Sher, which will open on Thursday, April 13 at the Vivian Beaumont Theater; and The Coast Starlight, a new play by Keith Bunin, directed by Tyne Rafaeli at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater. Later this year, LCT will produce the New York premiere of Flex, a new play by Candrice Jones, directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz which, will begin performances on Friday, June 23 and open on Thursday, July 20 at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater.

NEXT@LCT3: Michael R. Jackson

Wednesday, April 26 - Sunday, April 30; all performances 7:30pm.

Pulitzer and Tony Award-winning writer and composer Michael R. Jackson will perform some of his best-known works as well as some special rarities. Hear new music and instant classics from the creator of last season's Tony Award-winning Best Musical, A Strange Loop.

Michael R. Jackson's A Strange Loop won the 2022 Tony Award for Best Musical and Best Book of a Musical. It was also the recipient of the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. His next musical White Girl In Danger is currently having its world premiere as a co-production between 2nd Stage Theater and the Vineyard Theatre. Michael is the recipient of the Jonathan Larson Grant, Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Award, ASCAP Foundation Harold Adamson Award, Whiting Award, the Helen Merrill Award for Playwriting and a Dramatist Guild Fellowship. Jackson holds a BFA and MFA in playwriting and Musical Theatre Writing from the NYU Tisch School of the Arts.

NEXT@LCT3: Melissa Li and KIT YAN

Wednesday, May 3 - Sunday, May 7; all performances 7:30pm.

Award-winning queer Asian-American writing team Melissa Li and Kit Yan are back on stage together for the first time since 2010. Hear songs from their musical theater catalog (and maybe a song or two from their touring days as Good Asian Drivers).

Melissa Li (she/her) and KIT YAN (they/she/he) are an award-winning queer and transgender Asian-American musical theater writing team based in New York City. They are the winners of the 2022 ASCAP Harold Adamson Lyric Award, the 2022 and 2007 Jonathan Larson Grants, the 2021 Kleban Prize, and the 2019 Vivace Award. Their debut musical Interstate won Best New Musical (Stage Scene L.A.) for its 2022 production at East West Players, and Best Lyrics at the 2018 New York Musical Festival. Their musical MISS STEP, commissioned by The 5th Avenue Theatre's First Draft Program, received a 2019 Vivace Award from the Bret Adams and Paul Reisch Foundation and recently had a Beta Production at the Village Theatre in Seattle. In addition to their award-winning musicals having been seen on stages across America, they have been writers for Disney and are developing new work for film and television. Their work has been supported by Playwrights Horizons, MCC, the American Repertory Theater, and many others.

NEXT@LCT3: The Bengsons

Tuesday, May 9; Wednesday, May 10; Friday, May 12 - Sunday, May 14; all performances 7:30pm.

Experience the incredible artists that The New York Times says are "taking up Stephen Sondheim's mantle of exquisite ambivalence." The award-winning composing and performing duo return to LCT for another powerful and moving evening of their original music.

The Bengsons, Abigail and Shaun Bengson, are a married composing and performing duo based in NYC and VT who have performed across the country and around the world. Their video for The Keep Going Song has been viewed over 4 million times, and three of their singles have been featured on "So You Think You Can Dance" (FOX). Their theater work includes Sovereignty Hymns (La Jolla Playhouse), The Keep Going Song (Actors Theatre of Louisville), My Joy is Heavy (Arena Stage), Hundred Days (La Jolla Playhouse, New York Theatre Workshop, US Tour), The Lucky Ones (Ars Nova), Where the Mountain Meets the Sea (MTC, ATL's Humana Festival), Ohio (Actors Theatre of Louisville), Anything That Gives Off Light (Edinburgh Theatre Festival), You'll Still Call Me By Name (New York Live Arts, Jacob's Pillow), and Iphigenia in Aulis (CSC). They have received the Jonathan Larson and Richard Rodgers awards and nominations for the Drama Desk, Drama League, and Lucille Lortel awards.

NEXT@LCT3: John Gallagher, JR.

Wednesday, May 17 - Sunday, May 21; all performances 7:30pm.

Tony Award-winning actor John Gallagher, Jr. (Spring Awakening) lights up the stage with an intimate evening of stories and songs. Playing beloved selections from his first two albums and new songs from his eagerly anticipated third, Johnny and his acoustic guitar-- and surprise special guests! -- will make for an unforgettable night.

John Gallagher, JR. is a New York City based actor, singer, songwriter and playwright/screenwriter. In 2022 he reunited with director and frequent collaborator Michael Mayer to star in the acclaimed Berkeley Rep world premiere of Swept Away, a new musical featuring music by The Avett Brothers and a book by John Logan. In 2006 he made his Broadway debut in David Lindsay-Abaire's Pulitzer Prize winning play Rabbit Hole. The following year he won a Tony Award for his performance in Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater's groundbreaking musical Spring Awakening. He returned to Broadway in 2010 to star in the stage adaptation of Green Day's blockbuster rock opera American Idiot. Both productions won the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. Other Broadway credits include Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey into Night and Jez Butterworth's Jerusalem. John was featured in the lead ensemble of Aaron Sorkin's drama series "The Newsroom" for its three-season run on HBO. Other HBO credits include the Emmy winning limited series "Olive Kitteridge," "Westworld," "High Maintenance" and "Love Life." Other TV/streaming work includes "Easy" for Netflix and Amazon's anthology series "Modern Love" based on the popular New York Times column. Film credits include Come Play, Underwater, The Best of Enemies, Sadie, Peppermint, The Miseducation of Cameron Post, Hush, 10 Cloverfield Lane, The Heart Machine, Short Term 12, Kenneth Lonergan's Margaret, and Pieces of April. In 2016, John released Six Day Hurricane, his first original solo LP as a singer/songwriter. His sophomore effort 8th and Jane came out in 2021. Recording recently wrapped on his 3rd record which will be released in 2024. In addition to his work as an actor and musician, John has several original and adapted scripts in development for both stage and screen.