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 Psst - after you've read all of the Cast Party scoop, be sure to spend
a moment with our fabulous sponsors - including our new friends Jamie, Jenna and the Women's City Club !
October 13, 2006
Who's luckier than us? Not only do we get to celebrate the theater and music scenes with some of the most talented people on the planet every single Monday night, but we get to have proof that it happened! Mark Rupp has been photographing Cast Party and all the Broadway at Birdland concerts for quite a while, and with brilliant results. Last week, he caught Harmony Keeney and Kassira (left and below) in action, charming the crowd with their voices and general dazzlement. Check out our FLICKR site to see hunderds of gorgeous performance shots of all those brilliant, funny, bizarre moments that helped make Cast Party what CBS called “Extreme Open Mic!” And while we're blowing our own horn, last week's Time Out New York said some really nice things about us! Many thanks to Adam Feldman for the constant support and kind words!
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 You can also read what Billy Stritch and I were up to in Austin if you click on Alice in Chains, Blackholicus, 'Jim Caruso's Cast Party'. (That's the first time those three acts have been mentioned in the same article...!) Phew. That's a lot of self-promotion, and I must lie down now. Luckily I can temper that with a toast to some brilliant songwriters on the latest Prying! Video Feature on TheaterMania.com. See what Larry O'Keefe, Alice Ripley, Anthony Rapp, Victoria Shaw, Lari White, Marcy & Zina, Ben Moore, and Marcus Hummon all told me when I asked what song they wished they would have written!
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|  I'm thrilled to tell you that there are just a handful of tickets for the following concert left, so if you're a Murney fan, you might want to RUN to the phone now and call Birdland! (212.581.3080). On Monday, October 23 at 7pm, Julia Murney (left) returns to the stage at Birdland, performing songs from her recently released CD, “I'm Not Waiting” (Sh-k-boom Records). Tom Kitt (composer of the upcoming High Fidelity and musical director of Laugh Whore) will act as musical director for the evening. There will be a $25 cover and $10 food/drink minimum. Julia is a celebrated actress whose stage performances have garnered critical and popular acclaim since starring as Queenie in the 2000 world premiere of Andrew Lippa's The Wild Party, a role that earned her a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Musical. Her other stage credits include the Broadway production of Lennon, as well as the Manhattan Theatre Club's productions of A Class Act and Time and Again, for which she received a Lucille Lortel Award nomination for Outstanding Featured Actress. For the past six months, Ms. Murney has been starring as Elphaba - the Wicked Witch - in the National Tour of the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Wicked. “I'm Not Waiting” was produced by Grammy Award-nominee Andrew Lippa, with musical direction by Tom Kitt and Stephen Oremus. The album was recorded and mixed by Grammy Award winner Joel Moss. Included in the Birdland concert will be songs from the CD by pop composers Bobbie Gentry, John Lennon, Annie Lennox, Joni Mitchell, and Tom Waits, as well as theater writers Tom Kitt, Andrew Lippa and Stephen Schwartz.
Stick around after the concert for another Cast Party, with Billy Stritch and Steve Doyle on piano and bass. One NEVER knows who will show up to wow the crowd...and we LOVE it that way!
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 JENNA
ESPOSITO, a Cast Party regular for over a year,
romps through the ups and downs of her relationships with the other
half in her show I Hate Men: Songs for the Scorned,
back by popular demand for the first two Fridays in October (10/6
& 10/13) at the Laurie Beechman Theater at The West Bank Cafe (407 42nd St., just west of
9th Ave.) Both shows at 9 p.m. $16 cover charge + $15 food/drink minimum,
but wait – there’s a Cast Party discount - $11 cover for Cast Partyers! Music Director is Fortune Esposito,
Director is Erv Raible. With Fortune Esposito,
guitar; Richard Schacher piano, Steve Doyle,
bass, and guest singer Kelly Esposito-Broelmann.
