Santino Fontana Joins the Cast of 92Y's 'Lyrics & Lyricists'

92Y announces more cast names and new creative team members for Lyrics & Lyricists™ 2019. Under the helm of L&L producer Ted Chapin, the series brings artists from theater and beyond to present original revues featuring award-winning Broadway and cabaret performers illuminating the American Songbook.

Santino Fontana is now confirmed to perform in L&L's season opener We'll Take Manhattan: Rodgers and Hart in New York, in a cast that includes his Tootsie co-star Lilli Cooper (SpongeBob Squarepants), Jessica Fontana (Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella), Ann Harada (Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella, Avenue Q) and Vishal Vaidya (Groundhog Day). Fontana - whose star turn in the Chicago production of Broadway-bound Tootsie has garnered early Tony buzz - was previously announced as creator and writer of the show.

André De Shields (The Full Monty, Ain't Misbehavin'), Jared Grimes (After Midnight), Matthew Saldivar (Bernhardt/Hamlet, Honeymoon in Vegas) and Betsy Wolfe (Falsettos, Waitress) make up the cast for Yes I Can: The Sammy Davis, Jr. Songbook, with one additional cast member TBA.

L&L 2019's third show, Sondheim: Wordplay adds Tony Award-winners Jack O'Brien (Carousel, Hairspray, The Full Monty), and Jack Feldman (Newsies the Musical) as director and writer, respectively. The cast and additional creative team to be announced at a later date.

Finally, Andy Einhorn (Music Supervisor) and Dan Scully (Projections Supervisor) join the L&L production team in these two newly-created roles. In addition to his three appearances at L&L (and upcoming in this season's Oklahoma! at 75), Andy is one of Broadway's premiere musical supervisors, musical directors and conductors, having recently concluded the runs of both Hello, Dolly! and Carousel. Dan Scully provided the innovative projections for L&L's 2018 smash season opener The Bobby Darin Story. Recent work includes Peter and the Wolf with John Lithgow (Carnegie Hall), If/Then (National Tour), and Rocky (Broadway).

"Andy and Dan are two of the brilliant artists who helped get my inaugural season off to a great start," Ted Chapin. "Realizing that - in essence - we produce five individual shows each season, I thought asking both Dan and Andy to take supervisory positions would provide consistency and help us focus on the specifics of each Lyrics & Lyricists program. I am thrilled that they have both accepted these newly created positions and I look forward to the collaborations with them and the rest of the superb talents appearing on stage and behind the scenes this season."

Lyrics & Lyricists: 2019 Season

Saturday, January 26, 8 pm

Sunday, January 27, 2 pm and 7 pm

Monday, January 28, 2 pm and 7:30 pm

WE'LL HAVE MANHATTAN: RODGERS & HART IN NEW YORK

Created by and Featuring Santino Fontana

Gina Rattan, Director

David Chase, Music Director

Cast: Lilli Cooper, Jessica Fontana, Ann Harada, Vishal Vaidya

Sophisticated, romantic, refined - words that describe New York City ... and the songs of Rodgers & Hart. Before the Broadway successes that would introduce countless songbook classics, Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart were students attending Columbia University and writing musicals for the school's varsity shows. And NYC was more than just their turf-the city's elegance was their muse. Conceived by the multi-talented Santino Fontana-Tony nominee, Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella, and star of the upcoming Broadway musical Tootsie -and music directed by David Chase, the show celebrates 100 years of Rodgers & Hart with their gems ("Where or When," "My Romance," others), and their quintessential valentines to the city ("Manhattan," "I've Got to Get Back to New York"). Join us, as we turn Kaufmann Hall into an isle of joy!

Saturday February 23, 8 pm

Sunday, February 24, 2 pm & 7 pm

Monday, February 25, 2 pm & 7:30 pm

YES I CAN: THE SAMMY DAVIS, JR. SONGBOOK

Laurence Maslon, Artistic Director
Tazewell Thompson, Director
Michael O. Mitchell, Music Director

Cast: André De Shields, Jared Grimes, Matthew Saldivar, Betsy Wolfe

Additional cast TBA

"I've got to be a star like another man needs to breathe," said Sammy Davis, Jr. Known as "Mr. Show Business," Davis was an electrifying entertainer, with a career that was dazzling in its range and reach: song-and-dance man, Rat Pack member alongside Frank Sinatra, and beyond. It was a career that also triumphed over the oppressive challenges of racism. With a line-up that includes artistic director Laurence Maslon and L&L favorites André de Shields and Betsy Wolfe, we journey through Davis' remarkable career, looking backward and forward from 1964's Golden Boy-the Broadway musical that earned Davis a Tony nomination for Best Actor. As a bonus, projections designed by Tony Walton for Golden Boy's original production will be included in the program. We also follow Davis' struggle for identity in 20th century America with the songs that illuminate the complex stages of his life: "Mr. Bojangles," "The Birth of the Blues," and the one that defined him best, "I've Gotta Be Me."

