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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, PLEASE

LINCOLN CENTER THEATER
ANNOUNCES DATES FOR INAUGURAL
“THE COMPOSER SERIES”

BENJ PASEK & JUSTIN PAUL
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2026

LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA
MONDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2026

SARA BAREILLES
MONDAY, JUNE 21, 2027

THE COMPOSER SERIES HELPS SUPPORT WRITERS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW WORK

New York, NY (October 26, 2026) – Lincoln Center Theater announced today the dates for their inaugural lineup for The Composer Series. In this new series, some of the most influential songwriters of our time take the stage to champion the next generation of musical theater artists. In three one-night-only events at the Vivian Beaumont Theater, Benj Pasek & Justin Paul, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Sara Bareilles each join forces with exciting emerging composers to share songs, stories, and the creative spark that connects one generation of artists to the next.

Each evening will feature performances of works by these celebrated artists alongside new music from rising voices in the field, creating a rare opportunity to experience established and emerging talent in conversation. Through performance and discussion, audiences will gain an intimate glimpse into the craft of songwriting, the mentorship and generosity that sustain the art form, and the future of American musical theater. The emerging composers were hand selected and curated by each headlining composer.

The programming will include:

Benj Pasek & Justin Paul, joined by composers Barlow & Bear, Marie Dresselhuis, Joriah Kwamé, Oliver Richman, and Jaheem King Toombs on Monday, November 30, 2026 at 8:00PM. Tickets for the Pasek & Paul evening are available to members beginning Monday, November 2 at 10:00AM, and will be on sale to the general public beginning Tuesday, November 3 at 10:00AM, at LCT.org, by phone (212-239-6200), or at the Lincoln Center Theater box office.

Lin-Manuel Miranda on Monday, December 14, 2026 at 8:00PM.

Sara Bareilles on Monday, June 21, 2027 at 8:00PM.

Tickets for the Lin-Manuel Miranda and Sara Bareilles evenings will go onsale at a future date.

Additional information, including guest performers, vocalists, and emerging composers for the Lin-Manuel Miranda and Sara Bareilles evenings will be announced shortly.

The Composer Series is presented by special arrangement with Creative Partners Productions. LCT season support is generously provided by Daryl Roth and American Airlines.

EMERGING COMPOSER BIOGRAPHIES

Barlow & Bear. Grammy Award winners Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear are the heartbeat of modern musical storytelling. As the songwriters for Disney’s Moana 2, Barlow & Bear were the youngest composers in history to write all the songs for an animated Disney film, and the first female writing team to do so, collaborating with Mark Mancina and Opetaia Foa’i to craft the sounds of Motonui and beyond. Moana 2 grossed more than a billion dollars worldwide, making it one of the most successful Disney animated films of all time. Barlow & Bear’s first collaboration, “The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical Album”, was written, recorded, produced, and engineered independently in just six weeks with lead vocals by Barlow and orchestration, production and additional vocals by Bear. Their album won the 2022 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album, making Barlow & Bear the youngest-ever winners in the category. Crafted with elements of pop, classical, and jazz, Barlow & Bear’s music blossomed in real time on TikTok, with the audience involved in every step of the creative process via livestream, comments, and duets. Separately, Abigail and Emily each enjoy success in their independent ventures – Abigail is a sought-after pop songwriter for major label artists, actress, and independent artist and she will once again be starring in the hit musical SIX on Broadway beginning November 1^st. Emily is a Sony Masterworks artist whose debut single “God Forbid a Girl Gets Used To This” came out last month. She is also a composer and producer, who toured with Beyoncé as her pianist on the Renaissance World Tour in 2023, and is most recently one of the collective composers on the upcoming film Behemoth! which comes out December 4^th this year.

