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March 2, 2007
Word has it that Monday's Natalie Douglas concert was one of the all-time Birdland favorites! I got emails from bunches of people who were electronically cheering her new gospel-based show, so trust me when I tell you that we'll have her back soon! Of course, Natalie (left, by Mark Rupp) is one of our favorites, and we're so proud that she's chosen Birdland to be her musical perch!
Cast Party was a blast, too, with many thanks to guest-host Christine Pedi and pianist Tedd Firth for keeping the fun balloon inflated. There were lots of beloved regulars and a few newcomers on the stage…but marvelous Marilyn Maye (left, with our fantastic bass guy, Steve Doyle) stole the show. If you don't know her, you should. She holds the record for most musical appearances on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show, and we're delighted that she loves Birdland so much! Check out our FLICKR page to see who else was there, with many thanks to our photog, Mark Rupp!
Next Monday, it'll be like old times, as Billy Stritch and I join forces with the afore-mentioned Mr. Doyle to bring you the most extreme open-mic on the planet…Cast Party! Rumour has it that there will be some extremely exciting performances…you don't want to miss them, do you??
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 On Monday, March 12 at 7pm, the legendary Birdland transforms into an old-school speakeasy with a new-fangled twist. “Speakeasy” will boast some of Broadway's most unique personalities, who will take you back to the days of Billie Holliday, Nina Simone and Bobby Short with lounge-inspired takes on songs by John Lennon, Joni Mitchell, Rufus Wainwright, Stephin Merritt and more. “Speakeasy” will feature Lea DeLaria (On The Town), Kevin Cahoon (shown at left - The Wedding Singer, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, band Ghetto Cowboy), Michael Winther (Songs From An Unmade Bed, Mamma Mia!), Lisa Jackson (Lisa Jackson & Girl Friday), Adam Dugas (The Citizens Band), Kyle Jarrow (A Very Merry Unauthorized Childrens Scientology Pageant, Gorilla Man, band Fabulous Entourage), Malan Breton (“Project Runway”), and Michael Conley (Hello Boys!). The band will be made up of Michael Vecchio (Passerby), Mike Jackson and Evan Tazner of The Citizens Band, and Dan Tepfer, who won the 2006 First Prize at the Montreaux Jazz Festival's International Bosendorfer Solo Piano Competition. There will be a $25 cover and a $10 food/drink minimum. Call the club now for reservations - 212-581-3080, or go to www.InstantSeats.com/Birdland. Tell 'em Jim sent you.
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 Gretchen Reinhagen is uncovered* and Redefined at Don’t Tell Mama (www.donttellmama.com) with 2 performances on Saturday March 3rd @ 4:00 PM and Sunday, March 4th @ 8:00 PM. Since it’s April debut, Redefined is the show audience members call “a redefining experience” and “one of their favorite hours spent at Don’t Tell Mama,” with a singer that “pipes for days,” and is just a little bit “twisted!...but that’s a good thing!” Steven Silverstein accompanies with a score ranging from Christine Lavin’s hilarious “What Was I Thinking” to Kander & Ebb’s powerful “The World Goes Round.” Redefined promises to be a definably entertaining evening…and did we mention…NO COVER CHARGE! What did you think “uncovered*” meant? For reservations call 212-757-0788. 2-drink minimum (cash only). www.gretchenreinhagen.com
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 MINNELLI & CARUSO: TOGETHER AGAIN... I'm beyond excited to tell you that I'll be performing on the road with my amazing friend Liza Minnelli quite a bit this next year! We're re-creating Kay Thompson and the Williams Brothers' historic nightclub act that took the world by storm in the late 40's and early 50's. Cortes Alexander, Johnny Rodgers, Clarke Thorell and I are working hard to approximate the blend and unique sound that Bob, Dick, Don, and Andy Williams brought to Kay's ingenious vocal arrangements, with Billy Stritch will be at the piano. Watch this space for details...hopefully we'll be coming to a theater near you!
- March 29-31 : Las Vegas, NV : Luxor Hotel
- April 13-14 : Niagra Falls : Fallsview Casino
- April 21 : Antwerp, Belgium
- April 24 : Copenhagen, Denmark
- April 27 : Stockholm, Sweden
- April 29 : Helsinki, Finland
- June 10 : Santiago, Chile
- June 13 : Buenos Aires
- June 15 : Uruguay
- July 19 : Cohasett, MA : South Shore Music Circus
- July 21 : Hyannis, MA : Cape Cod Melody Tent
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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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 “here! on Broadway," a podcast hosted by Jim Caruso, is a joyous celebration of the showbiz scene featuring songs and conversation with Broadway's most dazzling personalities. The listener will be privy to dishy conversations with their favorite stars about anything and everything they might have on their brilliant minds. Historic or hysterical..."here! on Broadway” is always entertaining! Click on http://www.heretv.com/broadway_podcast.rss to hear rollicking conversations with show folk like Julie Halston, Julia Murney, Stephen Oremus, Stephanie D'Abruzzo, John Tartaglia, and this week, composer Adam Guettel (right). The here! website, where the “here! on Broadway” program is found, currently has 3 million unique visitors each month. here!'s podcast programs have 30,000 active subscribers, with an additional 10,000 downloads from non-subscribers each month. (A podcast is an audio file that can be downloaded to a computer and listened to on a variety of MP3 devices.) Click and enjoy!
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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
This newsletter brought to you each week by Jim Caruso and Traverse City Web Design.
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