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From "Remember Me: The Songs of Edward Kleban"
At Feinstein's/54 Below, May 15, 2016

Edward Kleban’s brilliant lyrics for the landmark musical A Chorus Line are part of musical theater history: “At The Ballet,” “Nothing,” “What I Did For Love,” “One.” But Kleban’s career as a composer as well as a lyricist also included a dozen promising musicals that almost were…with close to a hundred interesting songs.

After his death in 1987 at the age of 48, several of these songs, including “Better” and “The Next Best Thing to Love,” made up the score of the Broadway musical A Class Act, which tells the story of Kleban’s life and the creation of A Chorus Line. But Ed’s trunk was deep. Numerous songs from projects such as Gallery, Musical Comedy, The Heartbreak Kid, Subject To Change, Merton of The Movies, and the last Michael Bennett musical, Scandal, have never been heard publicly…until now.

On May 16, 2016, Feinstein’s/54 Below presented an exploration of Kleban songs that ranged from hilariously funny to heart tugging to outrageous, all models of his impeccable craft. There were a slew of Broadway performers including those who knew Ed and originated his work as well as new artists who grew up loving his songs. There were even hear some cut songs from A Chorus Line, in a rare live performance!

Kleban was a dedicated teacher at the BMI Workshop. Moreover, he left the great legacy of the Kleban Foundation, an annual award that benefits promising theater lyricists and book writers, several of whom were part of the concert as well.

The evening was curated by Linda Kline, co-writer of A Class Act, and by Director of Programming Jennifer Ashley Tepper. Director: Sara Lazarus. Musical Director: Kleban winner Beth Falcone. Associate Producer: Bill Young.

Featuring:
Jeff Blumenkrantz
Julie Benko
Donna Bullock
Ariana DeBose
Randy Graff
Mitch Greenberg
Jeff Harnar
Marcy Heisler
David Hibbard
Joe Iconis
Alix Korey
Baayork Lee
John-Michael Lyles
Richard Maltby Jr.
David Shire
Will Roland
Jason Veasey