LCT’s Composer Series Brings Lin-Manuel Miranda, Sara Bareilles and Pasek and Paul

What is Lincoln Center Theater’s Composer Series?

Each evening pairs a headlining songwriter with new voices. The headliners will perform songs from their own catalogs alongside new music from the emerging writers, and each concert includes an onstage discussion between the headliner and the up-and-coming composers about the craft of songwriting.

According to Lincoln Center Theater, the emerging composers were hand-selected by each headlining composer. The series is presented by special arrangement with Creative Partners Productions.

Lincoln Center Theater says audiences will get “an intimate glimpse into the craft of songwriting, the mentorship and generosity that sustain the art form, and the future of American musical theater.”

Which emerging composers join Pasek and Paul on November 30?

The Dear Evan Hansen and The Greatest Showman songwriters will be joined by Barlow & Bear, Marie Dresselhuis, Joriah Kwamé, Oliver Richman and Jaheem King Toombs.

Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear won the 2022 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album for The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical, a concept album that began as a viral TikTok project, Playbill reported. The duo’s official biography says they went on to write the songs for Disney’s animated feature Moana 2.

Joriah Kwamé already has a link to the night’s headliners: he co-wrote “Top of the World” with Pasek and Paul for the Sony Pictures film Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile, performed by Shawn Mendes, according to the Dramatists Guild Foundation. His official biography says his viral song “Little Miss Perfect” grew into a full-length musical that premiered at Olney Theatre Center in 2026.

Benj Pasek and Justin Paul on Broadway: A Christmas Story and Dear Evan Hansen

Pasek and Paul’s first Broadway score was A Christmas Story The Musical, which played the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, according to the Dramatists Guild Foundation, and ran from November 19 to December 30, 2012, according to the Internet Broadway Database (IBDB).

Dear Evan Hansen opened at the Music Box Theatre on December 4, 2016, and ran until September 18, 2022, according to IBDB. The score won the 2017 Tony Award for Best Original Score.

When do Lin-Manuel Miranda and Sara Bareilles take the stage?

Hamilton creator and star Miranda headlines on December 14, and Waitress writer and star Bareilles completes the inaugural lineup on June 21, 2027. Guest performers, vocalists and emerging composers for both evenings will be announced later.

Lin-Manuel Miranda on Broadway: In the Heights and Hamilton

Miranda conceived In the Heights, wrote its music and lyrics and originated the role of Usnavi when it opened on March 9, 2008, according to IBDB. It won the 2008 Tony Award for Best Original Score.

He wrote the book, music and lyrics for Hamilton, which opened at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on August 6, 2015, and is still running there, according to IBDB. Miranda originated the title role and played it until July 9, 2016. The show won him 2016 Tony Awards for Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score, plus the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Sara Bareilles on Broadway: Waitress and Into the Woods

Bareilles wrote the music and lyrics for Waitress, which opened at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on April 24, 2016, and ran until January 5, 2020, according to IBDB. The score earned her a 2016 Tony nomination for Best Original Score. She later played the lead role of Jenna on Broadway, including when Waitress returned at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre in fall 2021, according to IBDB.

In 2022 she played the Baker’s Wife in the Broadway revival of Into the Woods, a role that brought her a 2023 Tony nomination for Best Leading Actress in a Musical.

The Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center

The Vivian Beaumont opened on October 21, 1965. It was designed by the architect Eero Saarinen and named for the New York philanthropist Vivian Beaumont Allen, according to Lincoln Center Theater. Lincoln Center Theater, founded in 1985, describes the Beaumont as one of New York City’s 41 Broadway theaters and the only one outside the Times Square area. Past productions include South Pacific and War Horse.

What else is Lin-Manuel Miranda bringing to Broadway this season?

Miranda is also returning to Broadway this season with Warriors, the new musical he wrote with Eisa Davis. Based on the Paramount Pictures film The Warriors and the book by Sol Yurick, it is directed by Jenny Koons, with co-direction and choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler, according to the show’s official site. Performances begin March 9, 2027, at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, with opening night set for April 8, 2027, according to the Broadway League’s Broadway.org.