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 Psst - after you've read all of the Cast Party scoop, be sure to spend a moment with our splendid sponsors.
January 26, 2007
Monday night gave us one of the more diverse evenings of music we've seen at Cast Party -- and that's saying quite a lot! The evening was kicked off with the ultra-fabulous Cady Huffman (left), that Tony-winning supah-star, who gave us a taste of what she'll be bringing to the Birdland stage next week (see "Coming Up" below)! Then composer John Margolis took to the piano and showed us why Bruce Hornsby said, "His music makes my eyeliner run!" Sammy Goldstein and Janet Fanale were hilarious, Trevor Exter showed off his rock & roll cello chops, Jenny Lynn Stewart and the original Sweeney Todd's Johanna, Sarah Rice both showed off their glorious coloraturas, Jacques Brel's Gay Marshall (left, below -- both photos, thanks to Mark Rupp) was tres, tres magnifique, Christine Lavin played with a new, wacky instrument that doubled and tripled her voice, Broadway's Michael Winther crooned spectacularly, Apollo champ Chris DiCristo wailed, Gillian Harwin swang (swinged?), David Goldman sang "O Sole Mio," the cast of When The Lights Go On Again quartetted, Amorika Amoroso sang the blues, Jenna Esposito got all smoochy, and if this isn't the longest run-on sentence I've ever written I'll be damned! (O.K., honey, you can breathe now. -- ed.)
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 One of the big hits of the night was Gemma Kaplan, who came all the way from Melbourne, Australia to dazzle us with her musical comedy prowess. We can't wait for The Kaplan Sisters (see Flickr! photos) to return! There were lots of beloved regulars and a bunch of first-timers -- just the way we like it! And we do it all again next Monday with David Budway and Steve Doyle slaving away as the Cast Party Symphony Orchestra! Come join us!
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 We're so proud to present Tony-winner Cady Huffman in concert on Monday, January 29 at 7pm! The show will be part of our Nightlife Award-winning Broadway at Birdland series, which features top Broadway performers and songwriters at our favorite legendary music room, located at 315 West 44 Street in NYC. Cady Huffman will tell it like it is, from her aspirations to be an operatic soprano - to making her Broadway debut as a drag queen. With songs ranging from Tinpan Alley to rock and roll - and composers from Townsend to Sondheim, Cady will give you what you want and a lot more than you expect! The stage will be awash in special guests to help celebrate Cady's birthday, including Broadway superstar Donna McKechnie, Angie Schworer (The Producers), Emily McNamara and Bryce Ryness. David Brind will Direct and Roger Cohen will Musical Direct the evening.
In 2001, Cady played the role of Ulla in the Broadway musical The Producers, and received the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical. She later appeared as herself in several guest spots on the television show Curb Your Enthusiasm. Ms. Huffman made her film debut in the 1992 film Hero which stars Dustin Hoffman, Geena Davis, and Andy Garcia. She was seen in the 2005 film Romance & Cigarettes starring James Gandolfini, Susan Sarandon, Christopher Walken, Kate Winslet and Mandy Moore, and was seen as Dr. Paige Miller on One Life to Live.
For tickets, call the club at 212.581.3080 or click on www.InstantSeats.com/Birdland. Coming up on Monday, February 12 - the amazing Donna Lynne Champlin!
