92Y Will Present George Gershwin Tribute Featuring Kara Lindsay With New Arrangements For Piano by Paul Masse

In George Gershwin's short 38 years, he and his brother Ira wrote dozens of the most beloved songs of all time, changing the art of songwriting forever. George was also greatly inspired by 20th century classical composers like Debussy and Ravel, and by the contemporary culture and sound of New York and America. Lyrics & Lyricists presents a fresh take on this iconic composer's evolution, from Tin Pan Alley song-peddling, to Broadway, his yen to bridge jazz and classical forms, and finally his astounding opera, Porgy and Bess. Featuring new virtuoso arrangements for two pianos by Paul Masse ( The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess, The Scottsboro Boys), vocalists Allison Blackwell (The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess, Pretty Woman), Kara Lindsay (Wicked, Newsies), Zachary Prince (Honeymoon in Vegas, The Last Five Years), Blake Stadnik (TV's This is Us, 42nd Street) and Nathaniel Stampley (The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess, The Color Purple), under the direction of Kelli Barclay (42nd Street, Irving Berlin's White Christmas) offer a unique selection of songs and stories from the Gershwin years.

Paul Masse comments, "George Gershwin was a constantly evolving composer who longed to blur the lines between genres. He brought the rhythms and harmonies of jazz into classical form and brought opera into the Broadway theater. His natural gifts allowed him to achieve so much in all-too-short a life, and yet just a month before he died at age 38, he had told friends and family that he had only begun to 'scratch the surface' of what he wanted to achieve. Drawing on letters, reviews, and spoken accounts, the stories between the songs will shed light on the specific people in his life, and the singular sounds of his music and Ira's words, placing all of that within the long evolution of music and what George saw as his place within that. It will feature songs we all know and love, while also exploring his substantial classical works. We can only imagine what might have been in store had his life not been cut short, but one could do 10 evenings of Gershwin and still not include everything, the sheer amount of material is astonishing."

About Lyrics & Lyricists

Since 1970, Lyrics & Lyricists™, the pioneering American Songbook series, and one of 92Y's signature series, has celebrated the work of songwriters like Lynn Ahrens, Betty Comden & Adolph Green, Dorothy Fields, Sheldon Harnick, Jerome Kern, Cole Porter, and David Zippel with champions and interpreters of the American Songbook including Rob Berman, Rob Fisher, David Loud, Kathleen Marshall, John Pizzarelli, and Ted Sperling. 92Y Lyrics & Lyricists receives support from Gilda Block; Theodore Cohn; The Hite Foundation; The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation; Ellen F. Marcus; Howard and Eleanor Morgan; and Lynda and Robert Safron / The Edythe Kenner Foundation. Yip Harburg: Sunday, 7 pm performance is supported by The Hite Foundation. Jerry Herman: Sunday, 7 pm performance is supported by Suzi and Martin Oppenheimer. Stephen Schwartz: Saturday, 8 pm performance is supported by Lynda and Robert Safron / The Edythe Kenner Foundation. George Abbot: Supported by Gilda Block.

John Kelly, Lighting Design
Dan Scully, Projection Design
Lori Wekselblatt, Production Stage Manager
Telsey + Company, Casting

For more information, visit www.92Y.org.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos