Molaskey, Chapin et al to Direct Concerts for 2011 Lyrics and Lyricists Season

92nd Street Y has announced the 2011 line-up for Lyrics & Lyricists^TM, its celebrated American Songbook series. Deborah Grace Winer will return for her third season as artistic director of the series. Guest artistic directors of the season's individual concerts will be John Pizzarelli, Jessica Molaskey, David Loud, Ted Chapin, and Amanda Green; Winer will create one of the season's shows as well.

Subscriptions for the season will go on sale May 27. Individual tickets for all performances will go on sale in August. For more information, call 212-415-5500 or go to www.92Y.org/Lyrics.

This season will feature three shows based on topical themes and two exploring the work of individual songwriters. Co-artistic directors John Pizzarelli and Jessica Molaskey will celebrate the 85th birthday of Pizzarelli's father - legendary jazz guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli - by honoring his life of performing with iconic singers including Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett and Peggy Lee. David Loud will devote a show to Burton Lane, who wrote the scores to Finian's Rainbow, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever and Royal Wedding. Ted Chapin will make his L&L debut with a salute to Broadway's role during World War II, and Deborah Grace Winer will conjure the world of the legendary New York nightclubs from El Morocco to the Persian Room as an incubator for popular songs. Amanda Green will close out the season by celebrating the irreverent, sophisticated and enduring partnership of Betty Comden and her own father, Adolph Green, as they collaborated on works from On the Town to Singin' in the Rain.

"As the preeminent American Songbook series in the country," says Deborah Grace Winer, "Lyrics & Lyricists' mission is to present exciting, entertaining concerts from today's point of view-with musical excellence and narrated insights by top-flight artists and curators who understand that in the 21st century, the American Songbook is a classic body of work as relevant to our culture as any great musical repertory, whether opera, symphonic music, or jazz."

L&L shows are Saturdays at 8 pm, Sundays at 2 and 7 pm, and Mondays at 2 and 8 pm. Subscriptions to the five-concert series running from January to May range from $292 to $225. Individual tickets go on sale in August and range from $67 to $52; 92nd Street Y will also offer an "under-35" ticket price for the Saturday and Sunday evening performances, with $25 individual tickets and $100 season subscriptions.

Lyrics & Lyricists is produced by 92nd Street Y under the leadership of Director of Music and Literary Programming Hanna Arie-Gaifman.

On January 8, 9, and 10, 2011, the 92Y will present FRANK AND TONY AND PEGGY AND ME: MAKING MUSIC WITH THE GREAT SINGERS - CELEBRATING Bucky Pizzarelli'S 85TH BIRTHDAY.  Legendary jazz guitarist (and 92Y audience favorite) Bucky Pizzarelli has performed and recorded with iconic singers from Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett to Peggy Lee, Rosemary Clooney, Sarah Vaughan and countless others. John Pizzarelli and Jessica Molaskey will host this party for Bucky, featuring great songs and inside stories.

On February 12, 13, and 14, 2011, the 92Y will present ON A CLEAR DAY: THE MUSICAL VISION OF Burton Lane.   One of the Songbook's great melodists, Burton Lane wrote the scores to Finian's Rainbow, Royal Wedding, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, as well as standards like "How About You." Broadway music director David Loud will lead the celebration of Lane's music and collaborations with lyricists from E.Y. "Yip" Harburg to Alan Jay Lerner.

On March 12, 13, and 14, 2011, the 92Y will present STAGE DOOR CANTEEN: BROADWAY RESPONDS TO WWII.  Seventy years ago the U.S. entered World War II, and America's songwriters did their part - with the Stage Door Canteen, USO shows, and a stream of hits from Irving Berlin, Frank Loesser, and more. Ted Chapin will offer this salute to some of the greatest songs of the Greatest Generation.

On April 30, and May 1 and 2, 2011, the 92Y will present THE CROWD'S AT EL MOROCCO: THE HEYDAY OF THE NEW YORK NIGHTCLUBS.  Legendary clubs like The Stork, Copacabana, Latin Quarter, and Persian Room were meccas where songwriters, singers, and starry society mingled and fueled American popular music. Deborah Grace Winer will conjure the brassy spots and smoky boîtes that were the musical playpens for artists from the Gershwins and Ethel Merman to Sammy Cahn and the Rat Pack.

On May 21, 22, and 23, 2011, the 92Y will present CARRIED AWAY: BEING COMDEN AND GREEN.  Their partnership was one of Broadway and Hollywood's longest runs: together, Betty Comden and Adolph Green's words gave life to On the Town, Wonderful Town, Bells are Ringing, and Singin' in the Rain. Green's daughter, writer and performer Amanda Green, will summon the essence of their genius: irreverence, humanity, sophisticated wit and joy.

Long one of 92nd Street Y's most popular programs, the American Songbook series Lyrics & Lyricists^TM was launched in 1970 when longtime Broadway conductor Maurice Levine and lyricist E.Y. "Yip" Harburg (The Wizard of Oz) took to the stage to talk about the then unusual topic of songwriting. Over the years the series has featured many great Broadway and Hollywood lyricists including Betty Comden and Adolph Green, Johnny Mercer, Stephen Sondheim, Dorothy Fields, and Alan Jay Lerner. Since 2004, L&L has featured original programs created by accomplished champions of the repertoire, including Andrea Marcovicci, Rob Fisher, Sheldon Harnick, Robert Kimball, Rex Reed, Billy Stritch and Ted Sperling. Each show is designed to celebrate the American Songbook through a mixture of information and entertainment with a particular focus on lyrics. For more information, please visit www.92Y.org/Lyrics.

The performances of Lyrics & Lyricists' "Frank and Tony and Peggy and Me: Making Music with Great Singers - Celebrating Bucky Pizzarelli's 85th Birthday" are partially underwritten by the Edythe Kenner Foundation.

Founded in 1874 by a group of visionary Jewish leaders, 92nd Street Y has grown into a wide-ranging cultural, educational and community center serving people of all ages, races, faiths and backgrounds - about 300,000 people each year.

Since launching its concert series in 1934, what is now 92nd Street Y's Tisch Center for the Arts has presented acclaimed classical musicians and exciting newcomers. The Center is also home to 92Y's legendary American songbook series, Lyrics & Lyricists, with artistic director Deborah Grace Winer and to 92Y's summer Jazz in July festival, with artistic director Bill Charlap. The Tisch Center's literary program, the Unterberg Poetry Center, presents the country's oldest and arguably most illustrious reading series as well as an extensive writing program that gives working adults access to teachers who are published authors - a rarity outside M.F.A. programs. 92nd Street Y's Tisch Center for the Arts is endowed through the generosity of the Joan and Preston Robert Tisch family.  For more information, please visit www.92Y.org.