York Theatre Company's GENYORK CONCERT Hosted by Usman Ali Mughal Takes Place Tonight

The York Theatre Company is presenting its first GenYork Concert, featuring composers, librettists, and performers all under the age of 35. Writers and composers will present short sets of their works, performed by a group of exciting young singers. This concert is an extension of The York's GenYork program, which offers discounted tickets and special events for audience members under the age of 35.

The GenYork Concert takes place TONIGHT, Monday, April 17 at 7:30 at the Theatre at St. Jean's (150 E 76th Street). Tickets are $25 for audience members under the age of 35, $35 for York members, and $45 for general admission. Tickets can be purchased at yorktheatre.org/genyork.

The featured writers are Elspeth Collard & Sam Rosenblatt, Emily Drossell & George Luton, Jake Landau & Emily Garber, Alexander Sage Oyen, and Billy Recce. Performers include Thani Brant, Elspeth Collard, Emily Drossell, Gabrielle Filloux, Sam Gravitte, George Luton, Michelle Pauker, Billy Recce, Rafael Rodriguez, Alanna Saunders, and Veronica Shea.

The GenYork Concert is directed by The York's Associate Artistic Director Gerry McIntyre with music direction by Erin Kennedy. It is curated and produced by The York's Literary Manager Seth Christenfeld and Director of Marketing Veronica Shea.

The event is hosted by Usman Ali Mughal (Life of Pi).

"We look forward to sharing our first ever GenYork concert with you tonight." said Jim Morgan, Producing Artistic Director. "The York is a veritable beehive of activity with Julie Benko last week and the final week of Vanities coming up. Veronica Shea and Seth Christenfeld, and the whole York staff, have been working very hard to put this event together and it's really come out wonderfully!"

COMPOSER & LIBRETTIST BIOS

Elspeth Collard (she/her) is an award-winning British-born composer. Theatrical works: Like the Wind, ROSE, A Princess Story, Twenty-Six Percent, Miroir, Easier to Die, and Don't Ever Change. Short films: An Intimate Moment, That Little Moment When, Roomies, New Year's Eve, Nice to Meet You Again. Her work has been featured at cabaret venues including Feinstein's/54 Below, the Green Room 42, Dixon Place, The Duplex, and Don't Tell Mama. She is a graduate of NYU (MFA Musical Theatre Writing) and University of Cambridge (BA Music), and a member of Maestra, ASCAP, and the Dramatists Guild. www.elspethcollard.com

Sam Rosenblatt (she/they) is a queer, Jewish-Asian-American theatre artist based in New York who holds a BS from NYU Steinhardt in Educational Theatre and an MFA from NYU Tisch in Musical Theatre Writing. She has written book and lyrics for many musicals including Like the Wind (SoHo Playhouse), A Princess Story (Marymount Manhattan College), ROSE (New York University), and Twenty-Six Percent (EAT Festival). Albums include Little Love Notes from Collard & Rosenblatt (2022), Collisions: A Concept Album (2023). They are a proud member of the Dramatists Guild, ASCAP, and Maestra. www.theatricallysam.com

Emily Drossell (she/they) is honored to be featured alongside her longtime collaborator and friend George Luton. Writing credits include Alice(York's "In the Pipeline"), (Pre)Scripted (The Tank NYC), Truth, Dare, or Lesbian (PrideFest 2022), Dancing Through... (Allongé Films), The Northern Skies (CyberTank), Little Women (Hedgepig Ensemble Theatre), and More Than This World. As a performer, Emily has appeared at major venues such as Madison Square Garden, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Walt Disney Concert Hall. She is a recipient of the Lucia V. Torian '69 Award and a proud member of Maestra Music and Ring of Keys. www.emilydrossell.com @emily_drossell

George Luton (he/they) is delighted to be at the York Theatre showcasing his songwriting collaborations with Emily Drossell after the launch of their new operetta (Alice) and short-form musical (PreScripted) at The Tank NYC last year. Over a dozen of his compositions have been mounted in Massachusetts by companies such as Stage 284 (Earhart, Stiltskin, Nottingham), Boston Children's Theatre (Apple and the Bear, Apple Plus), Island Theatre Workshop (Boots, Treasure Island), and In Vivo Productions (The Conditions of Readiness, Face Work). George is a proud member of the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop and has twice been awarded the Jean-Slater Edson Prize in Composition. www.georgeluton.com

Jake Landau (he/him) is a composer from New York City. His music has been performed by the New York Philharmonic, Houston Grand Opera, and Premiere Division Ballet, and by Broadway stars including Jay Armstrong Johnson, Ciara Renée, and Sam Gravitte. Jake is a Clarendon Scholar of Oxford University and an Extension Division faculty member at Juilliard, having graduated from both institutions. His musical Psyche had its first 29-hour Equity reading in November '22, following the premiere of his opera & Aeterna in Italy that summer. Jake is represented by UIA Talent. www.JakeLandau.com

Emily Garber (she/her) is a librettist of both opera and musical theater as well as a novelist and poet. Her work, which draws heavy influence from her studies in Classics, has been performed internationally, including the recent premiere of her opera & Aeterna at the Narnia Festival in Italy.

