Theater News

Brown, Daniels, May, Murney, et al. Set for Broadway at Birdland Series

Julia Murney(© Michael Portantiere)
Julia Murney
(© Michael Portantiere)

Jason Robert Brown, Julia Murney, Deven May, Jeff Daniels, Jack Donahue, and other notable performers are set for Broadway at Birdland series of Monday and Tuesday night concerts, programmed by Jim Caruso and sponsored by TheaterMania.com. Birdland is located at 315 West 44th Street in Manhattan.

The cover charge for each show will vary, ranging from $25 to $35, and there will be a $10 food/drink minimum per person. A full dinner menu is available at Birdland until 1am. All Monday night concerts will be followed by Jim Caruso’s Cast Party, an open-mic event for the showbiz community.

To purchase tickets for the Broadway at Birdland series, phone 212-581-3080 or click here. Following is a complete schedule of events:

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Monday, September 11 at 7pm:
Jason Robert Brown

The Tony Award-winning composer and his band, The Caucasian Rhythm Kings, return to Birdland with jazz singer Kate McGarry and other special guest performers. The concert will feature songs from Brown’s Broadway and Off-Broadway successes (Parade, The Last Five Years) as well as material from his solo CD Wearing Someone Else’s Clothes (Sh-K-Boom).

Tuesday, September 12 at 9 and 11pm:
Todd Londagin and His Big Band

The trombone playing, tap dancing singer Todd Londagin has been touring internationally since the age of seven. A pop vocalist with a jazz sensibility and a deep understanding of the essence of American pop songs from the 1930s through the ’50s, Londagin is well known in music circles as the co-founder of The Flying Neutrinos.

Monday, September 18 at 7pm:
The Lascivious Biddies
Blending jazz, pop and cabaret with four part harmonies, this all-female pop quartet have carried their fresh, genre-defying sound all the way from The Kennedy Center to a segment on the CBS Evening News.

Tuesday, September 19 at 8pm:
The Nashville Connection: Broadway Meets Country
Grammy Award winner Marcus Hummon joins country star Sherrie Austin and a plethora of musical theater stars for a night of music. The Nashville Connection additionally features Erich Bergen, Cole Burden, Deven May (Bat Boy: The Musical), Brian Charles Rooney (The Threepenny Opera), Nancy Slusser, and Louis Tucci (Buddy), all of whom are also featured in Marcus Hummon’s new musical Warrior, a presentation of the 2006 New York Musical Theatre Festival production.

Tuesday, September 19 at 10pm:

Erich Bergen & Deven May
Rising stars Bergen and May team up to perform a variety of pop and theater music in this show, which will also provide a glimpse into their off-the-wall imaginations.

Monday, October 2 at 7pm:
The Songs of Deborah Abramson
Musical director Deborah Abramson (Bernarda Alba, etc.) steps away from the piano and gives the stage to 2006 Tony nominees Manoel Felciano (Sweeney Todd) and Megan Lawrence (The Pajama Game), plus musical theater stalwarts Sally Wilfert, Michael Winther, and Theresa McCarthy. The program will feature songs written by Abramson in collaboration with William Finn, Rachel Sheinkin, Peter Mills, Amanda Yesnowitz, and Nathan Tysen. Marco Paguia is the concert’s musical director.

Monday, October 23 at 7pm:
Julia Murney

Fresh from her role of Elphaba in the national tour of Wicked, Murney removes the green makeup and celebrates her new CD, I’m Not Waiting (Sh-K-Boom). A Drama Desk Award nominee for her performance in Andrew Lippa’s The Wild Party, her New York stage credits includes Lennon, A Class Act, First Lady Suite, and Time and Again, as well as The Actors’ Fund benefit concert presentations of Funny Girl and Chess.

Monday, November 6 at 7pm:
Peter Sachon: Strings Attached
Tony Award-winner Victoria Clark directs Peter Sachon, the acclaimed cellist who was featured in the Broadway orchestra of The Light in the Piazza. In his Birdland debut, Sachon will perform music composed for his Cello Project by such gifted writers as Stephen Schwartz, Jeff Blumenkrantz, and Ricky Ian Gordon. He will also duet with some astonishing stage stars.

Monday, November 13 at 7pm:
Jeff Daniels

Best-known for such films as Terms of Endearment and Dumb and Dumber, actor-singer-songwriter Jeff Daniels has been writing music and lyrics since the 1970s. His return concert at Birdland will include such songs as “If William Shatner Can, I Can Too” and “The Dirty Harry Blues,” which describes the joy of being killed by Clint Eastwood.

Monday, November 20 at 7pm:
The Jeff Blumenkrantz Songbook

Broadway babies will sing the songs of Tony Award-nominated composer Jeff Blumenkrantz, who will accompany them at the piano and host the evening.

Monday, November 27 at 7pm:
Jack Donahue
The singer returns to Birdland, backed by Randy Ingram on piano and a full band. Donahue will perform selections from his upcoming CD a small blue thing, including songs by Cole Porter, Alec Wilder, Abby Lincoln, and Suzanne Vega.