Kaufman Center Press Releases
Merkin Concert Hall presents Bound For Broadway IX w/host Liz Callaway (Dec. 8, 2008)
New York, NY, 11/7/08—Kaufman Center presents the ninth annual Bound for Broadway on Monday, December 8, 2008, at 8:00pm at Merkin Concert Hall. Hosted by Liz Callaway, this popular annual event offers a unique forum for the next crop of musical theater writers and presents a handful of new works in various stages of development. The evening includes interviews with the writing teams and performances by some of Broadway's brightest new stars.
Featured shows include:
BIG ROSEMARY (Book by Blake Edwards; music & lyrics by Lisa Lampert & Greg Morrison)
When a practical-joker mob boss is murdered, a showgirl inherits his empire. The Tony Award-winning songwriting team from Drowsy Chaperone and film director/legend Blake Edwards join forces to create this musical comedy classic set in 1930s Chicago.
PAMELA’S FIRST MUSICAL (Book by Wendy Wasserstein; music by Cy Coleman; lyrics by David Zippel)
Based on Wasserstein’s 1996 children’s book, which was illustrated by Andrew Jackness, this one-act musical adaptation tells the story of a misfit young girl from the suburbs who spends an unforgettable birthday with her eccentric, sophisticated Aunt Louise attending a lavish Broadway musical and meeting all the glamorous, creative people who made it possible.
SEE ROCK CITY (Book & lyrics by Adam Mathias; music by Brad Alexander)
A contemporary pop-rock musical about everyday travelers at tourist destinations across America. A wanderer believes his destiny is written on rooftops along the North Carolina Interstate. A young man yearns to connect with intelligent life in Roswell, New Mexico. A woman at the Alamo steps out of the shadow of her grandparents’ idealized romance to take a chance on love. Three estranged sisters cruise to Glacier Bay to scatter their father's ashes. Two high school boys face unexpected fears in the Coney Island Spook House. A terrified bride-to-be ponders taking the leap ... over Niagara Falls. Each story builds on the last to create a vivid travelogue of connections missed and connections made.
THE KID (Book by Michael Zam; lyrics by Jack Lechner; music by Andy Monroe; based on the book by Dan Savage)
A compelling and unexpected story of the journey into parenthood. Dan and his boyfriend Terry want a baby. So they do what millions of other couples do: They decide to adopt. They decide on an "open adoption," in which the birth mother selects the adoptive parents for her child. But there are issues: The mother—a street kid—drank and used drugs during the pregnancy, and is still living on the streets. The story touches on homophobia, love, getting fat, getting married, getting old—and the very human desire to have a family.
UNDER FIRE (Book & lyrics by Barry Harman; music by Grant Sturiale; based on the film by Ron Shelton and Clayton Frohman)
Set in the late 1970s during the bloody revolution in El Mirador, a Central American country under the heel of the ruthless dictator Tacho. Swept up in the maelstrom is Russell Price, a young American photojournalist who embarks on a search for the mysterious rebel leader Rafael—whom no one has ever photographed. Making his way into the heart of darkness, he encounters people working on both sides of the struggle, all with different and shadowy agendas.
PLUS: A Second Look….
THE STORY OF MY LIFE (Book by Brian Hill; music & lyrics by Neil Bartram)
In 2005, Bound for Broadway presented a look at The Story of My Life. Now, with the show a few months from its New York premiere, we welcome back authors Brian Hill and Neil Bartram to discuss the show’s evolution. Members of the Broadway cast will perform from the show. This two character-based musical is about Thomas Weaver, a successful writer who returns to his hometown to deliver the eulogy at the funeral of his lifelong friend, Alvin Kelby. In doing so, Thomas rediscovers the profound ways in which lives intersect, and how the most unexpected people alter your existence. The Story of My Life is about friendship, love and what it means to be an artist.
Liz Callaway is one of the top studio singers and actresses performing on Broadway today. She has appeared on Broadway in Merrily We Roll Along, Baby (Tony nomination), The Three Musketeers, Miss Saigon and Cats, where she played the role of Grizabella for five years. Ms. Callaway has also starred in numerous Off-Broadway musicals and revues, as well as the internationally-acclaimed cabaret act Sibling Revelry with her sister Ann Hampton Callaway. She also has many film and television appearances to her credit, including the singing voice of the princess Anastasia in the celebrated Don Bluth animated feature of the same name. Liz can be heard on more than thirty recordings including three solo albums and one duet album with her sister.
About Broadway Close Up
An annual series examining the creative process behind Broadway's past and future hits, Broadway Close Up has paid tribute to Lehman Engel, Michael Stewart, Richard Rodgers, Comden and Green, Ahrens and Flaherty, Alan Menken and William Finn while also creating a forum for emerging works.
Listings Information:
Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center presents
BROADWAY CLOSE UP:
Bound For Broadway IX w/host Liz Callaway
Monday, December 8, 2008 at 8:00pm
129 West 67th Street (between Broadway and Amsterdam)
Tickets at 212 501 3330 or http://www.kaufman-center.org
Single tickets are $40.
EDITORS: Please refer to the series by its name, BROADWAY CLOSE UP…
and its location, Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center
Press Only: Hi-res photos for download at http://kaufman-center.org/press/image-library
About Merkin Concert Hall
Renowned for its acoustics, accessibility and innovative programming, the recently renovated Merkin Concert Hall is the recipient of multiple awards for adventurous programming, most recently from ASCAP/Chamber Music America in 2002–03. The Hall is a division of Kaufman Center, which also includes Lucy Moses School (a community arts school) and Special Music School (a New York City public school for musically gifted children). A not-for-profit organization founded in 1952, Kaufman Center occupies its own facility, the award-winning Goodman House, located in Manhattan’s Lincoln Square arts district. The Center is an unsurpassed cultural resource where people of all ages can experience the joy of artistic creation, expression and appreciation. Bound for Broadway is made possible in part by the BMI Foundation and Rodgers & Hammerstein Foundation, with additional support from Amphion Foundation, Edward T. Cone Foundation, Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Barbara Bell Cumming Foundation, The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, Fink Foundation, Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation, Herman Goldman Foundation, The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Inc., Adolph and Ruth Schnurmacher Foundation and Phyllis Fox and George Sternlieb Foundation, and with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a State agency.
his program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.