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July 13, 2007
The Broadway Boys ROCKED Birdland on Monday night! Jesse, Danny, Peter, Michael, Maurice and Daniel have all created one of the most unique nights of music we've seen, and the crowd went absolutely wild. Their special guests included Broadway's Mary Poppins, Ashley Brown (who got to belt her face off, for a change!), Rent star Antonique Smith, who out Beyonce'd Beyonce, and three gorgeous goddesses called “The Three Graces,” who are about to hit the big-time. We were so happy to catch up with our old pal David Miller (with the Graces, below, left) who was there to cheer the show. He happens to be in the insanely successful group Il Divo, and was a Cast Party regular back in the day and B.S.C. (...before Simon Cowell). We were also thrilled to see the co-composer of Smoking Bloomberg, David Cornue and his gorgeous wife, “Law & Order” star Milena Govich. Check out our Flickr! site for some pretty photos of these pretty people by Mark Rupp!
The following Cast Party was packed with lots and lots of talented folks, including Martin Vidnovic, Natalie Douglas, Garth Ploog, and Ron Abel, who gave us a preview of his upcoming concert. Perhaps most thrilling was a performance by a very cool ten-year old kid named Rocco Fiorentino. Rocco sings like a bird, has perfect pitch, plays piano and drums...and has been blind since birth. You can't know how he captivated the crowd at Birdland. He made a very entertaining night extra-special, and we can't thank him enough! Go Rocco!! Billy Stritch and Steve Doyle outdid themselves as the Cast Party Symphony Orchestra. Next week..Tedd Firth and Mr. Doyle will be there to accompany all the musical geniuses we know and love!
As you may have heard, we lost a wonderful friend from the cabaret community last week. Pianist and entertainer D. Jay Bradley passed away while on a trip to his beloved Greece. His family is looking at a six-figure expenditure to return him back to the U.S., and have established a memorial fund to raise the needed money. Donations can be made at any Bank of America branch or mailed directly to Marilyn Bradley-Buck, 5815 E. Palma Avenue, Space 183, Anaheim, CA 92807. Please make checks payable to the D. Jay Bradley Memorial Fund.
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| This coming Sunday and Monday, July 15 and 16 at 7pm, as part of the Broadway at Birdland series, we're thrilled to present “Until Now - The Music of Ron Abel," with special guests Lucie Arnaz, Valarie Pettiford, Joey Gian, Jack Noseworthy, Michele Lee, Natalie Douglas, Billy Stritch, Sally Mayes, Jane Carr & Colleen Fitzpatrick! Ron Abel (left, photo by Michael Childers) is a multi-award winning composer, producer, arranger, orchestrator, conductor and musical director. His film and television credits include musical directing I Love Lucy's' 50th Anniversary TV Special (CBS); composing the television theme songs for Animal Court (Animal Planet) and late night talk show, Nitecap (ABC). Ron was featured as the on-camera musical director for Nitecap, as well as the syndicated musical TV game show, Name That Tune. Film work includes composing, arranging and/or orchestrating for Michelle Pfeiffer, Kim Basinger, Lily Tomlin, Bea Arthur, Carol Burnett, and Taylor Dane. He recently produced and arranged albums for Deborah Gibson (Colored Lights: The Broadway Album) and Valarie Pettiford (Hear My Soul). Arrangements and songs by Ron can be heard on Petula Clark, Helen Reddy, Lucie Arnaz, and Dorian Harewood's albums. Ron conducted and served as musical director and album producer for Tap Your Troubles Away, A Tribute to Jerry Herman, which starred Carol Channing, Angela Lansbury, Bernadette Peters, Rita Moreno, Tyne Daly, Sam Harris, and Jerry Herman himself. He is the co-creator and arranger of the Broadway musical, Blame it on the Movies. His score for the musical, Twist of Fate, was awarded both the Los Angeles Drama Critic's Circle and L.A Weekly Theatre Awards, for "Best Musical of the Year". His latest project, undressed, the unflinching musicalization of the Dumas classic Camille, was a finalist in the O'Neill Musical Theatre 2007 Conference. As arranger/conductor, Ron has appeared live onstage with Eric McCormack, Jim Belushi, Bette Midler, Johnny Mathis, Liza Minnelli, Mandy Patinkin, Patti LuPone, Michele Lee, Jason Alexander, David Hyde Pierce, Rita Wilson, Loretta Devine, Lucie Arnaz, Craig Bierko, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Shirley Jones, Valarie Pettiford, Tim Curry, Donna McKechnie, Sarah Brightman, Joe Williams, and last, but never least, opera diva Julia Migenes. There will be a $25 cover/$10 food/drink minimum for this fabulous, star-packed evening. Call Birdland at 212-581-3080 to make a reservation, or click on www.BirdlandJazz.com.
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 BE THERE OR BE SQUARE! Suzanne Carrico's Metropolitan room debut is this Tuesday, July 17th at 9:30 PM! We hope you'll join us to hear Suzanne along with Musical Director Tedd Firth & Steve Doyle on bass for their show THE ART OF THE CAHN: Music from the Sammy Cahn Songbook as directed by the one & only Mary Cleere Haran. Expect to hear favorites by composers like Jimmy Van Heusen, Vernon Duke & Jules Styne and well as some lesser known gems written for great voices of their time like Petula Clark & Barbra Streisand. Can't make the 17th? Never fear - they will give a repeat performance on July 31st at 9:30 PM! For more info 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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