Emmy Award-winning composer, songwriter and performer Lance Horne is returning to New York's Birdland after a smash run earlier this year -- just in time for his birthday.
Horne's new show, "Lance & the Ladies," will feature performances by Lesley Gore, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Julia Murney, Gabrielle Stravelli and Stephanie d’Abruzzo. The show comprises material featured on Horne's 2011 album, "First Things Last," as well as excerpts from his forthcoming Neil Gaiman opera collaboration, new songs and "plenty of surprises."
"If you know me, you know I adore writing for and surrounding myself with amazing women," Horne, who has written with Jake Shears of the Scissor Sisters and served as Liza Minnelli's musical director, said. "For my birthday, I'm starting a new series celebrating our connections and their brilliance."
Horne, of course, is informed by his own experiences as a gay man, and his work has always featured performers relevant to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.
In his early years, "a lot of people came down hard on me for doing work that was vocal, gay and theatrical," he told The Huffington Post in March. These days, however, it "really tends to be all gay, all the time, and sometimes I feel like I'm in a 'Rocky Horror Picture Show' revival."
In honor of his Oct. 20 performances, Horne shared three exclusive videos featuring Alan Cumming and Alice Ripley with The Huffington Post. Head here for more information on "Lance & The Ladies"
Videos are directed by Ned Stresen-Reuter.