Photos: Go Inside Rehearsals For OTHER LIVES: THE STORY SONGS OF MICHAEL COLBY

Other Lives: The Story Songs of Michael Colby, a mélange of melody and tour de force performances featuring lyrics by Michael Colby, will be presented as part of Urban Stages 2022 "Winter Rhythms" series, produced by Tom Toce and Sue Matsuki, on Sunday, December 11 at 3pm and Tuesday, December 13, 2022 at 7pm at Urban Stages Theater (259 West 30th Street - between 7th & 8th Avenues). Tickets are is a $30 and may be obtained here.

When live performances were stymied by the outbreak of COVID and in anticipation of better times, musical theatre writer Michael Colby (Charlotte Sweet, The Algonquin Kid) tailored an evening of story songs to spotlight both established theatre favorites and exciting up-and-coming performers seen on New York stages.

The cast of Other Lives: The Story Songs of Michael Colby features veterans Janet Aldrich (Annie, Forbidden Broadway - Helen Hayes Award), Bethe Austin(Whoopee!, Olympus On My Mind, Noises Off - Drama Desk Award), Ari Axelrod (Bistro Award winner), Klea Blackhurst (Bistro Award winner, Everything The Traffic Will Allow, The Nutty Professor), Stephen Bogardus (Love! Valor! Compassion! - Tony nomination; original "Whizzer" in Falsettos; Bright Star), Le Donna Burns (RENT, Broadway Inspirational Voices), David Edwards (By Jeeves, The Producers), Sarah Rice (original "Johanna" in Sweeney Todd; MAC and Bistro winner), Luke Nephat (Ludlow Ladd In Concert), Jane Seaman (Anything Goes, Secret Garden), Jake David Smith (Between The Lines), Megan Styrna (Ludlow Ladd In Concert), Marianne Tatum (Theater World Award winner as original "Jenny Lind" in Barnum; Drama Desk Award nominee, The Three Musketeers), Maureen Taylor (The Phantom Of The Opera; MAC Award nominee for Cosmic Connections: The Lyrics Of Michael Colby), Deborah Jean Templin (Annie), Deborah Tranelli (Multiple Bistro Awards; "Phyllis" on TV's "Dallas"), Joshua Turchin (the only teen to originate an edition of Forbidden Broadway, The Early Night Show, "Akiva Bergman" on "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel"), Stuart Zagnit (Caroline, or Change, "The Wizard" in Wicked - National Tour) and newcomers Lauren Baker, Talia Cutulle, and Heeya Kim.

The evening will showcase composers: Andrea Colby, Ned Paul Ginsberg, Larry Hochman, Paul Katz, Gerald Jay Markoe, Peter Millrose, Alex Rybeck, Steven Silverstein, Joseph Thalken, and Herman Yaboloff.

The evening will be directed by Sara Louise Lazarus with Musical Direction by Michael Lavine.

Other Lives: The Story Songs of Michael Colby plays Urban Stages Theater (259 West 30th Street - between 7th & 8th Avenues) on Sunday, December 11th at 3pm and Tuesday, December 11 @ 7pm. Tickets are $30 and are available for purchase here. For more information, visit www.urbanstages.org.

Michael Lavine (at piano), Sara Louise Lazarus, Michael Colby, Klea Blackhurst

Klea Blackhurst, Michael Lavine, Sara Louise Lazarus, Michael Colby

Klea Blackhurst, Michael Lavine