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 JUST IN TIME FOR VALENTINE'S DAY, JENNA ESPOSITO WILL BE SINGING SOME FAVORITE TUNES ABOUT EVERYONE'S FAVORITE PASTIME…SMOOCHING! The show SMOOCH!, playing at The West Bank Cafe/Laurie Beechman Theatre (407 West 42nd Street, NYC - 212-695-6909) on Fridays, February 2nd and 9th at 9:00 pm will include songs from such varied composers as Cole Porter, Duke Ellington, Bonnie Raitt, Rodgers and Hart, and more. Joining her on stage will be Fortune Esposito on guitar, Richard Schacher on piano, Saadi Zain on bass and Tom Venable on drums with Kelly Esposito-Broelmann and Sue Matsuki providing backup vocals. Fortune Esposito serves a musical director. Erv Raible directs. $16 cover + $15 food/drink minimum, but if you say you heard about it through Cast Party, cover is only $11! |
 SCOTT SIEGEL PRESENTS THE 2007 NIGHTLIFE AWARDS MONDAY, JANUARY 29 AT 7PM AT THE TOWN HALL, The Only All-Performance Awards Show. No acceptance speeches -- just pure entertainment! "One of the strongest lineups of local nightclub talent to gather in one room," --Stephen Holden, NY Times. Starring (*performing): *Tom Andersen, *Lisa Asher, Todd Barkan, *Charles Busch,
Jim Caruso, *David Colbert, *Freddy Cole, *Scott Coulter,
*Tim Di Pasqua, *Christine Ebersole, *Larry Gatlin,*Judy Gold,
*Rupert Holmes, *Lorinda Lisitza, *Laurel Masse,
*Maureen McGovern, *Jessica Molaskey, *John Pizzarelli,
*Daniel Reichard, *Ben Riley, Monk Legacy Septet,
Susan H. Schulman, *Billy Stritch, *TJ & Dave,
*Cedar Walton, *Paula West, *Tom Wopat,
AND MORE! Tickets are $75, $50, & $25. The Town Hall Box Office at 123 W. 43rd St. or call TicketMaster at 212-307-4100. For more information go to SiegelPresents.com.
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 PS CLASSICS, THE LABEL DEDICATED TO THE HERITAGE OF BROADWAY AND AMERICAN POPULAR SONG, has joined forces with prolific cabaret producer Jamie deRoy on a new CD celebrating songwriters from the worlds of Broadway, pop, country and cabaret. But this new album has a twist: the songwriters are also the performers. Entitled IF I SING, after the Maltby/Shire song from Closer Than Ever, the album features 16 songwriters taking on their own material, some of it familiar, some totally unknown, in new performances and new arrangements. The theatre composers include some of Broadway’s finest, including Stephen Schwartz, Maury Yeston, Richard Maltby & David Shire, Robert Lopez & Jeff Marx, Andrew Lippa, Lucy Simon, and Gretchen Cryer & Nancy Ford, while the pop songwriters include such luminaries as Grammy Award-winners Julie Gold and Larry Gatlin. The album, produced by Paul Rolnick, with artistic direction by Barry Kleinbort, is in stores, or on the web at psclassics.com, amazon.com, footlight.com, For more info, click: jamiederoy.com.
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 ON THE CD, AT THE MOVIES , DAVE KOZ , A MULTI-GRAMMY NOMINATED SAX PLAYER with two gold albums and ten top 5 hits to his credit, takes center stage on eight instrumentals: "Over The Rainbow," "As Time Goes By," "The Pink Panther," "Summer of '42," "Cinema Paradiso," "Schindler's List," "It Might Be You" and "The Shadow of Your Smile." The 40-piece orchestra enlisted by Koz and producer Phil Ramone provides a majestic, sweeping soundscape for the saxophonist and his guest vocalists, including Vanessa Williams, who contributes an exquisite version of "The Way We Were," and Johnny Mathis, who perfectly captures the bittersweet quality of "The Shadow Of Your Smile," from The Sandpiper. Other highlights include Anita Baker's elegant rendering of "Somewhere," from West Side Story and Donna Summer's shimmering version of "A Whole New World," from Disney's Aladdin. Barry Manilow duets with Koz on a hip arrangement of Henry Mancini's "Moon River," and India.Aire delivers a deeply personal performance of "It Must Be You," from Tootsie. At The Movies is a must-have for music and film lovers everywhere. Disappear into another world and spend some time At The Movies.
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 SQUIGS DRAWS THE STARS. Justin 'Squigs' Robertson is well known in the
Los Angeles theatre community for capturing show biz folks in pen and
ink, and his acclaim is quickly spreading across the country. He loves
sushi. His favorite song is 'It's Only A Paper Moon'. And he
genuflects upon merely hearing the name of Al Hirschfeld. His
whimsical illustration and design is aided and abetted by his parallel
career as an actor and entertainer. You can visit www.squigsink.com
for a look at Squigs' take on such talented friends of Cast Party as
Jeff Blumenkrantz, Julia Murney, Christine Ebersole, Victoria Clark,
Kelli O'Hara, and Bob Martin.
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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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