Psst - after you've read all of the Cast Party scoop, be sure to spend a moment with our fabulous sponsors at the end of the page!

March 24, 2006

First of all, here's a news flash! There will be NO CAST PARTY this coming Monday, March 27. The Umbria Jazz Festival will be in full swing (literally) at Birdland, but we will absolutely be back in business next week. Oh, how we'll miss you, though!

Jim Brickman's Monday and Tuesday night concerts were totally sold out, filling Birdland with crazy fans, beloved friends and music-lovers. He added two of the best singers on the planet, Stephanie J. Block and Mike Eldred (pictured above with Mr. B), to his lush piano arrangements, and the crowd went ballistic. Really, two of the best nights I can recall. Later on Monday, Cast Party was spectacular, no two ways about it. Not only did Broadway types like Karen Mason (Tanya/Mamma Mia!), David Zippel (lyricist/Woman In White), Jonathan Rayson (Seymour/Little Shop of Horrors), Mike Eldred (Jean Valjean/Les Miserables), Michael Winther (Songs From An Unmade Bed), Tony DeSare (Feinstein's at the Regency) and Christine Pedi (Forbidden Broadway) show up, but we were thrilled to see and/or hear newcomers like David Klinkenberg and his violin, Erin and her cello, Paul Rolnick and his Bistro Awarded song, John Trones and his voice, the aforementioned Jim Brickman and…all the way from Sweden…Rilton's Vanner! That's a big ol' run-on sentence, but YOU try to list all those people in YOUR newsletter (I just did, and now I'm tired. --ed.)! Billy Stritch (back from Paris with Liza) and Steve Doyle (back from Midtown) made up the Cast Party Symphony Orchestra, and were pretty brilliant if you ask me. Karaoke my Aunt Fanny. Like ABC-TV said, it's “extreme open-mic.” We love that.

I'm so excited to announce that the brilliant and hilarious Christine Pedi (pictured right) will be performing Great Dames at Birdland on Monday, April 3 at 7pm. You probably know her from her many years of knocking 'em dead in Forbidden Broadway. Christine's an extraordinary singer and actress, but as an impersonator, has more celebrities coming in and out of her than the parking lot at Spago. I promise you'll laugh youself silly when she trots her Joan, Eartha, Liza, Ethel, Barbra and Stritch voices onto the stage for you. Call the club at 212.581.3080 and reserve a seat! Can we talk?

The following night, Tuesday, April 4, we're thrilled that Jason Robert Brown will be on our stage at 8pm, along with his band, The Caucasian Rhythm Kings, the fabulous Jenn Colella, and lots of special guests! Jason, the Tony Award-winning composer of Parade, has been known to jam music rooms, performing his Broadway hits and songs from the new CD, “Wearing Someone Else's Clothes.” It'll be another packed night at Birdland, so call now for a reservation: 212.581.3080!

"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

SCOTT & BARBARA SIEGEL TO BE HONORED IN ROAST, TOAST & TRIBUTE SERIES! It's a benefit concert that will feature yours truly, plus many Broadway by the Year veterans, including MARC KUDISCH, EMILY SKINNER, NANCY ANDERSON, SCOTT COULTER, LENNIE WATTS, EDDIE KORBICH, and cabaret stars MARNIE BAUMER, LUDMILLA ILIEVA, MARK McCOMBS, STEVEN LUTVAK and MORE!!

CAROLYN MONTGOMERY (Nightlife Award winner) and Reveille Productions is producing Roasts, Toasts and Tributes, celebrating New York's finest and most beloved cabaret personalities. The date for The Siegels event is Sunday, March 26th at 8:00 pm at The Theater at St. Clement's Church (423 West 46th Street, NYC; 212.246.7277 Ext. 29). As decided by The Siegels, proceeds for this benefit will provide cash prizes to winners in the cabaret categories of The Nightlife Awards. Tickets are $20.00 in advance ($23/door) and from SmartTix (212.868.4444). For more information, see www.roaststoaststributes.com.

The Stonewall Chorale, the nation's first gay and lesbian chorus, presents Mozart's Requiem on Saturday, March 25th at 8 pm in the intimate, acoustically perfect, historic St. Peter's in Chelsea 346 W.20th St., between 8th & 9th aves, with a full Mozartean orchestra. Included on the program are Laudate Dominum and Ave Verum Corpus.

Conducted by CYNTHIA POWELL. Soloists: CORDELIA CHENAULT, LEORA PERLMAN, sopranos, ELIZABETH NEILL, Mezzo, JOSEPH LEVÉSQUE, tenor and MATT BOEHLER, bass.

The concert includes a complimentary champagne toast and birthday cake to Wolfgang. Tickets are $20 in advance, or $25 at the door (advance reservations strongly recommended). For tickets, visit http://www.stonewallchorale.org, or call 212.971.5813.

What do MICHAEL C. HALL, KERRY BUTLER, CHEYENNE JACKSON, ESTELLE PARSONS, JULIA MURNEY, DEVEN MAY, HUNTER FOSTER, MICHAEL ARDEN, JAMES BLUNT and the GOO GOO DOLLS all have in common? Their secret weapon…voice teacher Liz Caplan! Her student ANA GASTEYER (upcoming Threepenny Opera) says, “Studying with Liz has changed my approach to singing on every level. In the two years we have worked together, she has combined phenomenal technique with tailor-made specifications to meet a huge variety of professional demands. Her tireless enthusiasm and expertise have empowered me physiologically and emotionally to become a better singer than I had ever imagined. It's like physical therapy and good, old-fashioned psycho-therapy for your vocal chords!” Visit www.LizCaplan.com for more information, but tell Liz you heard about her at Cast Party!

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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