Kristin Chenoweth Hits Lincoln Center with NYC Debut of Lippa's 'I Am Harvey Milk'

The death of the late gay politician Harvey Milk - cruelly assassinated by a San Francisco colleague in 1978 - almost became a footnote to history before "Milk," the Oscar-winning 2008 biofilm starring Sean Penn in the title role. However, for the past two years, audiences around the country have been reminded about Milk's life and legacy as a gay activist through Andrew Lippa's hour-long oratorio "I Am Harvey Milk," which was debuted by the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus in July 2012.

Now, this stirring piece of music-theater will receive its most polished and lavish production on Monday, October 6 at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall as a benefit for the Harvey Milk Arts Fund at the Hetrick-Martin Institute. Lippa, who has performed the role of Milk since the work's inception, will be joined onstage by his best friend, Tony and Emmy Award winner Kristin Chenoweth, a chorus made up of 125 Broadway singer-dancers, and the Orchestra of St. Luke's. Meanwhile, the event's honorary committee includes such megastars as Hugh Jackman, Julianne Moore, and Sting, along with notable political figures and gay activists, many of whom are expected to attend the concert.

Such a grand evening was the furthest thing from Lippa's mind back in October 2011, when he got an email from Tim Seelig, the conductor of the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus. Seelig asked him to compose a five-minute piece about his impressions of Milk for a project that was scheduled to be done by seven gay men choruses around the country, and which would involve numerous other writers.

"I thought about that idea and I called Tim, rather than email him, and told him I wanted to write the whole thing," admits Lippa. "I realized that Harvey and I had a lot in common. We would have been the same age, we both came out later in life, we were both Jews from New Jersey, and my husband, David, had actually been one of the major marketing people on the film 'Milk.' Most of all, I had never written anything about being gay in America, and the time had come."

After Seelig got approval from all the other choruses (which included L.A. and Washington, D.C., but not New York), Lippa set about crafting the piece, which features one performer as Milk, a female soprano, as well as a youngster who appears as the young Harvey. Originally, Lippa had thought someone else would sing the title role, but after doing the part in a workshop production, he agreed to take on the show's starring duties.

"I had never been a professional singer in my life, but everyone told me to do it - and to keep doing it," he says. "Now, I feel like I've earned the right to play the part. I am Harvey Milk until someone fires me! It's such an honor to have this opportunity as both writer and performer to speak about this gay hero."

Lippa is particularly thrilled to have Chenoweth - whom he considers his professional muse -- on board this time. "We first worked together in 1997 on the workshop of my musical 'The Wild Party,' and we've had a great relationship ever since," says Lippa. "She has really thrown herself into this, and it's something she feels strongly about. Her role is just called 'The Soprano,' but it really represents everyone and everything feminine in the world, from a mother who told her son he was no good because he was gay to Anita Bryant to the voice who speaks to Harvey spiritually. Even though he didn't believe in God, Harvey was definitely a spiritual person."

In addition to Chenoweth's presence, one of the key factors in this presentation is the "All-Star Broadway Chorus," which both Lippa and director Noah Himmelstein say will sound and feel very different from the gay choruses who previously performed the work.

Getting such a diverse and impressive group of performers turned out to be surprisingly simple, even as scheduling rehearsals has been a challenge. "Once we knew we had Kristin involved and we had Lincoln Center as a venue, we got a young music director involved named Tim Rosser, who went knocking on doors of all of the shows and put sign-ups sheet on every door of every Broadway show," says Himmelstein.

"The great thing is with these performers, we not only get a different sound than before, but we have people who can really act and who can do choreography. Pretty much everyone on stage is on Broadway or has been in a Broadway show, so you can throw almost anything at them and they can do it. And they have all been so excited to hear the quality of this score!"

Himmelstein doesn't want to give any surprises away, but he does disclose that the use of Avery Fisher will also enhance the show's staging, which includes a special multimedia component. "Let's just say you should be prepared for some sensory overload," he admits.

Fortunately, this production doesn't represent the end of the road for "I Am Harvey Milk," says Lippa. "Other choruses in the United States are already planning to do it, and there have been talks about bringing it to London and Australia. I've also talked to Tim about having it done at the Gay Men's Chorus conference in Denver in 2016 with maybe 1000 singers on stage. But what I want most of all is to take it to places where being gay is not as easy as it is in New York, whether it's countries like India or states that still oppose gay marriage. This piece is the real stuff when it comes to human rights, and we're all doing best to spread the word about equality."