The 8th Annual Harvard-Yale Cantata
September 17, 2023
This show is a competition of Harvard alumni vs. Yale alumni, as performers and writers. Both schools have renowned songwriter alumni (Harvard: Leonard Bernstein & Alan Jay Lerner, Yale: Cole Porter & Bobby Lopez), although a lot of the appeal comes from younger alums and even current students. Yale leads this series 5-1-1. Last year’s show was a non-competitive lovefest, which we record in the annals as a tie.
This year our show returns to the competitive format. Harvard co-captains John Forster and Derek Speedy are mustering forces to avenge past losses. But the other team, headed by captain Serena Feniger, a junior at Yale, has their own ideas about that. Join producer and host Tom Toce for a cutthroat evening of terrific songs and wonderful performers. The critics have raved about past shows. As we always say, you don’t have to have gone to West Point to enjoy the Army-Navy game, and you don’t have to be affiliated with either school to love the Harvard-Yale Cantata. Harvard’s music direction is by Dylan MarcAurele. Kleban Prize winner Marcy Heisler (“Taylor the Latte Boy,” Ever After) and Fred Ebb Award winner Douglas J. Cohen (No Way to Treat a Lady, The Big Time) serve as judges.
The Harvard songwriters include:
Robin Batteau (Grammy/Emmy winner, Oscar nominee, Buskin and Batteau)
John Forster (“Entering Marion”)
Benjamin Scheuer (Kleban Award winner, The Lion, A Mountain for Elodie)
The Harvard performers include:
Tess Davison
Ekemini Ekpo
Olivia Miller
Sarah Rossman
Derek Speedy
Brooke Sweeney
Michael Wingate
and more stars to be announced!
The Yale songwriters include:
Benji Goldsmith (adjunct faculty at NYU)
Michael Gore and Dean Pitchford (score to the movie Fame, Oscar winners)
Tony Award® winner Adam Guettel (The Light in the Piazza, Floyd Collins)
Miranda Ferriss Jones (The Precipice, Showing Up)
Joshua Rosenblum (Fermat’s Last Tango, faculty at Yale)
Tony Award® winners David Shire and Richard Maltby (Baby, Oscar & Grammy winners)
The Yale performers include:
John Harmon Cooper
Joanne Lessner (Cyrano, Drama Desk nominee)
Megan Loughran (Falsettos national tour)
Lauren Marut
Soleil Singh
Isabella Walther-Meade
and more stars to be announced!
Please note that all artists and acts are subject to change at any time.
