MAC New Face Showcase, Jim Van Slyke Broadway Jukebox, and more!
Hello All!
It's been a busy few days since I last wrote - so let me bring you up to date on what's been going on!
On Saturday, March 7th, I had the pleasure of hosting Part 2 of the MAC New Face Showcase featuring debut artists appearing on the preliminary MAC Award ballot. The featured performers this week were Deb Berman, Christina Bianco, Ben Cherry, Dawn Derow, and Dominic Sheahan-Stahl, and they all did a terrific job! Boy, what a crazy amount of talent in the debut pool this year!! In addition to these performers, we were treated to a performance by cast members from Broadway's Next Hit Musical, which was absolutely hilarious! Based on suggestions from the audience, the actors improved songs on the spot, which were clever, funny, and actually very well performed! This show performs every other Thursday at Broadway Comedy Club - I can't wait to check out a full show!
After the MAC showcase, it was off to see Jim Van Slyke in The Sedaka Show. Conceived and directed by Brian Lane Green with musical direction by Tim DiPasqua, the show featured all kinds of terrific Sedaka material - from well-known hits to obscure, little-known tunes, to Sedaka's newest project for children! And not only was the material terrific, but Jim's voice just blew me away - what an instrument! Seriously, I could have listened to him all night!
On Sunday, it was another double-header: first it was Broadway Jukebox at Birdland, and then the Algonquin Salon at the Algonquin Hotel (happily, both venues are on 44th St., so it was very convenient to run from one to the other!). Broadway Jukebox was terrific - I wrote about it last month, but in case you missed that entry, I'll give a quick description of what it is. Conceived by producer Scott Siegel and directed by Scott Coulter, the hour-long show features three Broadway performers each performing songs which have been selected by the audience. Audience members are given ballots upon entrance and each performer has a list of songs which he/she is prepared to perform that evening, and the songs which receive the most votes are the songs which make it into the show! Each week features different performers and different song choices (with a few crossovers - I ended up hearing "I Dreamed A Dream" both times I went!), so audiences will never see the same show twice! The featured performers this week were Julia Murney (Wicked, The Wild Party), Brad Oscar (The Producers), and Kerry O'Malley (White Christmas, Into The Woods). They were all terrific - I thoroughly enjoyed myself! Kudos also go to musical director Tedd Firth, who did a terrific job (as always!) accompanying all of the singers! After Broadway Jukebox was over, it was off to the Algonquin Salon, which was also a lot of fun! The special guest co-host for the evening was Aaron Kaburick, who is currently appearing in Billy Elliot on Broadway. Aaron did a great job of keeping things moving smoothly, and brought the house down with his rendition of "I Want To Be A Rockette." There were a bunch of other fabulous performers there that evening, including Susan Winter, Gretchen Reinhagen, Rob Langeder, and Maureen Taylor - all in all, a very fun night!
Last night was yet another doubleheader (Hmmm...no wonder I'm tired today! 6 shows in 3 days??)! First, it was John Bucchino & Friends, which was part of the Broadway at Birdland concert series. I had a fantastic time - I've been familiar with some of Mr. Bucchino's songs for a while now, but after hearing a whole concert full, I want to run out and buy it all! The songs are beautifully written, and the performances last night were outstanding! Featuring the talents of Brian Stokes Mitchell, Ann Hampton Callaway, Brian Lane Green, Daisy Prince, Justin Paul, Benj Pasek, Jessica Phillips, Lucas Steele, Jamison Stern, Joan Almedilla, Jacqueline Hester, and cellist Yair Evnine, the concert was a fantastic showcase for the music of Mr. Bucchino - and, judging by their reactions, the rest of the sold out house agreed with me! After the concert, I stayed put for Cast Party, which was enjoyable as ever. Steven Zelin, the "Singing CPA," had everyone cracking up with his tax/finance parody lyrics to "My Favorite Things," folk superstar Christine Lavin performed on of my all-time favorite songs of hers, "Good Thing He Can't Read My Mind," original Forbidden Broadway cast member Christine Pedi brought the house down with her version of various divas (including Eartha Kitt, Bette Davis, Joan Rivers, Carol Channing, and Ethel Merman) doing "I Will Survive," and lots of other super-talented people kept the evening flowing. Host Jim Caruso tied it all together with his usual charm and wit, and the Cast Party Symphony Orchestra (Tedd Firth on piano, Steve Doyle on bass, and Steve Bakunas on drums) was fantastic!
That's about it for now...just getting ready to head out to Cabaret Hotline's March Is Cabaret Month Gala - more on that tomorrow!
