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ALL DANCING! ALL SINGING! Irving Berlin Dance Revue Comes to 92Y Tonight

By: May. 02, 2015
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We're reaching for the moon, putting all our eggs in one basket, dancing cheek to cheek and pouring our hearts into a song, because it's time to face the music and dance! All Dancing! All Singing! is the first Lyrics & Lyricists dance revue, celebrating Irving Berlin's contributions to Hollywood musicals. Artistic director/choreographer Randy Skinner directs a cast of hand-picked young vocalists/dancers -- Darien Crago, Danny Gardner, Drew Humphrey, Kristie Kerwin, Con O'Shea-Creal and Kristen Beth Williams -- who are joined by veterans Sandy Duncan and Don Correia as special guests. Performances are this weekend, May 2, 3 and 4.

"Irving Berlin had a profound effect on how movie musicals were made, with his rhythmic, danceable songs created especially for film," notes Randy Skinner. "The groundbreaking work he did with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers led to some of the most famous dance numbers in film history -- like 'Cheek To Cheek' and 'Let's Face the Music and Dance' -- by marrying song and dance in a brand new way."

The show focuses on the songs by Berlin that premiered in movies and follows his journey through the studios he worked for, such as RKO, Paramount and MGM. The dance numbers feature tap, ballroom, jazz and a couple of the dance crazes Berlin's music started.

About the Artistic Team and Cast:

Randy Skinner has received three Tony Award nominations for his choreography of Irving Berlin's White Christmas, 42nd Street and Ain't Broadway Grand, also earning Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Astaire Award nominations. This past June he choreographed the American premiere of Cole Porter's long-lost The Ambassador Revue at Town Hall, and he has choreographed five New York City Center Encores! productions -- Do Re Mi; Of Thee I Sing; Face the Music; No, No, Nanette and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. All Dancing! All Singing! marks Randy's Lyrics & Lyricists debut as an artistic director; he made his performance debut in the show, Irving Berlin: On Broadway (Part 1), and he directed and choreographed the 2009 salute to the songwriting team of DeSylva, Brown & Henderson. He was the guest artist in this past summer's Jazz in July concert on the Fred Astaire Songbook.

Fred Lassen worked on the Broadway, US tour and Toronto productions of Once and Broadway productions of South Pacific. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess, Spamalot and Once Upon a Mattress. TV credits include NBC's live presentations of Peter Pan and The Sound of Music.

Barry Kleinbort's credits include 13 Things about Ed Carpolotti and John Epperson's Show Trash, part of the triumphant Lypsinka! The Trilogy. He has won the Edward Kleban Foundation Award for Lyric Writing, the Jamie deRoy/ASCAP Award, two Backstage Bistro awards and ten MAC awards.

Rob Berman has served for eight seasons as music director of Encores! at New York City Center. His Broadway credits include Finian's Rainbow, Irving Berlin's White Christmas, The Pajama Game, The Apple Tree, Wonderful Town, and Promises, Promises.

Mary Giattino worked with Randy Skinner on both Broadway productions of Irving Berlin's White Christmas and his Encores! productions of Lady, Be Good; No, No, Nanette and Of Thee I Sing.

Darien Crago has appeared in the Encores! productions of Paint Your Wagon and Lady, Be Good! She is currently involved in the developmental lab of a new version of the Irving Berlin musical Top Hat, staged by Tony Award winner Christopher Gattelli.

Danny Gardner performed in the Encores! production of the Gershwins' Lady, Be Good, choreographed by Randy Skinner. He had previously worked with Randy on the national tour of Irving Berlin's White Christmas and in a workshop of Dames at Sea.

Drew Humphrey, who also serves as the show's assistant choreographer, performed in the Encores! productions of Lady, Be Good and Of Thee I Sing. Drew made his Broadway debut in the 2008 Broadway premiere of White Christmas, returned for its 2009 edition, and went on its 2013-14 national tour, all choreographed by Randy Skinner.

Kristie Kerwin was in the original production of Randy Skinner's Irving Berlin's White Christmas in San Francisco as well as at Paper Mill Playhouse; she also performed in his production of Dames at Sea in Annapolis. Kristie made her Broadway debut in Spamalot and appeared in the Encores! presentation of Bye Bye Birdie.

Con O'Shea-Creal appeared on Broadway in the revival of Side Show earlier this season. He made his Broadway debut in the 2008 premiere of Irving Berlin's White Christmas, with choreography by Randy Skinner, and returned to Broadway with the show the following year.

Kristen Beth Williams has appeared in four Broadway musicals -- Pippin, Nice Work If You Can Get It, Anything Goes and Promises, Promises. No stranger to the music of Irving Berlin, Kristen Beth has appeared in four different productions of Irving Berlin's White Christmas across the country -- three of which were choreographed by Randy Skinner.

Sandy Duncan began her New York theatrical career at the New York City Center as Louise in Agnes DeMille's production of Carousel. Her big break came with the 1969 Broadway musical Canterbury Tales, which earned her a first Tony Award nomination, followed two years later by her second nomination, for The Boyfriend. She received her third Tony nomination for the much-loved 1979 revival of Peter Pan. She has most recently appeared on Broadway as Roxie Hart in Chicago. TV credits include the comedy series Funny Face, for which she received her first Emmy Award nomination; she had two other series -- The Sandy Duncan Show and The Hogan Family. Her second nomination came for Roots, where she aged from 20 to 70 years old.

Don Correia last appeared on Broadway in the 2011 revival of Follies; exactly 10 years earlier he had stood by for both male leads in the 2001 revival. He earned a Tony nomination for best actor in a musical as Don Lockwood in Singin' in the Rain, and his other Broadway credits include My One and Only, appearing with his wife, Sandy Duncan; Sophisticated Ladies; Perfectly Frank and Little Me, for which he received the first Astaire Award, now given annually to the best dancer on Broadway. He made his Broadway debut as Mike ("I Can Do That") in A Chorus Line.

About 92nd Street Y and Lyrics & Lyricists - Now celebrating its 140th Anniversary, 92nd Street Y is a world-class, nonprofit cultural and community center that fosters the mental, physical and spiritual health of people throughout their lives: wide-ranging conversations with the world's best minds; an outstanding range of programming in the performing, visual and literary arts; fitness and sports programs; and activities for children and families. Since 1970, Lyrics & Lyricists, the pioneering American Songbook series, and one of 92Y's signature series, has celebrated the work of songwriters like Jerome Kern, Cole Porter, Dorothy Fields, Betty Comden & Adolph Green, Sheldon Harnick, and David Zippel with champions and interpreters of the American Songbook including Ted Chapin, Rob Fisher, John Pizzarelli, Kathleen Marshall, and Billy Stritch. Lyrics & Lyricists receives underwriting support from Gilda and Henry Block; Kenneth Kolker; The Henry Nias Foundation, courtesy of Dr. Stanley Edelman; The Edythe Kenner Foundation; and the Hite Foundation, Inc.

More than 300,000 people visit 92Y annually, and millions more participate in 92Y's growing collection of digital programs and online content. A proudly Jewish organization since our founding in 1874, 92Y embraces its Jewish heritage and welcomes people of all backgrounds and perspectives. For more information, visit www.92Y.org.







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