Resident dramaturg and literary manager Adam R. Perlman served as moderator for the talk, in which Finn discussed his career and shared stories behind the creation and development of In Trousers, Falsettos, A New Brain, Elegies and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. The composer was joined by a roster of musical theatre stars representing each of these shows, many of whom originated their roles. Song performances punctuated the extensive chat, providing a musical chronological history of Finn's work to date. Frequent Finn collaborator Vadim Feichtner was the musical director and pianist.

Songs included:

"Make Me a Song" performed by Adam Heller
"My Chance to Survive the Night" performed by Chip Zien
"Set Those Sails" performed by Mary Testa
"Love Me For What I Am" performed by Alison Fraser
"Father to Son" performed by Chip Zien
"Something Bad is Happening" performed by Heather MacRae and Janet Metz
"Holding to the Ground" performed by Ann Harada
"Sailing" performed by Norm Lewis
"And They're Off" performed by Lewis Cleale
"All Fall Down" performed by Mary Testa
"Anytime" performed by Sally Wilfert
"When the Earth Stopped Turning" performed by Christian Borle
"My Friend, The Dictionary" performed by Celia Keenan-Bolger
"Stupid Things That I Won't Do" performed by Jesse Tyler Ferguson

Here is a look at the sold-out benefit evening, held at the Lucille Lortel Theatre:

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An Evening With William Finn & Friends

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The Transport Group was founded in 2001 by Jack Cummings III and Robyn Hussa as a not-for-profit theatre company specializing in works that focus on American life by American authors. TG is the recipient of a Special Drama Desk Award for its "breadth of vision and presentation of challenging productions."

For more information, visit www.transportgroup.org.