MICHAEL LASSER AT THE ASOLO ON APRIL 2
SARASOTA, FL (MARCH 10, 2006) – Renowned broadcaster to appear at the Asolo Theatre Company in the Mertz Theatre in conjunctions with To Kill a Mockingbird education and outreach program. Michael Lasser of "Fascinatin' Rhythm" fame will present an entertaining lecture titled ALL ABOARD FOR ALABAM': WHAT POPULAR SONGS TELL US ABOUT THE SOUTH. It promises to be insightful and fun and the Asolo is pleased to offer a significant discount for any student group of 10 or more that might be interested, along with two free tickets for the person coordinating the participation for their school.
Michael Lasser is a lecturer, writer, broadcaster, critic, and teacher. Since 1980, Lasser has been the host of the nationally-syndicated public radio show, Fascinatin’ Rhythm, winner of a 1994 Peabody Award for letting “our treasury of popular tunes speak (and sing) for itself with sparkling commentary, tracing the contributions of the composers and performers to American society.” He is the former theater critic for The Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, and for nearly 25 years has spoken at museums and universities all over the country. He was a major contributor to the standard reference work, American Song Lyricists, 1920-1960, and is the co-author of the forthcoming book, America’s Songs: The Stories behind the Songs of Broadway, Hollywood and Tin Pan Alley.
"All Aboard for Alabam’”
What Popular Songs Tell Us About the South
As people left the South beginning after the Civil War and continuing for 75 years, songwriters who had never been farther South than the lower tip of Manhattan Island, wrote nostalgically about the delights of Dixie. Though they wrote for ex-Southerners who had moved to New York but remembered other days with a sense of affection and loss, they soon found that sentimental evocations of magnolias and meandering lazy rivers appealed to a broad public. As Americans moved from farm to city, they also reinvented the countryside as an Eden-like symbol of American virtues. Returning to farm, family, and beloved emerged as one of the central themes of American popular songs.
Facts on the lecture...
Michael Lasser (of "Fascinatin' Rhythm" fame...) will be here to speak in conjunction with our production of To Kill a Mockingbird. His lecture is titled "All Aboard for Alabam: What Popular Songs tell us about the South." It promises to be insightful and fun and the Asolo is pleased to offer a discount for any student group of 10 or more that might be interested, along with two 2 comp tickets for the person coordinating the participation for their school.
What: Michael Lasser, "All Aboard for Alabam: What Popular Songs tell us about the South"
When: Sunday, April 2
Time: 7:00 p.m. (approximately 1 hour)
Cost: $10/ticket ($5/ticket for student groups of 10 or more)
Buy Tickets: 941-351-8000, or toll-free 800-361-8388, or in person at the Asolo Box Office
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