Ray Marchica News

When you go to see an evening featuring Michael Feinstein, it is a given that you will hear some well-crafted performances of classics from The Great American Songbook as well as some more obscure gems. What is less well known is what an educational experience any appearance by Mr. Feinstein is. There is probably no one who knows more about American popular music from the golden age than Michael Feinstein.

The complete Carnegie Hall concert schedule for February and March has been announced.

Following three sold-out shows, 'Music in the Air' returns, celebrating the profound power and magic of music in our lives through jazz standards of composers including Porter, Gershwin, Berlin, and Corea. Susan will share her joy in their 'forever music' - bringing a contemporary spin to the dancing, romancing, and loving that music inspires.

Major’s show became about paying an hour-long tribute to his former Disney employers. Explaining how his early consciousness was informed by The Mouse’s Movie Musicals, Attaway went thataway with his setlist, giving forth fab numbers from their copious catalog, leaning (surprisingly) on the more villainous characters from some of Disney’s most famous animated features.

In Monday night’s “A Collective Cy,” singer Jeff Harnar performed a celebration of the Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Award-winning songwriter Cy Coleman on the Birdland stage.

BIRDLAND will present acclaimed vocalist Jeff Harnar in his salute to Emmy, Grammy, Tony winning songwriter Cy Coleman in his award-winning show “A Collective Cy” on Monday, January 31 at 7:00 PM.

Beautiful music was made on Monday, December 6, when hostess/producer Jamie deRoy brought her multi-MAC Award-winning Variety Show, Jamie deRoy & friends, back to Birdland.

Last night an audience of friends gathered in Birdland to enjoy an evening with everyones favorite friend… Jamie deRoy.  Jamie presented a group of her Broadway celebrity friends to schmooze and perform at what always turns out to be an exciting evening of world class entertainment. 

Eighteen months later, Jamie deRoy returns to the live venue stage with some marvelous mates and her signature tune.

JEFF HARNAR will salute Emmy, Grammy, Tony winning songwriter CY COLEMAN in his award-winning, critically acclaimed show A COLLECTIVE CY, originally performed in 2007 at Feinstein’s at the Regency in New York City.

Show business tour de force and eight-time Tony Award-winning producer Jamie deRoy will bring her acclaimed Jamie deRoy & friends cabaret show to New York’s famed Birdland, Monday, December 6th, at 7:00 p.m.  

Linda Purl was packing them in at Birdland Theater last Sunday and if she had had a few more nights at the club, she would have continued to, for the entire run.

Linda Purl brings 'In The Mood: Songs For Jumping Back Into Life' to Birdland Theater Nightclub in NYC.

Linda Purl has the kind of career that actors dream of. Since she began in the 70s on the daytime drama Secret Storm, she has rarely had a period in which she was not working. She has appeared in films like Crazy Mama, Visiting Hours, Mighty Joe Young, and Fear of the Dark. She has appeared on Broadway in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Getting and Spending, and Off-Broadway in The Baby Dance. With over 50 television movies to her credit, she is a perennial presence on the small screen. She has had recurring roles on Matlock, Murder, She Wrote, The Office, Homeland, and The Oath, among dozens of others. She has the distinction of having played two different characters on the classic sitcom Happy Days. In Season 2, she played Richie Cunningham's girlfriend Gloria. Eight seasons later she played the Fonz's fianceé, Ashley.

Karen Oberlin brought a brand-new celebration of Lorenz “Larry” Hart to the Birdland stage on Monday night.

When it came time for her tribute show to Lorenz Hart, Karen Oberlin lined up the great songs and the great musicians to create an evening of entertainment very close to her heart.

Angela Bacari is 78 years young. But nothing in either her appearance of performance belies that fact. The woman has pipes and she knows how to use them. She is a jazz stylist who can rank with some of the greats. She can belt to the rafters but is also capable of very tender passages. She has an amazingly supple technique, which explains why she is so in demand as a vocal coach to the stars, counting Liza Minelli, Marisa Berenson, Deana Martin, and Billy Gilman among her protegés. She has appeared on The Merv Griffin Show, and The Dinah Shore Show as well as opening for Rodney Dangerfield, Phyllis Diller, Bill Cosby, and Pat Cooper. But last night, she was the headliner and the crowd went wild for her. It was been nearly 40 years since Ms. Bacari has made an appearance on the NY stage and it is highly overdue.

Angela Bacari will play a one-night-only show at the legendary Don't Tell Mama on October 12th, where she will prove that those who teach, CAN.

Birdland, the world-famous jazz club, features two of these latter-day vaudeville offshoots. Jim Caruso's Cast Party has been a staple of Birdland for years, serving as Broadway's open mic experience. But every Tuesday evening, Susie Mosher presides over a somewhat more curated and far more ribald variety show in Birdland's downstairs theatre. THE LINEUP is not an open mic. Mosher puts together its guests each week. They are from every echelon of show business, from Tony winners to new up-and-coming artists. They often have nothing in common except for a wild amount of talent. Susie Mosher serves as the host of the evening. She is a combination of den mother, improv artist, and Tasmanian devil. Her wit is faster than lightning and she can turn on a dime into a fantastic chanteuse. I was lucky enough to catch the latest edition of THE LINEUP this evening.

BIRDLAND THEATER will present “The Lineup” with Susie Mosher – the wild, anything-goes variety show featuring entertainers from the Broadway, cabaret and comedy scenes – every Tuesday evening at 8:30 PM.