Brandon Victor Dixon, Beth Malone and More Join 92Y's Lyrics & Lyricists Preludes: THE THEME FROM…: SONGS WRITTEN FOR FILM 

92Y has announced Lyrics & Lyricists Preludes: THE THEME FROM...: SONGS WRITTEN FOR FILM, hosted by Tony- nominated actor Beth Malone, and featuring appearances from Nikki Renée Daniels, Brandon Victor Dixon, Kara Lindsay, Julia Murney, and more! Premiering December 14, 7 pm ET. Tickets at 92Y.org/lyrics.

This special program presents some of the best songs specifically written for film ever since the genre first achieved the technology to capture sound. A diverse concert of hits like "Moon River" and "The Man That Got Away" mixed in with other songs from decades of film history offers a look at the effect of these songs on an audience and how, even in a non-musical film, music is key to unlocking the emotional journey of storytelling.

"I am in awe of the zeal and adaptability of every performer across these five episodes," comments artistic director Paul Masse. "All of us in the performing arts have spent the last nine months watching our livelihoods erode and disappear, with very little help from even those within our own industry with the power to rescue it. To agree to perform on this series, with no rehearsal, and with all of the restrictions and challenges, took tremendous passion for what we do and why we must do it, and I am forever grateful that these stars were so beautifully game for it. We need the performing arts as a society; this is essential. And despite everything standing in their way, this group of humans gave their hearts and voices with generosity, warmth, and humor."

All programs available on 92Y.org and on StageAccess. These programs in the L&L Preludes series are available through December 31 at 92Y.org/lyrics:

George Gershwin: BIDIN' MY TIME

Featuring: Farah Alvin, Allison Blackwell, James T. Lane, Kara Lindsay, and Zachary Prince

As a companion to the Gershwin program from this past March (rescheduled for spring of 2021), this program is set among excerpts of letters and archival interviews with George Gershwin and his brother and lyricist Ira Gershwin, his longtime musical collaborator and friend Kay Swift, and his witty and legendary friend and pianist Oscar Levant. The words of Todd Duncan and Anne Brown, the original Porgy and Bess, provide an intimate perspective of the creation of Gershwin's "folk opera" and the invaluable contributions of its performers. Peppered among hits like "Embraceable You" and "Love Is Here To Stay" are pieces of essays written by George Gershwin in which he pondered and pontificated on the meaning of "jazz" and the definition of "music" itself. Asserting his constant effort to eschew genres, Gershwin wrote: "From any sound critical standpoint, labels mean nothing at all. Good music is good music, even if you call it 'oysters.'"

Tom Jones & Harvey Schmidt: SIMPLE LITTLE THINGS

Featuring: Farah Alvin, Brandon Victor Dixon, Katherine Henly, Telly Leung, Zachary Piser, Mariand Torres - Vocals

60 years ago, on May 3, 1960, at the tiny Sullivan Street Playhouse in Greenwich Village, The Fantasticks opened on the sparsest of budgets and ran uninterrupted for nearly 42 years, closing on January 13, 2002 after a record 17,162 performances. Its elegance and simplicity endured four decades of the chaotic world going "Round and Round" while its creators continued their evolution into several uptown successes. Including 110 In the Shade and I Do! I Do!, the jewel box of creativity that is the Jones and Schmidt collaboration is perhaps the most steadfast of its kind.

RODGERS, RODGERS, AND GUETTEL: STATUES AND STORIES

Featuring Allison Blackwell, Nikki Renée Daniels, Katherine Henly, Telly Leung, Julia Murney, Zachary Noah Piser, Pearl Sun, Mariand Torres

The groundbreaking works of Richard Rodgers, most famously in his collaborations with Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II, gave us the foundation of the modern musical theater form. But Rodgers also left a family lineage that has enriched the craft in abundant fashion. In a loose song cycle format, this program will weave his work with the charming and witty creations of daughter Mary Rodgers (Once Upon a Mattress) and the complex and extraordinary palette of grandson Adam Guettel (The Light in the Piazza, Floyd Collins), as we look toward the progression of musicals over the decades and into the future.

Jule Styne AND HIS MANY LYRICISTS: DISTANT MELODY

Featuring Farah Alvin, Allison Blackwell, Nikki Renée Daniels, Jeff Kready, Julia Murney, Zachary Noah Piser, Zachary Prince, Pearl Sun, Marianda??Torres

It is said that Jule Styne published over 1,500 songs in his lifetime, a staggering number that spans decades and includes dozens of collaborators. Beginning with Sammy Cahn in the 1940s, his lyricists would include names like Betty Comden, Adolph Green, Leo Robin, Bob Merrill, and Stephen Sondheim. Styne wrote some of our most famous songs and classic Broadway hits, with a multitude of lesser-known work along the way. The lasting power of star vehicles like Gypsy and Funny Girl has remained throughout every sea change of cultural mood and sentiment.

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