March 10, 2006

Birdland was awash in Broadway royalty at Monday night's Penny Fuller concert! We spied George Grizzard (right, with Ms. Fuller), Sheldon Harnick, Tom Jones, Marge Champion, Billy Goldenberg, Donald Saddler, Veanne Cox and Malcolm Gets cheering from the sidelines. We can't wait to see Penny back on our stage, and soon! The following Cast Party was jammed with dozens of graduates from The Interlochen School, who were reminiscing, celebrating and singing just for us! Deb Lew, Beth Bartley, Jason Robinson, Justin Hines, American Idol's Roy Harcourt, Hair's Dana Steer and Avenue Q's Barrett Foa all showed us why everyone wants to go to the famous summer theater school. (Why didn't I go there instead of The John Davidson Summer Camp?) Regular Cast Party-ers like Natalie Douglas, Garth Kravits, Erich Bergen, and just-back-from-Japan Rene Ruiz were also present to cheer The Return Of Kate Botello, our warbling web wonderwoman. Even though she works on the website and this newsletter from afar on a weekly basis, oh, how we've missed her face!

This coming Monday, March 13, we're thrilled that brilliant singer/songwriter Janis Ian will be joining us at Cast Party to celebrate her new cd (“Folk Is The New Black”), a successful tour, and her upcoming Joe's Pub gig! It's sure to be one of those “Where you there when…?” moments, so get to Birdland early to get a good seat! I have it on good authority that she'll honor us with a few songs, including her ground-breaking “At Seventeen.

At 7pm on Tuesday, March 14, Victoria Shaw (above right) returns with another “Under The Covers� concert, also starring Gary Burr, Mark Hudson and Billy Mann. Victoria is a pop/country songwriter responsible for over 65 million cd sales! As a singer, she opened for Garth Brooks in the historic 1997 Central Park concert. She also wrote one of Garth's biggest hits of all-time, "The River,� as well as "I Love The Way You Love Me" for John Michael Montgomery and "Nobody Wants To Be Lonely" for Ricky Martin and Christina Aguilera. Her songs have been recorded by Olivia Newton John, Boyzone, Faith Hill, LeAnn Rimes, Reba McEntyre, Tricia Yearwood, Billy Ray Cyrus, and Michael McDonald. Joining Vic in this very special evening will be songwriters Mark Hudson, who wrote "Livin' On The Edge" for Aerosmith, "The Reason" for Celine Dion, "Where's the Love" for Hanson, and starred on TV's "The Hudson Brothers Razzle Dazzle Show," Gary Burr, who wrote 20 number one songs including "To Be Loved By You" for Wynonna, "Love's Been A Little Bit Hard On Me" for Juice Newton, "Nobody Wants To Be Lonely" for Ricky Martin, "This Is The Night" for Clay Aiken, and Billy Mann, a recording artist that opened for Sting's tour, wrote and produced "With You" for Jessica Simpson, "If God Is A DJ" for Pink, and "Getaway Car" for Hall and Oates. Come hear the stories behind the hits! There will be a $25 cover and a $10 food/drink minimum. Call Birdland for reservations (212) 581-3080 or log onto www.instantseats.com/birdland.

"The Party simply glows with New York nightlife ambiance. It feels like a throwback to another era but it has this era's top-notch entertainers dropping in to schmooze, sing, eat, and drink. Caruso consistently provides a flow of exciting singers, and he's definitely hip, cool and classy all by himself."

-THEATERMANIA

When:

Every Monday at 9:30pm!

Where:

BIRDLAND
315 West 44th Street (between 8th & 9th)

212.581.3080

Click here for the official Cast Party website!

Ligeti Artists LLC
Peter Ligeti
mrligeti@aol.com
212.396.1111

We are over-the-moon over the upcoming screening of LIZA WITH A Z, benefiting Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. The event will be held at the Ziegfeld Theatre (141 West 54 Street) on March 13 at 7:30pm, prior to the re-airing of the concert on Showtime Television. Our great pal Liza, as well as the restored film's executive producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, will appear at the screening. Showtime will air the Emmy Award-winning concert on April 1st. Tickets are available for $100 (reserved seating and "Liza with a 'Z'" DVD), and $500 (reserved seating, post-screening party, and "Liza with a 'Z'" DVD signed by Minnelli); call 212.840.0770, ext. 268.

As always, many thanks to our corporate and private sponsors:

Gianni Valente & Hilary Kole, Randy Swartz & Stage Step, Jamie deRoy & friends, Michael Estwanik, Piper-Heidsieck Champagne, Todd Forman, Steven Minichiello, Matthew Gilbert and Wild Oats Productions, as well as our Birdland sound guru Jody Dobson and Brian Wilson at SoHa Media. We can't do it without you!

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