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!

April 14, 2006

Billy Stritch's amazing tribute to Mel Torme brought out some swells on Monday night! Rex Reed, Linda Lavin, and Randy Jones (pictured right, with Billy), along with Christine Ebersole and Scott Frankel (who composed Christine's Grey Gardens), Lina Koutrakos, Patrick DeGennaro, the venerable Joe Franklin, and 42nd Street's Meredith Patterson and Shonn Wiley were all seen cheering and stomping for Billy's long-awaited return to the nightclub stage. It was a stupendous show, and we know Mel was smiling and scatting along somewhere! The following Cast Party was pretty darned great, too, what with Tedd Firth and Wayne Batchelor swinging the night away on piano and bass. Anne Cochran wowed the crowd with her gorgeous voice, Annaleigh Ashford stopped in on her night off from the Wicked tour, and lots of regulars showed their stuff! One of the bigger hits of the night was the debut of our new Cast Party t-shirt! (See the Sponsor section below.) You KNOW you want one…

The diva will arrive on Monday, April 17! Steven Brinberg has returned from his symphonic tour with Marvin Hamlisch to bring Simply Barbra: Wait Till We're 64 -The Birthday Concert! to Birdland. To celebrate the Ultimate Diva's birthday, the renowned Streisand impersonator will be joined by Grey Gardens' Matt Cavenaugh, Jersey Boys' Daniel Reichard and The Light in the Piazza's David Burnham. Brinberg will duet with his guest stars in songs from Funny Girl, Nine and Sunset Boulevard. The evening will also feature commentary about Streisand's upcoming tour as well as her two new unauthorized biographies. This is going to be one of the most fun nights in Birdland history! It's almost sold out, but you can still get tickets if you call 212.581.3080 or go to www.instantseats.com/birdland. Stick around after for Cast Party, with Billy Stritch and Steve Doyle on piano and bass.

Click on Swami of soiree knows his stuff - Orlando Sentinel : Entertainment to read all about our Cast Party adventure in Orlando this weekend!

The following week, it's David Ippolito on Monday, May 1. "That Guitar Man From Central Park" celebrates his 15th year singing and playing his thoroughly original tunes for the people of New York City.

"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

Our updated t-shirt is now available in Tootsie-Roll brown with safety-cone orange trim, as seen on our professional model, Stephanie J. Block. Show your love for a certain Monday night Open Mic extravaganza by wearing this 100% cotton, Peruvian-made, American-printed piece of art! The wry "Got Mic?" logo is on the front, and our logo is on the back. They're only $20 and available if you click http://www.castpartynyc.com/merchandise.htm.

Cast Party - the Orlando edition! MAD COW THEATRE announces the return of an exciting signature event for Downtown Orlando – The Fourth Annual Orlando Cabaret Festival. The Festival will feature cabaret artists and acts from Central Florida and beyond in a series of over 40 evening and lunchtime performances April 13 - 30, 2006.

On April 14th, JIM CARUSO's CAST PARTY is coming to ORLANDO! Grab your sheet music and hit the stage, or just sit back and enjoy - come to the hippest house party in town. Jim will be joined by many of your Cabaret Festival Favorites, and anything could happen! Tickets are on sale by calling 407.297.8788 or by visiting www.orlandocabaret.com.

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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