Jim Caruso's Cast Party Comes to London!

[Caruso]

Posted: 2/28/15 at 7:55pm

“Jim Caruso’s Cast Party,” Manhattan’s “extreme” open mic night, will make it’s London debut at The Crazy Coqs at Brasserie Zédel on Friday and Saturday, March 6 and 7 at 8pm. Musical director for the event will be Billy Stritch.

This will be the first UK appearance for the Manhattan mainstay, hosted by Caruso and Stritch. “Jim Caruso’s Cast Party” is a wildly popular weekly open mic night that has been bringing a sprinkling of Broadway glitz and urbane wit to the legendary Birdland in New York City every Monday night for the past eleven years. It’s a cool cabaret night-out enlivened by a hilariously impromptu variety show. Showbiz superstars hit the stage alongside up-and-comers, serving up jaw-dropping music and general razzle-dazzle. Cast Party is the ultimate spot to mix and mingle with talented show folk and their fans. The buoyant, sharp and charming Caruso guides the entire affair like a bubbly cruise director, musical genius Billy Stritch holds court at the ivories, and the audience is invited to participate in the festivities! Recently, Caruso and Stritch have taken the Party on the road, celebrating talent in San Francisco, Chicago, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Dallas, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Austin, and on the high seas. Cast Party was also part of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Songbook Series, celebrating the Golden Age of Hollywood with an all-star cast.

*Singers wishing to participate with an impromptu performance should bring sheet music for an upbeat tune in the correct key.

JIM CARUSO made his Broadway debut alongside Liza Minnelli in the Tony Award-winning Liza’s At The Palace!, singing, dancing and celebrating the music and arrangements of Kay Thompson and the Williams Brothers. He has won six MAC Awards, two Nightflife and two BroadwayWorld Awards for his nightclub appearances, performed with the New York Pops in a tribute to Kander & Ebb, with Rosemary Clooney celebrating Bing Crosby, and sang songs of Hope & Crosby with Michael Feinstein at Carnegie Hall. Jim was honored to sing with Barbara Cook at President Clinton’s First State Dinner at the White House. His two cd’s, “The Swing Set” and "Caruso Live and In Person" are available online. For twelve years, he has hosted the weekly showbiz bash "Jim Caruso’s Cast Party” at Birdland, Lincoln Center, Town Hall, and across the country. He performs regularly with Billy Stritch at Bemelmans Bar at The Carlyle Hotel.

BILLY STRITCH is one of the premier singer-pianists on the New York and national jazz and cabaret scene. Stritch has appeared in cabaret venues across the nation as well as concert performances at the London Palladium, NHK Hall in Tokyo and Rio de Janeiro’s Municipale Auditorium. In New York, he has performed at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall and completed 688 performances as Oscar the rehearsal pianist in the 2001 Broadway revival of 42nd Street. Billy is also a songwriter and arranger, and his composition “Does He Love You” was recorded by Reba McEntire and Linda Davis. The single reached the number one spot on the Billboard Country chart, winning a Grammy Award and selling over five million copies along the way. Billy has arranged for many top performers including Marilyn Maye, Christine Ebersole, and is a frequent collaborator with Liza Minnelli, having written the arrangements for Minnelli On Minnelli at the Palace Theater, Liza’s Christmas at Town Hall, and was musical supervisor and pianist for the Tony Award-winning, Liza’s At The Palace. He has three solo CDs to his credit, available online. He is the winner of the Nashville Music City News Award, a BMI Song of the Year Award, and four awards from the Manhattan Association of Clubs and Cabarets.

“Jim Caruso’s Cast Party” with Billy Stritch
Friday and Saturday, March 6 and 7 at 8pm
The Crazy Coqs at Brasserie Zédel
20 Sherwood Street
London W1F 7ED
020 7734 4888
brasseriezedel.com

Cast Party