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July 6, 2007
"Ten Cents A Dance", Nancy Anderson's superb Monday night concert at Birdland, packed the house with Broadway and cabaret fans. Mr. Steve Ross (left), another afficianado of 20's and 30's jazz, led the cheering throng. It looks like the show will become a monthly treat in our Broadway at Birdland series - so if you missed it, you'll get another chance at this “Dance.”
I was so glad to get back into the Cast Party saddle after three weeks out! One of my favorite Broadway leading men, Martin Vidnovic (below left, photo by Mark Rupp), gave us a musical example of why he's so beloved. Bob Livey and Brett Boyd surprised us with a trumpet/banjo/vocal selection as “The Sour Patch Kids.” That hilarious Phoebe Kreutz, who just released her new CD, “Big Lousy Moon,” sang about her downtown area. The CD also features the haunting ditties, “A Bad Feeling About Anna Karenina,” and “Boo Frickin' Hoo.” That's my kinda music! The award for longest trip to Cast Party goes to Garth Ploog, who flew in from Australia and came right from the airport with his posse to sing for us! Broadway boy Michael Winther dazzled as always, and newcomers Neal Cohen, Christine Rosholt, Kate McCann and Matt Mager killed...and are invited back any time! There were lots of beloved regulars and quite a few other newbies - just the way we like it! And what a kick to see Broadway folks like Sarah Saltzman, Steve Rosen and David Rossmer, who kicked major improv tuchas with their series, “Don't Quit Your Night Job.” Billy Stritch and Steve Doyle outdid themselves as the Cast Party Symphony Orchestra, as they will next week! Please, oh please check out our Flickr! site, where you will see a photographic diary of every second. Almost.
As a holiday present from us to you, click on God's Still In America to hear a song by our pal Richie McDonald, from the country supergroup, LONESTAR.
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| The Broadway Boys (left, thanks to BroadwayWorld.com) are coming back on Monday, July 9 at 7pm! They absolutely killed last time, so we got busy and re-booked! This time, they're being joined by some awesome special guests, including Mary Poppins herself, Ashley Brown, Antonique Smith (Rent), and Universal Classics/Decca recording artists The Three Graces (Sara Gettelfinger, Joy Kabanuck, & Kelly Levesque)! Is that a show, or what? In case you don't know, The Broadway Boys were assembled by Jesse Nager in order to create a new sound for theater and non-theater audiences alike. By mixing pop, jazz, gospel, and funk elements to Broadway standards, The Broadway Boys have created what has been called, “A Symphony of Sound.” The act includes Maurice Murphy (25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Two Gentlemen of Verona), Daniel Torres (Woman in White, Pirate Queen), Danny Calvert (Altar Boyz, White Noise), Michael Scott (All Shook Up, Mamma Mia), Jesse Nager (Mary Poppins, Good Vibrations), and Peter Matthew Smith (Hairspray, Fiddler on the Roof). There will be a $25 cover and a $10 food/drink minimum. Call Birdland at 212.581.3080 or click on www.BirdlandJazz.com for reservations.
Coming up on July 15 and 16, “Until Now: The Music of Ron Abel,” with special guest stars Lucie Arnaz, Michele Lee, Sally Mayes, Valarie Pettiford, Jack Noseworthy, Joey Gian & Billy Stritch.
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 HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO SUZANNE CARRICO! Today is Suzanne's birthday, but we've had to postphone the party because she is hard at work with Musical Director Tedd Firth & Director Mary Cleere Haran on their show THE ART OF THE CAHN: Music from the Sammy Cahn Songbook. After a soldout show on Fire Island Suzanne is back in New York City to make her METROPOLITAN ROOM debut on July 17th & 31st at 9:30 with fellow Cast Party regulars Tedd Firth on Piano & Steve Doyle on Bass. We hope to see you there! For more information visit www.suzannecarrico.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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 KEN KLEIBER'S OFFERING VIDEOGRAPHY SERVICES. You have the talent, you booked the room and the crowds came. But what about that sought-after agent who was escorting his star client to a premiere? Or that family member who got stuck out-of-town due to inclement weather? Or that best friend who got the 24-hour flu? They can all re-live your shining performance through the magic of digital video. Videographer Ken Kleiber (host of TV, internet & radio’s “That’s Kentertainment!”) not only interviews the stars, he films them too. With over 6 years of videotaping experience, Ken has filmed hundreds of hours of cabarets, concerts, live theatre, dance recitals, comedy sets, interviews, on-tape auditions, parties and more. For more information on Ken’s videotaping, copying and transferring services, please contact Ken at kentertain@yahoo.com. Don’t let that once-in-a-lifetime moment be…just once!
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 "here! on broadway," A PODCAST HOSTED BY JIM CARUSO, is a joyous celebration of the showbiz scene featuring music and conversation with Broadway's most dazzling personalities. Click on www.myspace.com/hereonbroadway to subscribe.
Jim's guest this week is the incomparable Stephanie J. Block, currently starring in the Broadway production of The Pirate Queen. Listen in as these two great friends dish the dirt about the show, the nightmare of moving apartments and Ms. Block's upcoming nuptuals!
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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!
- July 19 : South Shore Music Circus, Cohasset, MA
- July 21 : Cape Cod Melody Tent, Hyannis, MA
- August 8 : Marbella Tennis Club, Spain
- August 10 : Festival Jardins de Cap Roig, Barcelona, Spain
- August 12 : Cuartel del Conde Duque, Madrid, Spain
- August 15 : Festival Internacional de San Tander, Spain
- August 17 - 18 : Sporting Club, Monte Carlo
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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 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, Bob Martin and Liza Minnelli. www.squigsink.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
(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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