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July 7 , 2006 I
truly thought last Monday, July 3 was going to be a relatively quiet
night at Birdland... but boy was I mistaken. The fireworks
started early with Linda Lavin's brilliant "Songs
and Confessions of a Former Waitress." That's Linda (left)
with theater glitterati Eileen Atkins, Edward
Hibbert, Penny Fuller and pal James
peeking through! Ms. L is at once warm, charming, witty and fall-down
funny when she speaks of her past cabaret years, her "Alice"
memories and the Gypsy experience. Billy
Stritch at the piano, David Finck on bass
and hubby Steve Bakunas on drums formed a swanky-looking
and dazzling-sounding musical trio for Linda, who showed off her jazz
chops for over an hour. After her years in all the 'downstairs' clubs,
we're thrilled that she's come up to street level and makes Birdland
her musical home. She's invited back ANY time! They all stuck around
for Cast Party, which was packed to the rafters with
summer-in-the-city-dwellers and visitors. When the afore-mentioned Linda
Lavin volunteered to pinch-hit a vocalese for bass-player Steve
Doyle, we had some trouble deciding which song to sing. Enter
Liza Minnelli, who volunteered "Slap That Bass!"
It was one of the best CPM's (Cast Party Moments) in recent memory.
We were also happy to see Lisa Mordente, who's back
in New York and destined to be a CP regular! The return of Alexandra
Haas to the Birdland stage was trés French
and trés fabulou. All in all, another great night! |
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-THEATERMANIA When: BIRDLAND
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Copyright Jim Caruso's Cast Party®, All Rights Reserved, 2006. Newsletter by: Traverse City Web Design
Psst
- after you've read all of the Cast Party scoop, be sure to spend a
moment with our fabulous 
Under
the Covers is always one of my all-time
favorite events we do at Birdland. If you really know
me, you know about my insane love for country music. To bring in the
composers of some of those amazing musical stories is always a thrill.
So we are, once again, bringing you the best this coming Monday,
July 10 at 7pm. Victoria Shaw (left)
is a pop/country songwriter responsible for over 65 million CD sales!
As a singer, she had the great opportunity to open for Garth
Brooks in the historic 1997 Central Park concert. Victoria
also wrote one of Garth's biggest hits of all-time, "The
River." The two-time Emmy Award-winning
composer also wrote "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 Victoria in this very
special evening will be Grammy-winning composer/singer 
A
FRANCOPHILE CELEBRATES BASTILLE DAY (pour la troisème
fois!) 
BILL
WESTMORELAND FIRST PHOTOGRAPHED ANN HAMPTON CALLAWAY for the release
of her CD "Easy Living" in 1999
(at right) "Ann is a natural beauty...we have a great
collaborative working relationship and we also have a lot of fun on
our CD shoots. We chased the sun in Central Park for her CD 'Slow'.
I had her jumping up on these huge boulders as the sun was setting but
we got a beautiful shot and a great CD package. We re-created a faux
Birdland setting for her upcoming CD on Telarc, 'Blues in the Night'
which, photographically, showed a more introspective side of Ann. This
was by far my most favorite AHC shoot...I got to shoot Times Square
lights late at night, as well as Ann in her sexiest and most fashionable
role to date." You can reach Bill at 
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
OUR
UPDATED T-SHIRT is now available in Tootsie-Roll brown
with safety-cone orange trim, as seen at left, where Jim reveals his
secret identity as -- Superhost! 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 
"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."