| “There are no second acts in American lives”
— F. Scott Fitzgerald
“We respectfully disagree”
— Lyrics & Lyricists
New York, NY: May 4, 2016 — Richard Rodgers earned his place in the pantheon of American composers through his heralded partnership with Larry Hart. He went on to cement his position as Broadway’s greatest thanks to a seemingly impossible second act with Oscar Hammerstein. For his unprecedented third act, Rodgers wrote lyrics himself, and partnered with an amazing array of talent – including Stephen Sondheim and Sheldon Harnick – on such classics as “The Sweetest Sounds,” “I Have Confidence,” “I Do Not Know a Day I Did Not Love You,” “Do I Hear a Waltz?” and “Something Good.” R&H authority Ted Chapin closes the Lyrics & Lyricists season with I Have Confidence: Rodgers After Hammerstein, delving deep inside these rich third-act collaborations in a show that includes rarely-seen video interviews with Sheldon Harnick, John Cullum and Martin Charnin, among others, discussing what it was like to work with Rodgers. The production also includes special readings of some newly unearthed writings by Rodgers.
“Rodgers had lived through two extraordinary, and extraordinarily successful collaborations. He could have retired, but he had no interest in that,” comments Ted Chapin. “A composer composes, and he continued to write, sharing new melodies and music with the world virtually until the day he died. He was arguably the most important composer in the 20th-century American musical theater, and a day does not go by without one of his shows being produced somewhere in the world.”
The blue-chip Broadway cast of vocalists includes Ben Crawford (On the 20th Century); T. Oliver Reid (After Midnight); Betsy Wolfe (Bullets Over Broadway); and Karen Ziemba (Contact). Guest artist Larry Pine brings Rodgers’ words to life with special readings.
For information on the creative team and cast, please click here.
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 Jerome Kern, Cole Porter, Dorothy Fields, Betty Comden & Adolph Green, Sheldon Harnick, and David Zippel with champions and interpreters of the American Songbook including Rob Fisher, Kathleen Marshall, Ted Chapin, Mark Lamos, and Billy Stritch. Lyrics & Lyricists receives underwriting support from Gilda and Henry Block; Kenneth Kolker z”l; The Henry Nias Foundation, courtesy of Dr. Stanley Edelman; The Edythe Kenner Foundation; and the Hite Foundation, Inc. |
