Photo Coverage: Jim Caruso and Billy Stritch Return to Bemelmans Bar
By: Stephen Sorokoff May. 05, 2014
The Carlyle, a Rosewood Hotel, welcomes Jim Caruso & Billy Stritch back to Bemelmans Bar for an extended Sunday night residency. The upcoming performances will build upon their recent run of shows in the intimate, storied New York City lounge, favorites not only of music fans and critics, but also of fellow artists. Jim Caruso & Billy Stritch shows are a place where some of the city's foremost entertainers go to commune with their own-and sometimes sit-in for a song or two-on their nights off. The pair will be at Bemelmanswith their evening of swinging standards Sunday nights, through May 25.
Bemelmans Bar is located in The Carlyle, A Rosewood Hotel (35 East 76th Street @ Madison Avenue). Jim Caruso & Billy Stritch will play Sundays in April and Mayat 9:00 p.m. Bar seating is $15 per person and table seating is $25 per person. Reservations not accepted; tables available on a first-come, first-serve basis. For additional information, visit www.thecarlyle.com.
To be sure, Caruso and Stritch are exceptional musicians in their own right. In a recent New York Observer review, Rex Reeddescribed their Bemelmans show as "a nimble, nonstop, musical show-business bonanza with as much rhythm and class as the feet of Fred Astaire." But part of the fun is experiencing Caruso and Stritch's impromptu collaborations with the showbiz heavy-hitters who turn up; recent guest appearances at Bemelmans have included Liza Minnelli, Michael Feinstein, Bono, Marilyn Maye, Jane Monheit and Linda Lavin. Chita Rivera, Lisa Lambert, David Zippel, Lucie Arnaz, Stephanie J. Block and Lisa Lampanelli are among the many other notable attendees of their shows.
In addition to performing extensively on their own, Caruso and Stritch-who are best friends-gained national exposure together as the host and musical director of the wildly popular, recurring open mic event Cast Party. Stephen Holden, in The New York Times, called a Cast Party event in the current Lincoln Center American Songbook series "a welcoming oasis of traditional show business bonhomie"-a description that perfectly captures the spirit of the duo's Bemelmans residency.
Photo Credit: Stephen Sorokoff
Bemelmans Bar
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