Photo Coverage: Faith Prince, Capathia Jenkins, Leslie Kritzer & More Sing Fanny Brice at LYRICS & LYRICISTS
By: Stephen Sorokoff May. 05, 2014
Funny girl, singular talent, American icon. Fanny Brice hit stardom in the 1920s and, almost a century later, still inspires the public imagination. Continuing tonight, May 5, Lyrics & Lyricists pays tribute to Fanny with Ziegfeld Girl: The Many Faces of Fanny Brice, a night of songs she put on the Broadway map, led by artistic director Ted Sperling, music director of the smash 2008 Broadway revival of South Pacific. Vocalists Capathia Jenkins, Leslie Kritzer, Faith Prince and Clarke Thorell sing classics like "Second Hand Rose" and "My Man"-as well as songs she inspired in Funny Girl. Check out photos from the special event below!
"Fanny Brice embodies so much that is modern, yet she also pioneered so much we take for granted today," notesTed Sperling. "As a woman in show business she was a self-motivated survivor who took charge of her finances and career. But she was also there for the transition from burlesque to vaudeville and the Broadway theater - popularizing dialect and ethnic humor for the mass audience - and then with her beloved 'Baby Snooks' character, presided over the forefront of radio." Sperling's Ziegfeld Girl illuminates the real Fanny Brice, as well as the fictional character beloved by fans of Funny Girl, Funny Lady and Glee.
Long one of 92Y's most popular programs, the American Songbook series Lyrics & Lyricists 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 great Broadway and Hollywood lyricists including Betty Comden and Adolph Green, Johnny Mercer, Stephen Sondheim, Dorothy Fieldsand Alan Jay Lerner. Since 2004, L&L has featured original programs created by accomplished champions of the repertoire, including John Pizzarelli, Rob Fisher, Sheldon Harnick, Robert Kimball, Kathleen Marshall, Rex Reed, Billy Stritch, Lucie Arnaz, Ted Sperling and Mark Lamos. Each show is designed to celebrate the American Songbook with narrated concert revues, with a particular focus on lyrics. For more information, visit www.92Y.org/Lyrics.
Photo Credit: Stephen Sorokoff
Deborah Grace Winer, series artistic director
Ted Sperling, artistic director, wirter & host
Faith Prince, Capathia Jenkins, Ted Sperling, Clarke Thorell, Leslie Kritzer
Leslie Kritzer & Clarke Thorell
Clarke Thorell & Leslie Kritzer
Clarke Thorell, Leslie Kritzer, Ted Sperling
Leslie Kritzer, EDa Sorokoff, Esther Eagles, Gil Eagles
Aisha de Haas & Darius de Haas
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