Oscar, Denman, Zien, Pittu, Yazbeck, Akers & More Appear in Bway Musicals of 1931 at Town Hall March 30

The Town Hall (Executive and Artistic Director Lawrence Zucker) continues its ninth season of the critically acclaimed Broadway By The Year^TM series with the Broadway Musicals of 1931 on MONDAY, MARCH 30th. The series is created, written and hosted by Scott Siegel for The Town Hall.

The Broadway by the Year concerts, known for great singing and spectacular Broadway dancing, have become, in the words of Variety critic Robert L. Daniels, "a proverbial hot ticket."

Broadway Musicals of 1931 will be directed by Tony Award nominee Brad Oscar (The Producers) and choreographed by Jeffry Denman (White Christmas). The two will also star in the show alongside Tony Yazbeck (Gypsy), David Pittu (Is He Dead, LoveMusik, What's That Smell), Chip Zien (Into the Woods), KendRick Jones (Stairway to Heaven), Melinda Sullivan (High School Musical), special guest star and Tony Award nominee Karen Akers (Nine/Grand Hotel) and more to be announced. There will also be at least one surprise special guest star!

This edition of the critically acclaimed series will include such famous shows as The Gang's All Here, The Band Wagon, The Cat and the Fiddle, Of Thee I Sing and more.

About this Broadway by the Year concert, Scott Siegel says, "There is particular resonance between 1931 and today because, just like Broadway audiences seventy-eight years ago, we find ourselves in the grip of a Great Depression. The music, written by the likes of the Gershwins, Harold Arlen, and Rodgers & Hart, was a brilliant reflection of their time and a reminder to us today of how buoyant and resilient we have always been as a people. Our character, as a nation, was on display in that momentous year, and that's why you'll find great humor, and even greater humanity, in the Broadway Musicals of 1931."

Built in 1921 by a group of suffragettes, The Town Hall began as a lecture hall and public forum for debates. Over the decades, Eleanor Roosevelt, Margaret Sanger, Billie Holiday, Igor Stravinsky, Bob Dylan and Miles Davis have graced the stage. Today the hall flourishes as a popular, affordable venue, boasting the hottest acts in rock, pop, folk, cabaret, world music, comedy and dance, including Billy Joel, Blondie, Elvis Costello, Natalie Merchant, Graham Nash, Liza Minnelli, Cyndi Lauper, Norah Jones, Andre Watts, Henry Rollins, Joe Jackson, Pink Martini, Regina Spector, Brian Adams, Aimee Mann and Dawn Upshaw. For over a decade, The Town Hall has hosted live broadcasts of Garrison Keillor's Prairie Home Companion. Over the past two-and-a-half decades, The Town Hall has produced a number of new and critically acclaimed musical series, which include The Century of Change, Not Just Jazz, Broadway by the Year® and The Broadway Cabaret Festival.

Scott Siegel has created three acclaimed and popular series for The Town Hall: Broadway By the Year, now in its ninth season, the Broadway Cabaret Festival, and the Broadway Summer Festival. Mr. Siegel also conceived and produces both Broadway Unplugged and The Nightlife Awards at The Town Hall. Scott and his wife Barbara are authors (47 books, including The Encyclopedia of Hollywood) and critics ("The Siegel Column" and "The Two of Clubs" on Talkin' Broadway).

Tickets are $50 & $45 and are on sale now through TicketMaster, 212-307-4100, www.ticketmaster.com, The Town Hall Box Office between noon and 6 PM (except Sundays) at 123 West 43rd Street, 212-840-2824. For more information: www.the-townhall-nyc.org.

Photo Credit: Peter James Zielinski