Kaufman Music Center’s Broadway Close Up Series To Dazzle Audiences During 2025-2026 Season at Merkin Hall 

New York, NY: Wednesday, October 8th — This fall, Kaufman Music Center will bring the magic of musical theater to Merkin Hall when the long-running Broadway Close Up series returns with a new season of behind-the-scenes stories and showstopping performances celebrating Broadway’s most fascinating figures. Produced and hosted byASCAP Harold Arlen Award winner and Drama Desk Award nominee Sean Hartley, the 2025 shows offer theater aficionados an insider’s perspective on 21st-century productions from Hairspray to Hamilton and Wicked, a sneak peek at four of the best new shows headed to NYC theaters, and an energetic evening of music from the Roaring 20s.

Cast members include Broadway stars Farah Alvin (Nine), Nikki Renée Daniels (Company), Lora Lee Gayer, Jeff Kready (A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder), Charlotte Maltby, James Moye (Aladdin), Jason Robinson, Kirsten Scott (Big Fish), Matthew Scott (Jersey Boys), Emily Skinner (Suffs), DeAnne Stewart (Jagged Little Pill), Alysha Umphress (On the Town), Sally Wilfert (Assassins) and more TBA.

On October 11, a special event hosted by Sean Hartley and featuring vocalist Gabrielle Stravelli will celebrate songs that captured the spirit of an era by Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Carole King, James Taylor, and Paul Simon at Busy Being Free: Great Singer-Songwriters of the 1960s & 70s.

See Broadway Close Up shows below and a full list of Merkin Hall performances HERE.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 11th, 2025 AT 7:30 PM ET: Busy Being Free, Great Singer-Songwriters of the 1960s & 70s - Host Sean Hartley and vocalist Gabrielle Stravelli, whose “phenomenal voice” recalls “Ella Fitzgerald in her prime” (The New York Times), celebrate songs that captured the spirit of an era by Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Carole King, James Taylor, and Paul Simon. 

MONDAY, OCTOBER 27th, 2025 AT 7:30 PM ET: Broadway Close Up, The Last 25 Years - Hosted by Sean Hartley. A stellar lineup of cast members will drop by this festive soirée to sing songs from Broadway shows since 2000, from Hairspray to Hamilton and Wicked.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 17th, 2025 AT 7:30 PM ET: Broadway Close Up, Bound for Broadway - Hosted by Emmy Award-winner and Tony nominee Liz Callaway. Bound for Broadway returns with a sneak peek at four of the best new shows headed for New York theaters. The 2025 writers include Ben Wexler, Dmitry Koltunov, David Goldsmith, David Javerbaum, Zina Goldrich, Mike Ross and Dylan MarcAurele.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 8th, 2025 AT 7:30 PM ET: Broadway Close Up, Fascinating Rhythm - Hosted by Sean Hartley. An energetic evening of music from the roaring 20s, a vibrant decade of jazz, freedom and rebellion when the American musical flourished and came into its own. Featuring tunes by the Gershwins, Cole Porter, Fats Waller, Dorothy Fields, Irving Berlin and many more. 

ABOUT KAUFMAN MUSIC CENTER:

Established with the mission of providing access without barriers, Kaufman Music Center proudly programs a comprehensive musical experience for students, performers and audiences in New York and beyond. Merkin Hall, the Center’s intimate performance venue, provides unparalleled access to today’s most compelling artists, workshops and competitions, offering students, artists and audiences alike the chance to share music at the highest level. Its acclaimed Artist-in-Residence program also gives those performers the resources to develop groundbreaking, multidisciplinary projects as well as educational opportunities to mentor and inspire. Kaufman Music Center continuously cultivates and nurtures new generations of artists through Special Music School, the nation’s only K-12 public school prioritizing an intensive, immersive and musically-focused education without financial barriers, as well as Lucy Moses School, Manhattan’s largest community performing arts school for students of all ages.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT

Rebecca Shapiro, Mikaela Duhs, & Naomi Banks

(KaufmanMusicCenterPR@shorefire.com)