Santino Fontana, Rebecca Luker, Ryan Silverman, Betsy Wolfe and More Slated for PROJECT BROADWAY at Symphony Space

Symphony Space's PROJECT BROADWAY, a celebration of all that's new and exciting on the Great White Way, returns for its second installment, March 27 - April 2. This year's theme is "The Art of Collaboration," spotlighting the alchemy that turns music, book, choreography, and staging into theatrical magic.

Performers include John Cullum, Nikki Renée Daniels, Jessica Fontana, Santino Fontana, Jeff Kready, Rebecca Luker, Michael McCorry Rose, Ryan Silverman, Elizabeth Stanley, Betsy Wolfe, and others.

A special emphasis on new work brings three new musicals, eight world-premiere songs, and six brand-new scores into the mix.

PROJECT BROADWAY is produced and curated by Joel Fram and Annette Jolles. In addition to concerts, the series includes a lecture-performance and a participatory Open Mic event.

Says Symphony Space's Artistic Director, Andrew Byrne, "Project Broadway is unique for the variety of its programs, its emphasis on new work in both music and dance, and the attention it brings to the exciting younger generation of artists - creators and performers who are sure to set a new course for Broadway as it evolves in the 21st century."

Tickets for all events are available at symphonyspace.org.

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THE PROGRAMS:

Monday, March 27 (8 pm)
Kicking and Screaming
Cutting-Edge Choreographers Celebrate Song & Dance
Peter Jay Sharp Theatre
PROJECT BROADWAY opens with "Kicking and Screaming," featuring works by cutting-edge choreographers led by Lorin Latarro (Waitress, Les Liaisons Dangereuses) and Noah Racey (Encores! Off-Center Jamboree, White Christmas). Along with Latarro and Racey, this evening of thrilling new theater dance includes choreographers Joshua Bergasse (On the Town, Smash), Sara Brians (resident choreographer Matilda, Billy Elliot), Whitney G-Bowley (Broadway on Broadway) and Jon Rua (Phish, Freedom Riders). The program also features world-premiere dance scores by composers Debra Barsha, Sam Davis, Georgia Stitt, Shaina Taub, Jason Michael Webb, and Ben Wexler, alongside classic Broadway favorites. The music director is Charlie Alterman (Pippin, Godspell, Next to Normal). A worthy salute to this dynamic element of the Broadway musical.

Tuesday, March 28 (7:30 pm)
After Anatevka: Tevye's Daughters Beyond "Tradition"
Leonard Nimoy Thalia
This unique evening celebrates Alexandra Silber's new novel After Anatevka, an evocative sequel to the beloved musical Fiddler on the Roof, to be published by World Rights/Pegasus in the summer of 2017. Ms. Silber, who played Hodel in London's West End and Tzeitel in the recent Broadway revival, has imagined the plight of Hodel as she searches for her fiancé in a Siberian work camp. Alongside excerpts from the novel read by the author, Symphony Space is delighted to present eight world-premiere songs inspired by the text, by renowned theatre songwriters Julianne Wick Davis, Lance Horne, Will Reynolds and Eric Price, Matthew Sklar, Jeffrey Stock, Joseph Thalken, and Ben Toth. The concert includes performances by stage luminaries Jessica Fontana, Santino Fontana, Daniel Rowan, Ryan Silverman, and Broadway legend John Cullum, with a special introduction by Fiddler's Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning lyricist, Sheldon Harnick.

Thursday, March 30 (7:30 pm)
Perfect Harmony: Broadway's Greatest Duets, Trios, and Ensembles
Leonard Nimoy Thalia
Broadway's favorite singers take on musical theater's greatest numbers for two or more in this celebration of duets, trios, quartets and ensemble pieces, from West Side Story to Wicked. Illustrious performers Nikki Renée Daniels (Book of Mormon, Porgy and Bess), Jessica Fontana (Cinderella, Once Upon a Mattress), Santino Fontana (Cinderella, Frozen, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), Jeff Kready (A Gentleman's Guide..., Billy Elliot), Rebecca Luker (Fun Home, Mary Poppins), Michael McCorry Rose (Wicked), and Elizabeth Stanley (Bridges of Madison County, Million Dollar Quartet) celebrate the art of harmonizing together. Grant Wenaus (Kiss Me, Kate, Candide) is the music director for this evening of Broadway classics by Irving Berlin, Jason Robert Brown, George Gershwin, Adam Guettel, Andrew Lippa, Richard Rodgers, Stephen Sondheim, and Meredith Willson.

Friday, March 31 (8 pm)
On the Horizon: Three New Musicals in Concert
Leonard Nimoy Thalia
PROJECT BROADWAY is privileged to present this first look at three musicals currently in development, from some of musical theater's most compelling voices. Featured shows include Love and Real Estate, with music by Sam Davis and book and lyrics by Sean Hartley; Tenn, about the early life of Tennessee Williams, with book, music and lyrics by Julian Hornik; and The Boy Who Danced on Air, by Jonathan Larson Grant and ASCAP Rodgers/Hart award-winners Tim Rosser and Charlie Sohne.

Friday, March 31 (10:30 pm)
Broadway Open Mic Night
Bar Thalia
Reprising the success of last year's sing-a-thon, Jenny Leon returns to host an open mic night featuring Broadway's greatest music, accompanied by some of Broadway's finest music directors. A rare opportunity for audience members to belt out their favorites in the presence of musical theater royalty.

Sunday, April 2 (3 pm)
Ted Chapin: Richard Rodgers and the Art of Collaboration
Leonard Nimoy Thalia
Ted Chapin, President and Chief Creative Officer of Rodgers & Hammerstein, hosts a discussion of the career of Richard Rodgers, exploring the development of his work as he moved through his early partnerships with Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II to his later collaborations with Martin Charnin, Sheldon Harnick, and Stephen Sondheim. The afternoon features performances by Broadway's Betsy Wolfe (Falsettos, Mystery of Edwin Drood, The Last Five Years), bringing to life the songs of this Tony, Emmy, Oscar and Pulitzer Prize-winning artist.

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Symphony Space traces its beginnings to a free marathon concert, Wall to Wall Bach, held in 1978 and organized by co-founders Isaiah Sheffer and Allan Miller. The music marathon then drew thousands of visitors and has since become one of the organization's signature events. Today Symphony Space presents more than 600 events each season, including music, dance, theater, film, and literary readings. Some of its best known programs include Selected Shorts, a reading of short stories by stars of stage and screen, and one of the most popular series on public radio; National Theatre in HD, broadcasting the best of British theatre to cinemas around the world; and Just Kidding, one of the most talked about family entertainment series around town. Uptown Showdown has been called "New York's best comedy series" by New York Magazine. For more information, visit symphonyspace.org.

Symphony Space is located at 2537 Broadway at 95th Street. Box office hours are Tuesday through Sunday, 1 pm - 6 pm, open two hours prior to performances and events. Tickets can also be purchased through symphonyspace.org, or by calling 212/864-5400.