Reservations: 212-695-6909. Click: http://www.jennaesposito.com
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 ON MONDAY, OCTOBER 16 AT 6:00 P.M., THE WOMEN'S CITY CLUB OF NEW YORK WILL HOST A BENEFIT PERFORMANCE OF, "PLAY IT BY EAR", a New York-based performance troupe specializing in musical and theatrical improvisation. With as little information as a single word or phrase from the audience, Play It By Ear’s professional singers and musicians transform a blank stage into an intensely dramatic musical experience: sometimes serious, sometimes humorous, always engaging. The WCC is a nonprofit, non-partisan civic organization that has been shaping public policy for 90 years and making NYC a better place to live and work. The cover charge of $30 supports the WCC’s educational and advocacy efforts in the areas of health, education, housing, women’s issues, the arts and government operations. Birdland has a $10 food & beverage minimum for this show. For tickets, call 212.581.3080 or click here for more information.
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 JAMIE DEROY & FRIENDS, ONE OF NEW YORK'S LONGEST RUNNING VARIETY SHOWS, IS PROUD to present Country Meets Broadway...and 95th, featuring country recording star Larry Gatlin. Other guests scheduled to perform are Kathy Brier, Erich Bergen, Leslie Kritzer and Deven May. The one-night only event will take place on Saturday, November 4 at 8:30 PM at the Leonard Nimoy Thalia (at Peter Norton Symphony Space), located at 2537 Broadway (and 95th Street). Tickets are $30 ($45 includes a reception with the artists at the Thalia Cafe), and are available by phone at 212.864.5400 or online at www.symphonyspace.org. The evening is directed by Barry Kleinbort, with musical direction by Brian Nash.
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 WHEN TELARC RECORDS CALLED BILL WESTMORELAND TO PHOTOGRAPH TONY DESARE for his upcoming CD, LAST FIRST KISS, to be released in 2007, Bill jumped at the chance to photograph Tony in the recording studio. “It was probably the hottest day of the year, the big heat wave of ’06, but I persevered and took my equipment up to Avatar Studios on 53rd street. Of course, once I got inside Tony was as cool as a cucumber, as always, and not only did I get to photograph him at a beautiful Steinway grand piano but I also got to hear his incredible rendition of Prince’s “Kiss”. Just being a part of the actual recording made the CD cover shoot even more exciting and creative.” You can see more about Tony DeSare at TonyDeSare.com. You can reach Bill Westmoreland at bwphotography@aol.com.
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 CHARLIE
LAPSON'S SIGNATURE COLLECTION is the culmination of years of training, world travel, and professional
experience as one of Hollywood’s top designers. His luxurious
handbags and men's wallets are produced by factories in Tuscany, Italy
made of fine Italian leather. Lapson's handbags and clutches have
been worn by the elite of Hollywood to numerous red carpet events
and on camera as well.
Celebrities such as Felicity Huffman, Eva
Longoria, and Debra Messing can be seen
at award shows adorned with Charlie
Lapson Jewelry. The collection is created by using the
most brilliant diamonds and precious gemstones mixed with 18 kt gold,
and molding them into works of art. Celebrities dazzle with glamorous
bold statement pieces. Look for large colored gemstones and mixes
of textures with unique shapes.
Style fit for a star!
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|  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 http://www.LizCaplan.com
for more information, but tell Liz you heard about her at Cast Party!
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|  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 http://www.castpartynyc.com/Goods.htm. |
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 Sean Corcoran and
Brian Wilson at SoHa Media. We can't do it without you!
Click
here to advertise with us. It costs
less than the average banner ad, and you're guaranteed to be seen by
tons of fabulous people (look, you're reading this right now,
yes?).
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|  "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), NYC
212.581.3080
Bookings for Jim Caruso's
Cast Party® for theaters, arts presenters,
corporations and private events:
Ligeti Artists LLC
Peter Ligeti
mrligeti@aol.com
212.396.1111
For online booking information, click: The
Show Store
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