It's been a busy few days since I last wrote - so let me bring you up to date on what's been going on!
On Saturday, March 7th, I had the pleasure of hosting Part 2 of the MAC New Face Showcase featuring debut artists appearing on the preliminary MAC Award ballot. The featured performers this week were Deb Berman, Christina Bianco, Ben Cherry, Dawn Derow, and Dominic Sheahan-Stahl, and they all did a terrific job! Boy, what a crazy amount of talent in the debut pool this year!! In addition to these performers, we were treated to a performance by cast members from Broadway's Next Hit Musical, which was absolutely hilarious! Based on suggestions from the audience, the actors improved songs on the spot, which were clever, funny, and actually very well performed! This show performs every other Thursday at Broadway Comedy Club - I can't wait to check out a full show!
After the MAC showcase, it was off to see Jim Van Slyke in The Sedaka Show. Conceived and directed by Brian Lane Green with musical direction by Tim DiPasqua, the show featured all kinds of terrific Sedaka material - from well-known hits to obscure, little-known tunes, to Sedaka's newest project for children! And not only was the material terrific, but Jim's voice just blew me away - what an instrument! Seriously, I could have listened to him all night!
On Sunday, it was another double-header: first it was Broadway Jukebox at Birdland, and then the Algonquin Salon at the Algonquin Hotel (happily, both venues are on 44th St., so it was very convenient to run from one to the other!). Broadway Jukebox was terrific - I wrote about it last month, but in case you missed that entry, I'll give a quick description of what it is. Conceived by producer Scott Siegel and directed by Scott Coulter, the hour-long show features three Broadway performers each performing songs which have been selected by the audience. Audience members are given ballots upon entrance and each performer has a list of songs which he/she is prepared to perform that evening, and the songs which receive the most votes are the songs which make it into the show! Each week features different performers and different song choices (with a few crossovers - I ended up hearing "I Dreamed A Dream" both times I went!), so audiences will never see the same show twice! The featured performers this week were Julia Murney (Wicked, The Wild Party), Brad Oscar (The Producers), and Kerry O'Malley (White Christmas, Into The Woods). They were all terrific - I thoroughly enjoyed myself! Kudos also go to musical director Tedd Firth, who did a terrific job (as always!) accompanying all of the singers! After Broadway Jukebox was over, it was off to the Algonquin Salon, which was also a lot of fun! The special guest co-host for the evening was Aaron Kaburick, who is currently appearing in Billy Elliot on Broadway. Aaron did a great job of keeping things moving smoothly, and brought the house down with his rendition of "I Want To Be A Rockette." There were a bunch of other fabulous performers there that evening, including Susan Winter, Gretchen Reinhagen, Rob Langeder, and Maureen Taylor - all in all, a very fun night!
Last night was yet another doubleheader (Hmmm...no wonder I'm tired today! 6 shows in 3 days??)! First, it was John Bucchino & Friends, which was part of the Broadway at Birdland concert series. I had a fantastic time - I've been familiar with some of Mr. Bucchino's songs for a while now, but after hearing a whole concert full, I want to run out and buy it all! The songs are beautifully written, and the performances last night were outstanding! Featuring the talents of Brian Stokes Mitchell, Ann Hampton Callaway, Brian Lane Green, Daisy Prince, Justin Paul, Benj Pasek, Jessica Phillips, Lucas Steele, Jamison Stern, Joan Almedilla, Jacqueline Hester, and cellist Yair Evnine, the concert was a fantastic showcase for the music of Mr. Bucchino - and, judging by their reactions, the rest of the sold out house agreed with me! After the concert, I stayed put for Cast Party, which was enjoyable as ever. Steven Zelin, the "Singing CPA," had everyone cracking up with his tax/finance parody lyrics to "My Favorite Things," folk superstar Christine Lavin performed on of my all-time favorite songs of hers, "Good Thing He Can't Read My Mind," original Forbidden Broadway cast member Christine Pedi brought the house down with her version of various divas (including Eartha Kitt, Bette Davis, Joan Rivers, Carol Channing, and Ethel Merman) doing "I Will Survive," and lots of other super-talented people kept the evening flowing. Host Jim Caruso tied it all together with his usual charm and wit, and the Cast Party Symphony Orchestra (Tedd Firth on piano, Steve Doyle on bass, and Steve Bakunas on drums) was fantastic!
That's about it for now...just getting ready to head out to Cabaret Hotline's March Is Cabaret Month Gala - more on that tomorrow!
posted by Jenna @ 3:03 PM
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