I have to say that the Malcolm Gets show on Monday was one of my all-time favorites. He is walking/singing/even dancing charm, and the audience loved every second! The evening raised lots of money for The Songbook Project, which brings some pretty swell music into schools and community centers. Many thanks to Malcolm (right, with Finian's Rainbow co-star David Staller) and his musical director, Larry Yurman, for their time and vast talents! The following Cast Party was packed, even with all the other Broadway events going on at the same time! Tedd Firth and Steve Doyle, on piano and bass, played for some pretty heavy hitters, including Paul L. Martin (from London, England, Europe!), Gloria Johnson, Jennifer McGill, David Goldman & Dana Gourrier, sax-guy Alan Darcy, Natalie Douglas, Julie Garnye, Hilary Kole and many, many more! Batboy composer Larry O'Keefe killed with a new comedy number, and sassy Broadway chick Karen Mason sang two Brian Lasser tunes from the Duplex show she did earlier that night. Show-biz family Lucie Arnaz, Larry Luckinbill and daughter Kate Luckinbill were also in attendance, adding some extra glamour to what was already a fabulous party!

We're celebrating the screamingly funny and incredibly talented cast of Altar Boyz (right) at Cast Party this next Monday night! I've seen this Off-Broadway show twice - if you haven't seen it, by all means GO! Come meet the guys and hear them sing! I have a feeling they'll be bringing some free CDs and other assorted swag. You might even win some tickets to the show! Birdland is debuting a brand new menu, too, so come partake! You can reserve a table by calling 212.581.3080. You don't have to. But you can.

Also, I'm coordinating an amazing event called Avenue Q Swings! on Monday, June 27th at 7:30pm. The event will take place at the Lucille Lortel Theatre and will raise money for 2 new pianos for the students of Greenwich House Music School! Hosted by Bobby Lopez and Jeff Marx (did I mention that they won the Tony for Avenue Q?), the concert will be jazz, pop and classical interpretations of the beloved Q score, and will star Tom Wopat, Marc Shaiman, Christine Pedi, Sally Mayes, Karen Mason, Billy Stritch, Toxic Audio, and the Q Trio. A few tickets are still available by calling Ticket Central at 212.279.4200.

AND - as if that weren't enough - Cast Party is HITTING THE ROAD! We've been doing occasional one-nighters around the area, bringing the crazy and casual show-biz qualities of our Monday night extravaganzas to private events. Now we're going big-time. On Saturday, July 23, Johnny Rodgers, Karen Mason, Jonnie Peterson, me, and lots more fun-types will be at GUILD HALL at the John Drew Theatre in East Hampton! If you take to the Hamptons on the weekends, PLEASE join us! If you know people who are there, forward this info to them. We wanna sell out! (Lord knows we've sold out before, but that's another story.) You can call 631.324.4050 for reservations.

Once again, this week's Cast Party Radio Show celebrates The New Season at Birdland, with songs from all of our upcoming guest performers. Maureen McGovern, Jeff Daniels, Larry O'Keefe, Victoria Shaw, Stephanie D'Abruzzo, Toxic Audio, Christine Andreas, Malcolm Gets, and Christine Ebersole (right) will all be representin' their Birdland concerts.

Tune into BroadwayWorld.com radio on Tuesday and Friday nights at 8pm. Or, you can make life even easier by clicking on the site for an "on demand" experience you'll love! In the words of Liza Minnelli, "Cast Party IS New York!"

Cast Party Radio Show is produced by Brian Wilson at SoHa Media.

Newsletter by Love Bomb Productions for Jim Caruso's Cast Party, All Rights Reserved 2005