New Exhibit and Concert Feature Lyricists of American Musical Theater

The Diehn Composers Room of the Old Dominion University Libraries presents "From Pen to Page to Stage: Writing for The Great White Way - Lyricists of American Musical Theater," an exhibit in support of the fourth annual John Duffy Composers Institute, sponsored by the Virginia Arts Festival.

The exhibit will be available for public viewing at the Diehn Composers Room, 189 Diehn Fine and Performing Arts Center, through Oct. 15. The Diehn Composers Room is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The exhibit focuses on select lyricists that contributed to the American musical through their astute observations of societal, political and economic shifts and language trends. The featured lyricists include E.Y. Harburg, who explored both race relations and women's rights in "Bloomer Girl"; Cole Porter, who brought sex into musical-comedy with two of his best-known songs, "Let's Do It" and "Love for Sale"; Oscar Hammerstein II who dealt with miscegenation in "Show Boat," the first musical to include a show-within-a-show number; and more, including O.J. Gude, who is credited with creating "The Great White Way."

The exhibit also showcases John Duffy, Robert Ashley, John Harbison, Libby Larsen, Rhoda Levine and Patrick Mason, the master composers and faculty of the 2008 John Duffy Composers Institute, and their respective works.

A concert premiering the works by each of the institute's composer fellows will take place at 2 p.m. Monday, May 26, in the Diehn Center's Chandler Recital Hall. It is titled "Masterworks in the Making: A Concert of Premieres by the Fellows of the John Duffy Composers Institute."

Funding for the exhibit is provided by a grant from The Norfolk Foundation.

For more information, call Laura Y. Brown, music cataloger, at 757-683-4187.