Yes I Can complements the award-winning American Masters documentary Sammy Davis, Jr.: I've Gotta Be Me, the first major film documentary to examine Davis' vast talent. Written and co-produced by the L&L show's artistic director Laurence Maslon, the film premieres on PBS February 19.

Saturday, March 30, 8 pm

Sunday, Marcy 31, 2 pm & 7 pm

Monday, April 1, 2 pm & 7:30 pm

SONDHEIM: WORDPLAY

Jack O' Brien, Director
Jack Feldman, Writer

Cast TBA

"No time to sit and dither / While her withers wither with her"-theater's greatest lyricist is also theater's greatest wordsmith. Though Stephen Sondheim has written both music and lyrics for some of the finest scores of the 20th century, it's Sondheim the lyricist we'll spotlight in this very special L&L show. A genius of dexterity, there isn't a lyricist in American music who plays with words and language with greater virtuosity or delivers greater delight. From tongue twisters to passages of alliterative wit, we'll examine how Sondheim puts it all together, as we celebrate the master craftsman with his own brilliant words.

Saturday, May 4, 8 pm

Sunday, May 55, 2 pm & 7 pm

Monday, May 6, 2 pm & 7:30 pm

A BEAUTIFUL DAWNING: OKLAHOMA! AT 75

Hosted by Ted Chapin

Parker Esse, Director

Andy Einhorn, Musical Director

Rodgers & Hammerstein's first collaboration wasn't just a theatrical smash hit-it was a game changer. An early dismissal of the show: "No jokes, no legs, no chance," couldn't have proved more wrong. Oklahoma! ushered in an entirely new kind of musical, and with it, the dawning of a new era in musical theater. We look at the birth and life of Oklahoma!- what made it a hit, what keeps it a hit. And we examine the groundbreaking show through its classics ("Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin,' "People Will Say We're in Love"), uncover songs dropped from the production during its pre-Broadway run ("Boys and Girls Like You and Me," others), and explore-with fresh eyes-Oklahoma's! continued relevance 75 years after its history-making premiere which has prompted several new eye-opening productions.

Saturday, June 1, 8 pm

Sunday, June 2, 2 pm & 7 pm

Monday, June 3, 2 pm & 7:30 pm

LIVE AND IN LIVING COLOR! SONGS FOR TV

Created by Rob Berman and Chase Brock, Co-Artistic Directors

Hosted by Mo Rocca

Sara Lukinson, Writer

Did you know that the last score Cole Porter wrote was for a 1958 musical created for television?! Music in television goes far beyond memorable theme songs, with such original musicals as Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella, Stephen Sondheim's Evening Primrose, Cole Porter's Aladdin, and others written expressly for the small screen. Original songs were created for special events ("Love and Marriage" for a television version of Thornton Wilder's Our Town), for variety shows featuring popular singers, and more. Created by co-artistic directors Rob Berman and Chase Brock, and hosted by television's own Mo Rocca of CBS Sunday Morning, this entertaining look at the role of music in television won't be available in re-runs-see it "Live and in Living Color!"

About Lyrics & Lyricists

Since 1970, Lyrics & Lyricists™, the pioneering American Songbook series, and one of 92Y's signature series, has celebrated the work of songwriters like Irving Berlin, Frank Loesser, Lynn Ahrens, Jerome Kern, Cole Porter, Dorothy Fields, Betty Comden & Adolph Green, and Sheldon Harnick. Artist who have championed and interpreted the American Songbook include Rob Fisher, David Loud, Jonathan Groff, John Pizzarelli, Amanda Green, Alex Timbers, Jason Danieley, Billy Stritch, Mary Testa, Jeremy Jordon and Laura Osnes. 92Y Lyrics & Lyricists receives support from Gilda Block; The Hite Foundation; The Edythe Kenner Foundation; The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation; Ellen F. Marcus; and Howard and Eleanor Morgan.