Tony Award-winning composer and lyricist Jason Robert Brown will be presented in concert at the Great Hall at Cooper Union on Saturday, April 28, 2001, at 7:30 pm.  The program will feature many of the musical theater's brightest lights, accompanied by a thirty-five piece orchestra, under Mr. Brown's direction.

The program will include selections from Mr. Brown's two previously produced musicals: "Songs for a New World," the 1995 Off-Broadway revue which has received numerous regional productions, and which spawned the cabaret standard "Stars and the Moon" (to be sung at Cooper Union by multiple Tony-winner and television star Donna Murphy); and "Parade," the celebrated 1998 musical about the Leo Frank case that won Tonys for Brown and book-writer Alfred Uhry, as well as the New York Drama Critic's Circle Award and the Drama Desk Award for Best New Musical.  The selections from "Parade" will be performed by the stars of the recent critically-acclaimed national tour: Andrea Burns, David Pittu, Keith Byron Kirk, Randy Redd, and Jeff Edgerton.

There will also be several premieres of Mr. Brown's new work, including a rousing swing number, "Grow Old With Me," (featured in David Lindsay-Abaire's new play "Kimberly Akimbo") performed by Broadway legend Joel Grey.

Also on the program are selections from Mr. Brown's upcoming musical, "The Last Five Years," opening at Chicago's Northlight Theater May 23.  Those selections will be performed by the cast of the Chicago production, Lauren Kennedy and Norbert Leo Butz.

Mr. Brown will also present selections from his dance musical, "The Moneyman," being developed for Broadway in 2003; and several new songs for various projects in development, including Mr. Brown's forthcoming solo album.

The orchestra consists of thirty-five of New York's most exciting instrumentalists, including the boundary-breaking string quartet ETHEL (featuring Todd Reynolds on violin), multi-instrumentalist Sal Spicola, bassist Mark Peterson, cellist Nioka Workman, and Brown's longtime backing band, the Caucasian Rhythm Kings.  In addition to the singers listed above, the concert will also feature several other vocalists who have been associated with Mr. Brown's work in the past, including Brooks Ashmanskas, Jill Geddes, Mackenzie Mauzy, Virginia Woodruff, John Paul Almon and others. (All performers announced are subject to availability.) Orchestrations for the evening have been created by Mr. Brown, Tony-winner Don Sebesky, Brian Besterman, and J. Walter Hawkes.

This season of CooperArts is curated by Howard Stokar.  Press inquiries should be directed to Howard Stokar, Stokar Management: 212 866 5798; fax 212 662 0804. www.stokar.com  This program is presented by The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, a distinguished private college of art, architecture and engineering founded in 1859 by Peter Cooper, an inventor, industrialist and philanthropist.  Since its establishment, all admitted students have received full-tuition scholarships.

All performances of CooperArts take place in the Great Hall, 7 East 7th Street (at Third Avenue).

Tickets are $15 and are general admission. They are available via TicketCentral (212) 279-4200 (1 p.m.-8 p.m. daily) or via www.ticketweb.com.

For further information about CooperArts, call (212) 353-4196.
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