Photo © 92NY
92NY’S LYRICS & LYRICISTS™ Presents
IN THE KEY OF LIFE: THE GENIUS OF STEVIE WONDER
Conceived, Written, and Performed by Darius de Haas
Kenneth L. Roberson – Director
Featuring Richard Baskin, Jr., Helen White and more TBA
Saturday, December 2, 7:30 pm
Sunday, December 3, 2 pm
Monday, December 4, 7:30 pm
Tickets from $40
All Performances In Person
“You Are the Sunshine of My Life,” “Sir Duke,” “Isn’t She Lovely,” “Too Shy to Say,” “I Wish” and many more… The 92nd Street Y, New York’s Lyrics and Lyricists™ 2023/24 season continues with a celebration of Stevie Wonder, the towering songwriter and artist whose 25 Grammy Awards and list of hits across R&B, pop, soul, gospel, jazz and funk testify to his enduring place in the pantheon of American musical icons. Darius de Haas, who earned raves for his performances and insights in his 2022 L&L show on Sam Cooke, returns to the 92NY stage for Songs in the Key of Life: The Genius of Stevie Wonder on December 2, 3 and 4, joined by vocalists Richard Baskin, Jr. (Freestyle Love Supreme) and Helen White (Chelsea Rep – Nine in the Morning) with more TBA.
Stevie Wonder now becomes one of the renowned songwriters honored by L&L – the country’s preeminent American Songbook series for more than 50 years – and de Haas comments “Lyrics & Lyricists allows us to delve more deeply – not only into the art and craft behind songs, but into the heart of the artist being celebrated. He’s able to translate universal feelings with such seeming simplicity. He’s a master of it and his songs are as timeless as George Gershwin’s or Leonard Bernstein’s.”
For his spotlight on an artist whose career spans six decades, de Haas says “I decided to focus on the period when Stevie was coming into his own – that incredibly fertile stretch in the 1970s that gave us Music of My Mind, Innervisions, Songs in the Key of Life and more. I want to shine a light on his craftsmanship, how he expanded his genius as a songwriter, and how his music captured our struggles coming out of the civil rights movement and the turbulence of the post-Vietnam era.”
Additional credits
Stephanie Alvarado Prugh, Producer
Matt Kunkel, Producer
Richard Baskin, Jr., Vocal Arranger
Henry Hey, Music Direction, Arrangements and Piano
Mike Piolet, percussion
Sherrod Barnes, guitar
Andy Ezrin, keyboard
George Farmer, bass
Media Sponsor: WBGO 88.3 FM
About The 92nd Street Y, New York: The 92nd Street Y, New York (92NY) is a world-class center for the arts and innovation, a convener of ideas, and an incubator for creativity. Now celebrating its 150th anniversary, 92NY offers extensive classes, courses and events online including live concerts, talks and master classes; fitness classes for all ages; 250+ art classes, and parenting workshops for new moms and dads. The 92nd Street Y, New York is transforming the way people share ideas and translate them into action all over the world. All of 92NY’s programming is built on a foundation of Jewish values, including the capacity of civil dialogue to change minds; the potential of education and the arts to change lives; and a commitment to welcoming and serving people of all ages, races, religions, and ethnicities. For more information, visit www.92NY.org.
