Steve Bakunas News

Tony and Golden Globe winner Linda Lavin takes the 54 Below stage this September, performing Broadway favorites, standards, jazz, and even some songs she learned from the great girl singers. New York audiences remember her from It's a Bird…It's a Plane…It's Superman, Last of the Red Hot Lovers, Broadway Bound, Collected Stories, The Diary of Anne Frank, Gypsy,The Tale of the Allergist's Wife, and many others, and the world over knows her as Alice Hyatt in the long-running hit TV series Alice.

Broadway's 40 theatres aren't the only places to catch performances from your favorite stars! Well after Broadway orchestras begin their overtures, ensemble members take their dance breaks, and performers belt out their eleven o'clock numbers, the party continues at various cabaret venues throughout New York City. Below, BroadwayWorld brings you some cabaret highlights for this week as picked by our theatre editors, including: Darius de Haas: 'Something to Live For: Celebrating Strayhorn & More;' Linda Lavin: Starting Over; Carter Calvert at 54 Below; Nicholas Guest: Finding Nick; and Madeline Kahn Tribute.

For the past 13 years, Jim Caruso's Cast Party has been the place for Broadway, jazz and cabaret performers to celebrate and entertain each other. This past month, an astonishingly wide variety of talent passed through the Birdland doors, and we thought you might like to see proof that 'you never know who will show up at Cast Party!' Scroll down for photos of August's incredible lineup of stars!

This September, 54 BELOW presents an exciting lineup of the brightest talent from Broadway and beyond. Located just below the legendary Studio 54 at 254 West 54th Street.

This week at 54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz and beyond. To purchase tickets or for more information, visitwww.54Below.com or call (646) 476-3551.

This September, 54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club, presents Tony and Golden Globe winner Linda Lavin, in a return engagement of 'Starting Over' and Tony Award nominee Will Swenson, making his 54 Below solo debut, featuring his wife, six-time Tony winner Audra McDonald.

Linda Lavin and musician/director/actor/painter/writer husband Steve Bakunas walked the Red Carpet a few days ago at the Broadway Opening of Hamilton and then drove up the carpet of Green to their home in the Berkshires to perform at Lee Tannen's Helsinki on Broadway and of course BroadwayWorld was at both events. This summer the East Coast is getting treated to Linda Lavin and Billy Stritch as Linda has brought her show titled Starting Over and her swinging band to PTown, the Hudson Valley, and on September 16th to Guild Hall in East Hampton. At Helsinki on Broadway last night Linda was the star of the show, but the food at Helsinki Hudson definitely also gets top billing.

HAMILTON, Lin-Manuel Miranda's musical about America's 'the ten-dollar Founding Father without a father,' opened just last night at the Richard Rodgers Theatre. BroadwayWorld was there for the whole, historic night, and you can check out photos from the red carpet arrivals below!

Rick Murray and The Crown & Anchor presented Tony and Golden Globe winner Linda Lavin to a wildly enthusiastic Provincetown audience last night and Broadwayworld's Stephen Sorokoff was there. In her cabaret show titled Starting Over, Linda with her musical directer Billy Stritch (who also supplied vocals) brought the packed Crown and Anchor Cabaret Room to it's feet many times during their exciting performance.  Also receiving a standing ovation was Jazz Violinist Aaron Weinstein who is a mainstay in Linda's act.  Jazz guitarist Ron Affif, bassist Steve Doyle and husband Steve Bakunas on drums and vocals executed Billy Stritch's magical arrangements perfectly.  

Following a sold-out run at Dixon Place, the limited 12- week engagement of the critically-acclaimed new play The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey officially opened last night, July 27, 2015, at theWestside Theatre (407 West 43 Street). THE ABSOLUTE BRIGHTNESS OF LEONARD PELKEY, the much talked-about new play written and performed by James Lecesne, will have scenic design by Jo Winiarski, lighting design by Matt Richards, sound design by Christian Frederickson, projection design by Aaron Rhyne, original animation & photography by Matthew Sandager, and costumes by Paul Marlow. BroadwayWorld was there for opening night and you can check out photos below!

Linda Lavin's most recent show at 54 Below (which had a three-night run between June 4-6), Starting Over--"Because that's what I've done all my life"--illuminates a succession of chapters in her career. The show bears more than a little resemblance to a 2012 appearance at the same venue. There are repeated numbers, excessive, though entertaining anecdotes, and a feel I now find formulaic.

Tony and Golden Globe winner Linda Lavin takes the 54 Below stage this week, performing Broadway favorites, standards, jazz, and even some songs she learned from the great girl singers. Check out a look back at her first performance this week at 54 Below!

This week at 54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz and beyond. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.54Below.com or call (646) 476-3551.

Broadway's 40 theatres aren't the only places to catch performances from your favorite stars! Well after Broadway orchestras begin their overtures, ensemble members take their dance breaks, and performers belt out their eleven o'clock numbers, the party continues at various cabaret venues throughout New York City. Below, BroadwayWorld brings you some cabaret highlights for this week as picked by our theatre editors, including: Chris McCarrell at 54 Below; Linda Lavin: Starting Over; Tony Battles: The Lion King vs. Ragtime Edition; John & Jen Album Release Concert; and Lindsay Mendez and Marco Paguia.

Symphony Space's 2015 gala celebrated Broadway impresario Harold Prince with a star-studded musical tribute to the legendary 21 time Tony Award-winning producer/director on May 18, at Capitale. Danny Burstein hosted the evening, which featured performances by Kate Baldwin, Sierra Boggess, Santino Fontana, Jeremy Jordan, Ramin Karimloo, Norm Lewis,Rebecca Luker, Laura Osnes, and Chita Rivera. Check out a look back below!

The Broadway at Birdland concert series was thrilled to present singer/songwriter Brian Gallagher in a concert celebrating the release of his new CD, 'All That's Ahead.' Brian's special guest was Broadway and television star Megan Hilty, who happens to be his wife! Scroll down for photos!

George Takei (Broadway-bound Allegiance, Hikaru Sulu on TV's 'Star Trek'), Tony Award winner Linda Lavin (Broadway Bound, The Diary of Anne Frank, Hollywood Arms, TV's 'Alice') and her husband actor Steve Bakunas (Hollywood Arms, My Own Love Song), and Tony Award nominee Jessica Hecht (The Assembled Parties, The Last Night of Ballyhoo, TV's 'Friends'), are among those who have attended recent performances of Wiesenthal, the award-winning play now playing at the Acorn Theatre at Theatre Row through February 22. Following the performance, Hecht, Takei, Lavin and Bakunas all came backstage to visit with Wiesenthal's star and playwright, Tom Dugan.

At Birdland every Monday night at 9:30pm, Jim Caruso's Cast Party celebrates talent from every corner of the entertainment scene. Broadway, jazz, cabaret, pop, folk, country…over the past twelve years, the Cast Party crowds have been entertained by most every genre of music! This past week, the talent was off-the-charts. Rachel Tucker, the recent star of The Last Ship on Broadway, gained a slew of new fans with two Kander & Ebb anthems that had the crowd standing, stomping and cheering for more!

Honeymoon in Vegas, the eagerly anticipated new musical comedy with book by Blazing Saddles and Fletch writer Andrew Bergman and score by three-time Tony Award-winnerJason Robert Brown, opened last night, January 15, 2015 at Broadway's Nederlander Theatre (208 West 41st Street). BroadwayWorld was there for the special night and you can check out photos from the red carpet below!