Alexander Sage Oyen (he/him) 's songs have over 15 million streams on Spotify. He's the recipient of the 2017 Lotos Foundation Prize and the 2014 ASCAP Foundation's Lucille and Jack Yellen award. His musicals include DIVA: Live From Hell (available through DPS), The Parlor (world premiere tour in Tokyo, Japan), ROAM (Bucharest workshop), Discount Ghost Stories (cast recording feat. LaChanze, George Salazar, and more), Outlaws (live recording featuring Constantine Maroulis and more), Moment by Moment (cast recording featuring Jason Gotay, Emma Hunton, and more) and more. Additionally, he was a 2017 and 2022 Jonathan Larson Grant Finalist. Proud member of ASCAP and the Dramatists Guild. www.AlexanderSageOyen.com

Billy Recce (he/him) is a two-time MAC Award-winning NYC-based composer/lyricist and singer/songwriter, most recently represented by Off-Broadway's hit musical A Musical About Star Wars (cast album on Broadway Records) and the Billboard-charting concept album of Little Black Book. He has been an artist in residence at the Orchard Project Greenhouse, a semi-finalist for the inaugural Relentless Musical Award, a NAMT finalist, a Wallowitch Award finalist, and a 2022 Larson Grant finalist. Also a prolific cabaret and concert artist, selling out various cabaret venues across the country, his songs have been heard internationally and at the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Cadogan Hall, and more. His debut album The Perks of Being a Snowflake is streaming on all platforms.

Erin Kennedy (she/her) is a singer, actor, and pianist originally hailing from Saint Paul, Minnesota. She is passionate about making both classical and contemporary music joyful and accessible for audiences. Her experience in opera, musical theater, choral music, and collaborative piano make her a singer and music director with diverse interests who is at home in and behind the scenes of multiple performance genres. In 2021, she co-founded Off-Brand Opera, where she has worked extensively as a performer and music director (Into the Woods, Carousel). She teaches a studio of private voice and piano students in NYC. Learn more at www.erinkatkennedy.com.

The York Theatre Company

"Where Musicals Come to Life," is the only theatre in New York City-and one of very few in the world-dedicated to developing and fully producing new musicals and preserving notable shows from the past. For over five decades, York's intimate, imaginative style of producing both original and classic musicals has resulted in critical acclaim and recognition from artists and audiences alike. Under the guidance of Producing Artistic Director James Morgan since 1997, The York has focused on new musicals in its Mainstage Series-most of them world, American, or New York premieres-by some of the field's most esteemed creators and has also helped launch the careers of many talented new writers. Well over 40 cast recordings from York Theatre Company productions are now available on CD, including its acclaimed revival of Closer Than Ever (2013 Off-Broadway Alliance Award for Best Revival); commercial transfers of such York premieres as The Musical of Musicals (The Musical!), Souvenir (Tony Award Nomination for actress Judy Kaye), and Jolson & Company, and revivals of Pacific Overtures and Sweeney Todd (four Tony Nominations including Best Revival) have all showcased the importance of The York and its programs.

Recent New York and world premieres have included Hoagy Carmichael's Stardust Road, Penelope: or How the Odyssey Was Really Written, Cheek to Cheek: Irving Berlin in Hollywood, A Taste of Things to Come, Marry Harry, and Rothschild & Sons. The critically acclaimed musical Yank! received its Off-Broadway debut at The York in 2010, and subsequently to rave reviews in London-as did York's Rothschild & Sons. The hit musical Cagney received its York premiere in 2015, transferring to The Westside Theatre for over 15 months. In 2017, Desperate Measures received a total of 15 award nominations (and three wins) that included Best Musical from the Lucille Lortel, Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk, and Off-Broadway Alliance and subsequently transferred across town to New World Stages. The York is the recipient of a special Drama Desk Award for "Developing and Producing New Musicals" and, more recently, a special Outer Critics Circle Award for "50 Years of Producing New and Classic Musicals." Due to a flood in their home of 30 years at Saint Peter's Church in January 2021, The York is currently producing at The Theatre at St. Jeans at 76th Street and Lexington Avenue. Their current show, Vanities - The Musical runs till April 22, 2023.

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