Catch-up time!

Hellooooooooooo all!

Well, last week was a CRAZY week, so I'm going to do my best to get up to date here!

The MAC awards on Tuesday, May 6th were a lot of fun - I didn't win, but I DID get to sparkle in my fantastic Betsey Johnson dress (check out the pic!) and socialize with lots of my favorite folks, so it was still a great night! I also had the honor of accepting the award for Cast Party on Jim Caruso's behalf. Cast Party won in the Variety Production/Recurring Series category, and it was truly an honor to be asked to accept the award for Jim. He was down for the count with a nasty ear infection, and had asked me the night before if I'd be able to help him out. He'd typed up a very funny speech which was given to me in a sealed envelope and I got to read it for the capacity crowd at B.B. King's, which was a hoot! After the awards, I headed over to The Metropolitan Room for some more socializing, then it was off to bed in the wee small hours of the morning!

The following night, I had my 3-hour gig at The River Room, which went very well! We had a nice crowd which included a number of fellow singers (Rob Langeder, Terese Genecco, Shaynee Rainbolt, Richard Malavet, Karen Oberlin, Robert Vest, Sue Matsuki and Julie Wilson!), and I was most appreciative of the support! I was backed by Fortune Esposito (yep, my dad!) on guitar, Erik James on keyboard, Doug Largent on bass, and Bobby Sher on drums, and we really had a fantastic time.

The following night, it was back to On The Rocks with Danny Leary for another terrific lineup of cabaret and comedy stars. Shaynee Rainbolt and Terese Genecco were both performing, which made it even more of a treat! Shaynee opened with a couple of great tunes ("Mink Schmink" and "The Boy From..."), and then Terese joined her for a re-creation of the famous Judy Garland/Barbra Streisand duet of "Get Happy" and "Happy Days Are Here Again." Fun, fun, fun!

The weekend found me upstate, celebrating Mother's Day with my mom, my Irish granny, and my sis - who is the newest mom in the family! Charlie (my 8-month old nephew) was cuter than ever - I can't wait to get back up there and play with him again!

Last night was Cast Party again, and it was a good one - Jim had recovered from his ear infection, and a number of my favorite performers graced the Birdland stage, including the fabulous Ray Jessel, who's in town from L.A. (hooray)!

That just about brings us up to date - check back for more soon!