THE LEADING MEN: Following the Norm
By Wayman Wong
02 Feb 2004
HE’S THE LIFE OF THE ‘PARTY’
For the past year of Mondays, Jim Caruso’s Cast Party! brought so many Broadway and cabaret celebrities to the King Kong Room that it was starrier than the Hayden Planetarium. With Caruso as its hilarious host and the brilliant Billy Stritch at the keyboard, it was the place to cruise, schmooze, sing and be seen. Among the many who have stepped up to the mike and wowed the crowd: Jason Alexander, Jim Brickman, Alan Cumming, Dave Koz, Liza Minnelli and Stephen Schwartz.
But on Jan. 12, the same night that Caruso received a Nightlife Award for his wondrous work, the owners of the King Kong Room abruptly told him the "Party’s" over. It was time to call it a day. They'd burst his pretty balloon and taken the room away. But fear not: Cast Party and its galaxy of stars is moving to the Ars Nova on Mondays, starting Feb. 8, from 10 PM to 2 AM at 511 W. 54th St., near 10th Avenue. It won’t be free anymore, and there’s an $8 music charge, but beer, wine and champagne will be only $5. Even so, it still promises to be the best showbiz bargain and bash in New York.
"We’ll have some exciting surprises and also celebrate Billy’s birthday (Feb. 12) and mine (Feb. 5)," says the four-time MAC Award winner who'll turn 46. Born in Pittsburgh, the witty writer-producer-director has done everything from playing the White House to performing with his mother in an act called Son of a Bitch in seafood restaurants in Dallas. So how did he learn to become the chosen party-giver for the showbiz clientele? "Frankly, Liza taught me. When I lived with her [as a friend] in L.A., we did this every Saturday at her house: invite celebrities over and sing until 4 AM. This is the exact same thing, except we had Kentucky Fried Chicken and no cover charge!"
For more information, visit www.jim-caruso.com.
FOR THE RECORD: THE MAGNIFICENT 7
Here are my favorite male-vocalist selections from the multitude of musical theatre and cabaret CDs of 2003 (listed in alphabetical order):
Tom Andersen, "I Fall to Pieces" from "Who Knows?" (Other Music)
Scott Dreier, "Lida Rose" from "Scott Dreier" (LML)
Michael Hunsaker, "I Can Hold You" from "Listen to My Heart" (Midder Music)
Hugh Panaro, "It Only Takes a Moment" from "Tap Your Troubles Away" (LML)
Stephen Pasquale, "The Streets of Dublin" from "A Man of No Importance" (Jay)
Johnny Rodgers, "Danglin’" from "The Maury Yeston Songbook" (PS Classics)
Anthony Warlow, "Always" from "Face the Music" (Skylark)
Special honors: Hugh Jackman in the "Oklahoma!" DVD (Image)
Meantime, one of the 2004’s most eagerly awaited cast albums has got to be the Nonesuch recording of Stephen Sondheim’s Bounce. Produced by Tommy Krasker, it looks like it’ll be released in April. The original cast, starring Richard Kind, Howard McGillin and Gavin Creel, will be reunited for an Actors’ Fund benefit, on May 9, and my sources say it will be at the Majestic. Getting to catch that concert could be one of "the best things that ever happened to me" this year.
WHERE THE GUYS ARE
There’s so much to see in New York, and this month, youth is served. Peter Cincotti is just 20, but he’s already an old pro at leaving his audiences jazzed about his music. He plays Feb. 2 and 3 at 8 PM at Alice Tully Hall, 70 Lincoln Plaza (212-721-6500), and Feb. 5 at 7 and 9:30 PM at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (888-466-5722). … Speaking of jazz singer-pianists, hopes are high for a brand-new Day. Spencer Day, a 24-year-old "Star Search" finalist from San Francisco, makes his N.Y. debut Feb. 10-13 at 9 PM and Feb. 14 at 8:30 PM at Don’t Tell Mama, 343 W. 46th St. (212-757-0788). … At 27, Brandon Cutrell, the 2003 MAC Award winner for NY debut, is back with a new act singing tunes by Tim DiPasqua, Rodgers & Hart and Rufus Wainwright. Contrary to its title, "No Reservations," he deserves to get plenty of them. He’s playing Feb. 21 and 28 and March 6 and 13 at 7 PM at The Duplex, 61 Christopher St. (212-255-5438).
Finally, congrats to Michael Arden! Not only did he make his Broadway debut as a terrific Tom Sawyer in this season’s Big River, he presented a reading of his first musical, Easter Rising, on Jan. 25 at Makor. The Juilliard alum, who hails from Midland, TX, says, "It’s the story of a small family dealing with death and exploring the boundaries of love, and I had an incredible cast." Loaded with "Leading Men," it included Gavin Creel, Leo Ash Evens, Santino Fontana, Michael Hunsaker, Matthew Morrison, Evan Pappas and Max von Essen. Next, Arden, who’s only 21, will play Louis in the workshop of the new Elton John-Bernie Taupin musical The Vampire Lestat. Talk about a Rising star!
Got comments or questions? E-mail me at waymanwong@hotmail.com.
Until next month, let’s hear it for the "boys"!
Wayman Wong edits entertainment for the New York Daily News. He has been a movie and theater critic for the San Francisco Examiner, a writer for The Sondheim Review and a Drama-Logue Award-winning playwright.
 |
 |
Matt Zarley (left), Jim Caruso and Michael Arden
|
| photo by Ben Strothmann (middle and right images) |
