Jim Caruso and
TheaterMania.com will present lyricist
Dick Scanlan in performance at Birdland on Monday, May 8. The evening is part of The Spring Season, a series of 7pm concerts featuring top Broadway and cabaret performers and songwriters at the legendary club (315 West 44th Street).
"The lyricist/librettist of
Thoroughly Modern Millie will recount his experiences on the other side of the footlights as an original cast member in the 1991 cult hit musical,
Pageant. Set against the backdrop of the darkest days of the AIDS epidemic, this is a frank, funny and affectionate monologue about playing a woman…and becoming a man," state press notes.
Scanlan was nominated for two Tony Awards (Best Book and Best Score), two Drama Desk Awards, and a Grammy Award for his work on
Thoroughly Modern Millie, the 2002 Tony Award and Drama Desk Award-winner for Best Musical, which he penned with Jeanine Tesori. Along with Tesori, he was commissioned to compose a song for Broadway sensation Kristin Chenoweth in connection with "Let Yourself Go," her debut album on Sony. That song, "The Girl in 14G," has been performed on television and in concert halls across America. Scanlan and Tesori also wrote the theme song to Chenoweth's NBC/Paramount sitcom, "Kristin."
In addition to his work for the theatre, Scanlan is the author of the novel
Does Freddy Dance. His essays and articles on the arts have appeared in
The New York Times, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, The Village Voice, Playboy, Time Out New York and other magazines. A former actor, Scanlan originated the role of Miss Great Plains in the hit Off-Broadway musical,
Pageant.Tickets are $25; there is also a $10 food/drink minimum. Call 212-591-3080 or visit
www.InstantSeats.com/Birdland for tickets.
