Theater News

Liz Callaway, Aaron Lazar, Mary Testa Set for Broadway Close Up Series

Liz Callaway
(© David Gordon)
Liz Callaway

(© David Gordon)

Merkin Concert Hall‘s Broadway Close Up series has announced plans for its 2012 season which will feature concerts celebrating the likes of Oscar Hammerstein, Ira Gershwin, Henry Kreiger, and Ira Weitzman.

On September 24, the season will kick off with Bound for Broadway XII, a preview of some of the best new shows currently in development, hosted by Liz Callaway. Then, composer Henry Krieger will share anecdotes and stories as music director Andy Einhorn will leads a star-studded cast of performers — including Aaron Lazar, Elisabeth Withers-Mendes, Mary Testa, and Curt Hansen — in such songs as “And I Am Telling You,” “I Would Never Leave You,” and “I Am Changing” for And I Am Telling You: Henry Krieger (October 22).

The audience will gain insight into the role of a producer in the non-profit theater and learn firsthand how a musical goes from the page to the stage at Art Isn’t Easy: Andre Bishop & Ira Weiztman (November 5), featuring Michael Winther. Co-hosts Sean Hartley and Ted Chapin, executive director of the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization, and musical director David Loud will lead a cast including Matthew Scott and Liz Callaway for Lyricists Who Changed the World…of Musical Theater (December 3).

Additionally, on October 10, New Music from The Johnny Mercer Foundation Songwriters Project will celebrate the first seven years of the project at Northwestern University, with an evening featuring faculty members, Broadway composers, and Tony nominees Craig Carnelia and Andrew Lippa, and Grammy-winning singer and songwriter Lari White.

For more information, click here.