Columbia University Songbook is dedicated to showcasing material created by past and present musical theatre luminaries, who have been affiliated with Columbia University throughout the years. Featured in this concert are classic works by songwriting partners Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein/Lorenz Hart and John Kander and Fred Ebb, as well as contemporary works by songwriting partners Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey; Kait Kerrigan and Brian Lowdermilk; Benjamin Velez and Katie Hathaway; playwright and librettist David Henry Hwang; composer/lyricists Peter Lerman and Rick Hip-Flores, as well as Columbia University’s oldest performing arts tradition, The Varsity Show. The evening will include selected material from well-known and beloved shows to material that has only been heard within the campus gates!

Columbia University Songbook is produced by Danielle Gautier and directed by Laura Pietropinto, with Musical Direction by Rick Hip-Flores and Associate Musical Direction by Solomon Hoffman. The concert’s mission is to create a community of artists from Columbia University, by bringing together a cast of alumni actors who are working professionally as well as current undergraduate and MFA actors on the stage at 54 Below.

Featuring special guest appearances and performances by:

Lauren Cipoletti (Heathers the Musical)
Brittany Coleman (The Two Gentleman of Verona at The Old Globe)
Jennifer Damiano (Next to Normal, Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark)
Katie Hathaway (Afterland)
Rick Hip-Flores (Jacques Brel Returns, Rocky, We Will Rock You)
David Henry Hwang (Aida, Flower Drum Song, M. Butterfly)
Devin Ilaw (Les Miserables, M. Butterfly)
Kait Kerrigan (Henry and Mudge, The Unauthorized Autobiography of Samantha Brown)
Tom Kitt (If/Then, Next to Normal)
Peter Lerman (Brooklynite at The Vineyard)
Megan McGinnis (Little Women, Les Miserables)
Adrienne Paquin (Ogunquit Playhouse’s Young Frankenstein, Gloucester Stage’s Carnival)
Benjamin Velez (Afterland, Pain in the Aztec)
Donna Vivino (Wicked, Hairspray, Les Miserables)
Michael Anthony Walsh (The Count of Monte Cristo, Bill W. And Dr. Bob)
Emily Walton (Peter and the Starcatcher, August: Osage County)
Columbia University’s The Varsity Show