A Celebration of Rodgers and Hart (Carnegie Hall, 10/5/26) - LuPone, McAlpine, Mueller & more.

A Celebration of Rodgers and Hart at Carnegie Hall

A Celebration of Rogers & Hart at Carnegie Hall

Monday, October 5, 2026 7:30 PM Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage

An evening of timeless songs celebrates the legendary partnership of composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist Lorenz Hart. Featuring an all-star lineup of artists from Broadway and beyond, this one-night-only concert showcases beloved standards and rarely performed gems from one of the most influential songwriting teams in American musical theatre.

Danny Mefford, Director
Andrew Resnick, Musical Director

Tony Goldwyn, Host
Ethan Hawke, Host

Performers

Shoshana Bean
Joshua Boone
Lilli Cooper
Darren Criss
Dez Duron
Michael Feinstein
Santino Fontana
Myles Frost
Elizabeth Gillies
Adam Kantor
Derek Klena
Caissie Levy
Patti LuPone
Lizzy McAlpine
Jessie Mueller
Molly Ringwald

+ Leslie Odom Jr. (unannounced "surprise performer"

Updated On: 10/6/26 at 02:10 PM

The ticket prices were ridiculous for this one (orchestra seats from $230 to $600 - which would be one thing if this was a nonprofit fundraiser, but it's a commercial production tied to the PAL JOEY revival).

I looked a couple days ago and they were only about 1/4 sold. Now nearly every seat is offsale online - so they must be comping the heck out of it.

Updated On: 10/5/26 at 12:05 AM

A friend bought tickets through ASCAP, as it's a performance for their Foundation, which is a non-profit.

There was an ad in the Playbill saying "Chez Joey" is "coming to Broadway in 2027," if anyone's interested.

Overall pretty fun night. Awa Sal Secka completely stole the show for me singing "My Heart Stood Still" and "This Can't Be Love" (with Myles Frost). Jessie Mueller sang "Falling in Love with Love," Cassie Levy sang "Blue Moon," Patti LuPone sang one song in Act 1 then "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" after the intermission. Santino Fontana sang "Manhattan" and another song. Sorry, I have a bad memory and didn't take any notes. Leslie Odom Jr. also made a suprise appearance.

Also, I got there at ~7:17 and the line to pick up tickets from the box office stretched almost to Sixth Avenue. Got in ~7:45, and the show had already started. I guess this is what happens when too many people are comped in.

In fairness to Carnegie Hall with regard to the long line for ticket pickup, they did call me in the afternoon with a recorded message urging patrons to arrive extra early for ticket pickup because they anticipated long lines.

It was a thrilling evening. Nearly 30 classic songs, most of them wonderfully executed. Myle Frost was outstanding and did an amazing My Funny Valentine and a very movie This Funny World, Lizzie McAlpine's "I'll Tell the Man in the Street" and Liz Gelles "It Never Entered My Mind", Joshua Boone's "Have You Met Miss Jones", Patti Lupone's "I Could Write a Book" and "There's A Small Hotel", Cassie Levy's "Glad to Be Unhappy" and "Blue Moon" were just some of the highlights. And also want to salute Darren Criss and Leslie Odom. Just wonderful!

JRA bringing in Pal Joey/Chez Joey is so woefully misguided....

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Ensemble1722365202 said: "Most embarrassing = Molly Ringwalld attempting not one, but two songs - with a second act wardrobe change.

Yeah Molly Ringwald wasn't great. Also slightly off: Myles Frost's strange rendition of "My Funny Valentine," complete wih an MJ "aow" midway through. He came on to sing three seperate times, the most of any performer I believe, and if the goal was to present him as an especially capable Rodgers and Hart interpretor and get people excited about "Chez Joey," I don't think it succeded. I personally left excited to see "Wanted" just to get more Awa Sal Secka.

Having seen Awa many times in DC she was nothing new. She's always reliable but rarely does anything outside of her norm. She had a large crowd there for her CH debut which was a lot of the energy (and the small spotty standing ovation).

Lizzy McAlpine was the MVP for me. Excellent pitch and beautifully executed with her two solos and duet.

Agree about Frost. It made me LESS excited to see Chez Joey - and I did not enjoy it at Encores - so this just seems like a big mistake for them. I cannot imagine his performances sold the night.

The night was also poorly directed - No finale? (just Frost) - it felt like a big slide off the cliff. The night wasn't curated or handled too well - but it was nice to hear some of the music by a handful of the stronger performers.

Updated On: 10/6/26 at 11:32 PM