Dan Barker & Darcie Johnston

media release: The Freedom From Religion Foundation spotlights Richard Rodgers (with Mary Rodgers) in the sixth installment of its unique monthly concert series today, Sept. 21, at 7 p.m. Central.

The approximately one-hour concert, part of “The Great American Freethought Songbook with Dan & Darcie,” will be performed before a live local audience in Madison, Wis., and livestreamed on FFRF’s Facebook page, YouTube channel and Freethought TV, FFRF’s free app for smart devices. (It’s easy and free to download this app.) You can watch the show afterward on YouTube and Freethought TV at your convenience.

The seven-month concert series is celebrating major figures of the Great American Songbook and their secular viewpoints. This month’s concert honors the music and legacy of Richard Rodgers, one of the most influential composers in American musical theater history. Rodgers composed some of the best-loved songs and musicals of the 20th century, including “My Favorite Things,” “Some Enchanted Evening,” “The Sound of Music,” “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’” and “You’ll Never Walk Alone.” The program will also explore the contributions and perspective of his daughter, Mary Rodgers, an acclaimed composer, author and cultural commentator. 

The concert series features FFRF Co-President Dan Barker, an accomplished jazz pianist, and Madison vocalist Darcie Johnston, both music history enthusiasts. The series explores not only timeless standards but also the often overlooked freethinking perspectives of many classic American songwriters.

The series concludes on Monday, Nov. 9, with a finale featuring a medley of nonreligious 20th-century songwriters, including Jay Gorney, Burton Lane, Tom Lehrer, Frank Loesser, Thelonious Monk, Stephen Sondheim and Charles Strouse.

If you missed earlier installments, you may catch them now on YouTube or look for them in Freethought TV’s archive.