From Stephen Sondheim to Joan Baez: Inside 50-Plus Years of Broadway History at 92NY’s Lyrics & Lyricists

What do Stephen Sondheim, Jonathan Groff, Cole Porter, Sam Cooke, Jonathan Larson, Joan Baez, and Stephen Schwartz share? They and countless others are part of the remarkable story of Lyrics & Lyricists, the 92nd Street Y’s celebrated series that has spent more than half a century taking audiences inside the songs, stories, and creative minds behind the American Songbook.

This November, Lyrics & Lyricists launches a season that stretches from Broadway to folk, soul, and indie pop. Andréa Burns (In the Heights, On Your Feet!, The Notebook) opens with a celebration of Joan Baez, joined by special guest Terrence Mann. Brandon Victor Dixon (Hell’s Kitchen, Hamilton) takes on Ray Charles. Stephen Schwartz himself joins a celebration of the songs of Wicked, Pippin, Godspell, and more. And one-night-only events bring Stephin Merritt, Shaina Taub, and Jason Robert Brown to the stage.

It’s an extraordinary lineup, and the latest chapter in a series with a history of memorable encounters, unexpected discoveries, and, occasionally, Broadway shows in the making.

Lyrics & Lyricists is where Broadway history is made. It’s where today’s artists become tomorrow’s stars. And where audiences gain an insider’s perspective on the creators of the music they love. In the last five years, the series has widened its lens on the American Songbook with shows like Jessica Vosk performing the music of the Laurel Canyon songwriters, Darius de Haas celebrating the songs of Stevie Wonder and Amber Iman conjuring the great Nina Simone. And the series added one-night-only events, with stories and songs from some of today’s most influential songwriters, from Jason Robert Brown to Rosanne Cash.

Lyrics & Lyricists has also been an incubator for creative work. A 1995 show spotlighting Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty featured Brian Stokes Mitchell giving the first performance of a new song from a show in the early stages of development. Ragtime opened on Broadway two years later, winning four Tonys and establishing itself as an iconic new American musical. “Stokes” returned to 92NY last spring, performing “Wheels of a Dream”—now one of musical theater’s greatest anthems—in a sold-out concert 30 years after its Lyrics & Lyricists premiere.  Most notably, the 2018 Lyrics & Lyricists season opened with “The Bobby Darin Story,” featuring Jonathan Groff and directed by Alex Timbers. Cries of “This should go to Broadway!” were heard from both audience members and critics. The Lyrics & Lyricists-born show opened on Broadway—with Groff reprising his role—in spring of 2025 in the six-time Tony-nominated smash hit Just in Time.

And the series has been an incubator for talent. The current star of Just in Time, Jeremy Jordan first appeared at Lyrics & Lyricists in a 2014 celebration of MGM Musicals. Zachary Noah Piser, currently starring in Maybe Happy Ending, first appeared in Lyrics & Lyricists in a filmed show in 2020, two years before his history-making lead role in Dear Evan Hansen. Others who appeared at Lyrics & Lyricists early in their careers include Phillipa Soo, Joshua Henry, and Lindsay Mendez.

Launched in the 1970/71 season, Lyrics & Lyricists inaugural guests included Stephen Sondheim in his first-ever public appearance. Company had just earned six Tonys, and Follies opened a month before. Sondheim’s remarks on May 2, 1971, included reflections on what he called “the craft, not the art,” of lyric writing, why it’s the simplicity of the line “I just kissed a girl named Maria”—not the grand part—that makes the song soar, and more.

The series was unprecedented—the first to celebrate the lyric-writing half of songwriting. Over more than 50 years, Lyrics & Lyricists has evolved from lyricists talking about their work with their songs performed at the piano to full stage productions with starry casts and stellar musicians in celebration of lyricists, songwriters, and American Songbook icons through their music and behind-the-scenes stories about its creation. Lyrics & Lyricists remains the most celebrated and unique American Songbook series in New York. And far beyond.

The 2026/27 Lyrics & Lyricists Season

Stephanie Alvarado Prugh, artistic producer; Nicholas Russotto, Tisch Music executive director

New Shows

DIAMONDS AND RUST: The Artistry and Activism of Joan Baez featuring Andréa Burns

Sat, Nov 7, 2026, 5 PM; Sun, Nov 8, 2 PM; Mon, Nov 9, 7:30 PM

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The season opens on Saturday, November 7, with a beautiful celebration of the music and extraordinary influence of the “Queen of Folk” led by Andréa Burns (In the Heights, On Your Feet!, The Notebook). The show features indelible songs like “Diamonds and Rust,” “House of the Rising Sun,” and “Forever Young,” with special guest Terrence Mann (Les Misérables, Beauty and the Beast) joining Burns for one of the iconic Baez/Dylan duets, “It Ain’t Me Babe.” Read an interview with Burns about her celebration and discovery of Joan Baez here.

WHAT’D I SAY: The Genius of Ray Charles featuring Brandon Victor Dixon

Sat, Mar 13, 2027, 5 PM; Sun, Mar 14, 2 PM; Mon, Mar 15, 7:30 PM

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Ray Charles channeled the pleasure and pain of the human experience in songs spanning genres from blues, gospel, and R&B to rock, country, and jazz.  Brandon Victor Dixon (Hell’s Kitchen, Hamilton, Jesus Christ Superstar) captures Charles’ complex personal story and performs his unforgettable songs: “Georgia on My Mind,” “Unchain My Heart,” “Hit the Road Jack,” and more.

SPARK OF CREATION: The Music and Lyrics of Stephen Schwartz featuring Stephen Schwartz

Sat, Jun 12, 2027, 5 PM; Sun, Jun 13, 2 PM; Mon, Jun 14, 7:30 PM

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Wicked. Pippin. Godspell. Pocohontas. Enchanted. Some of Broadway and film’s most enduring works have been built upon the songs of Stephen Schwartz. The triple Oscar winner and four-time Grammy winner joins for a celebration of his work and performances of his songs—and to share the stories only their creator can tell.

One-night-only special events

AN EVENING WITH STEPHIN MERRITT

Fri, Dec 18, 2026, 7:30 PM

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The singer-songwriter most known for his music for the Magnetic Fields—and named one of The New York Times’ “30 Greatest Living American Songwriters”—performs a rare solo concert of his wry, hyper-literate songs bearing influences from Phil Spector to Stephen Sondheim to ABBA.

AN EVENING WITH SHAINA TAUB

Thu, Jan 28, 2027, 7:30 PM

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The artist who made history with her double Tony win for Suffs and dazzled in last season’s Tony-winning revival of Ragtime writes hook-filled music that is inspired as much by Stevie Wonder and Joni Mitchell as by Broadway giants. Hear the creator who is everything exciting in musical theater right now.

AN EVENING WITH JASON ROBERT BROWN

Mon, Mar 1, 2027, 7:30 PM

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The three-time Tony winner (Parade, Bridges of Madison County, The Last Five Years) follows his sold-out 2024 Lyrics & Lyricists event, performing his songs turned classics, and previewing others. Brown’s newest projects include an adaptation of Andrew Sean Greer’s novel Less, and his eagerly anticipated musical adaptation of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.

Lyrics & Lyricists at The 92nd Street Y. NYC’s premier American Songbook series. Get tickets at 92NY.org/Lyrics.