Marie Dresselhuis is a singer-songwriter from British Columbia whose deeply personal yet ubiquitously resonating narratives have captivated a global audience. As a lifelong student of gospel and classical music, her unconfined musical world shines at the intersection of heart and precision. Following the acclaim of her debut EP and album, she has shared stages with Jacob Collier, Tiny Habits, Leith Ross, and Jensen McRae. In addition to her commitments as a recording and performing artist, she is devoted to teaching music and exploring the local mountains, ever enriching and rooting her creative practice in reverent curiosity for the human condition.

Joriah Kwamé is a New York City-based musical theatre writer who created Little Miss Perfect, a musical that grew out of his viral song of the same name and had its world premiere at Olney Theatre Center this year. With Pasek & Paul, he co-wrote “Top of the World,” sung by Shawn Mendes in the Sony Pictures film Lyle, Lyle, and Crocodile. He is now writing music and lyrics with Siedah Garrett for the Broadway-bound Polly: The Musical, directed and choreographed by Debbie Allen, with a book by Lena Waithe and Michael Benjamin Washington. He also wrote the music and lyrics for DreamWorks’ Trolls JR., licensed through Music Theatre International. He is the recipient of the 2026 Stephen Schwartz Award from Dramatists Guild Foundation, the 2024 Jonathan Larson Grant, and the ASCAP Cole Porter and Harold Adamson Lyric Awards. Prior to that, he was a 2022–23 Dramatists Guild Foundation Fellow for Musical Theatre, 2020 Johnny Mercer Songwriting Project alum, and the winner of the 2019 Write Out Loud contest.

Oliver Richman is a singer-songwriter, actor, and corn popsicle enthusiast. He graduated from NYU Tisch School of the Arts in 2022 and began channeling his post-grad angst by writing a song every day (@olivesongs11). He has written over 1,000 songs since beginning. Whether about the immortal groundhog Punxsutawney Phil (“The Ballad of Phil and Phyllis”), or how hard it’s becoming to find humanity in a landscape of AI (“Bunnies”), Oliver is electrified to find new ways of connection through storytelling and collaboration.

Jaheem King Toombs is a multi-faceted songwriter, performer, and storyteller. He grew up on the Nickelodeon movie-turned-series “100 Things To Do Before High School.” He wrote and produced the breakout hit “Dream Come True” from Zombies 4. His other songwriting credits include “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series,” Camp Rock 3, and Descendants 5. He is currently writing music and lyrics for the stage adaptation of Zootopia with Disney Theatrical Group. And at the center of his world is Oakwood — his original musical in development with beloved collaborators Jackson Pace and Matte Martinez.

ABOUT LINCOLN CENTER THEATER

LCT’s mission is to bring exceptional theater to life. Building on a legacy of artistic excellence, LCT strives to expand what is possible: to make the magic of theater more palpable, empowering visionary artists and extending the invitation for the community to join in celebrating the power of live performance. To see that mission to fruition in a new era at the New York institution, commencing with the 2025-2026 season, Lear deBessonet assumed the role of Kewsong Lee Artistic Director, alongside Managing Director Mike Schleifer, Executive Producer Bartlett Sher, Stacey and Eric Mindich Producer Nicole Kastrinos, and Helen Gurley Brown LCT3 Artistic Director and Producer Maria Manuela Goyanes.

Established in 1985 by Board Chair Hon. John V. Lindsay, Director Gregory Mosher, and Executive Producer Bernard Gersten, and led for 33 years by André Bishop, LCT is one of the leading nonprofit theaters in the country, producing an annual season of plays and musicals that have been seen by millions around the globe. It is one of 11 autonomous constituents of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. Each year, the three theaters that make up LCT welcome nearly 400,000 audience members to its home on the Lincoln Center campus.

Over the last 40 years, LCT and its outstanding productions have received many of the highest accolades, including 91 Tony Awards, 101 Drama Desk Awards, 84 Outer Critics Circle Awards, 36 Obies, 13 NY Drama Critics Circle Awards, and one Pulitzer Prize, as well as two finalists.

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