Hunter Bell and Telly Leung Join 'The After Party' Tonight, 9/12

The Laurie Beechman Theatre, located within The West Bank Café (407 West 42nd St.), is pleased to continue our Friday night soiree, THE AFTER PARTY. Now going strong it’s second year, THE AFTER PARTY is billed as “a weekly schmoozefest for the theatrically inclined.” Every Friday from 10:30 pm until the wee hours, pros from Broadway and aspiring stars alike belt it out on the stage of The Laurie Beechman Theatre. Join hosts Brandon Cutrell (MAC & Bistro Award winner) and Alysha Umphress (XL Star) with Ray Fellman (Captain Louie) at the piano for this weekly party in the theatre district. There is no cover charge for this event. "Come and sing yourself as the mic is always open, or sit back and enjoy a cocktail with friends. Located just blocks from the Great White Way, you never know who might drop in," describe press notes

On Friday, September 12th, THE AFTER PARTY will welcome Obie Award winner and [title of show]’s Hunter Bell as well as Rent’s Telly Leung.  Both will be on hand to greet fans and perform as only they can.

The Laurie Beechman Theatre is located downstairs, within The West Bank Café, 407 West 42nd St. at 9th Avenue .  There is a full bar and bar menu available, and reservations are not necessary for this event.  THE AFTER PARTY highly recommends audience members arrive early.  Seating is first come, first serve.  Priority seating may be given to those who wish to order from the menu and/or the bar.

Hunter Bell was awarded an Obie, earned a GLAAD Media nomination and, along with his cast mates, received a Drama League nomination all for [title of show]. Other writing credits include the books for Silence! The Musical and the 137th edition of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, Bellobration!, as well as original material for BC/EFA’s Easter Bonnet competition, the Actors Fund 125th Gala, Vineyard Theatre’s 25th Anniversary Gala, Broadway Bares 18: Wonderland and the 53rd Annual Drama Desk Awards. He has appeared on Broadway in How the Grinch Stole Christmas and at the St. Louis Rep, Great Lakes Theatre Festival, North Shore Music Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse, the MUNY, P.
S. 122, Dallas Shakespeare Festival, Cleveland Play House, Stages St. Louis, Goodspeed Opera House, ALLIANCE THEATRE, Carnegie Hall, York Theatre, Coconut Grove, Paper Mill and the Vineyard. Hunter is a proud graduate and distinguished alumnus of Webster University and a member of Actors’ Equity and the Dramatists Guild.

Telly Leung was a member of the final Broadway cast of Rent. His other Broadway, National and Regional credits include Flower Drum Song, Pacific Overtures, Wicked, and Sweeney Todd. Telly also has been cast in the now-postponed upcoming Broadway revival of Godspell. A native of Brooklyn, Telly is also a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University and has continued to branch out to other avenues of the performing arts. His debut EP, "Getaway", is available from the website CDBaby.com. Other recording credits include "Wall to Wall Sondheim" (SymphonySpace.com) and the Original Broadway Cast Recordings of Flower Drum Song and Pacific Overtures.

Brandon Cutrell is a Bistro Award and two-time MAC Award winner. New York credits: Broadway By The Year at Town Hall, The 2nd Annual Broadway Unplugged at Town Hall, Pippin (with Ben Vereen and Rosie O'Donnell), La Gioconda at TheatreSource, David Friedman's King Island Christmas, and Liz Swados' Waiting For Lefty. National: Theatre of the Stars, Goodspeed Musicals, the Human Race Theatre and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. For nearly two years, Brandon was the original host of the MAC Award nominated show, Mostly Sondheim. In December of 2005, Brandon made his debut in the world-famous Oak Room at The Algonquin Hotel. In June of 2006, Brandon made his solo debut at Feinstein's, New York's legendary nightclub on Park Avenue. Currently, Brandon can be seen every Friday night at The Laurie Beechman Theatre on 42nd Street as the host of The After Party, a weekly open-mic, musical theatre soiree. Brandon's self-titled debut cd was released on June 4th, 2007 at Feinstein’s and is now available on iTunes and at www.BrandonCutrell.com.

Alysha Umphress, a graduate of  The Boston Conservatory, made a splash at the Chelsea bar, XL, winning their American Idol-type competition, XL Star. She recently opened for Diana Krall at the Fujitsu Jazz Festival, soloed along side Carlos Santana at San Francisco’s Fillmore Auditorium and performed with the Boston Pops. Regional roles include the Witch in Into the Woods, Trina in Falsettos and Winnifred in Once Upon a Mattress. Alysha is the recipient of two Bay Area Theatre Critics Awards for her work in Rags and FAB! She has belted out the National Anthem for The Oakland A's, San Francisco Giants, Golden State Warriors, Sacramento Kings and San Jose Sharks.

Bistro Award winner Ray Fellman recently made his Off-Broadway debut when he was handpicked by Stephen Schwartz to musical direct his off-Broadway musical, Captain Louie. Other Musical Director credits  include The Tutor by Wood/Gerle (59 E. 59th), Reluctant Pilgrim (The Barrow Group), Blood Drive: A Musical Triptych by Sheinkin/Derfner (workshop at the O’Neill Theater Center) and Amahl and the Night Visitors (national tour directed by David Aiken). Ray has been seen behind the piano in The Storefront Theatre’s New Mondays (with Bill Russell and Emily Skinner), No Reservations (starring Brandon Cutrell with special guests Karen Mason and Shoshana Bean), Broadway Downtown (with Kristy Cates) and We Miss Nancy: The Storefront Sings Lamott (with Liz McCartney). He has also served as accompanist for Utah Festival Opera Company, The Opera Company of Brooklyn , Mid America Productions at Carnegie Hall (with John Rutter) and A Yuletide Celebration with the Indianapolis Symphony starring Judy Kaye. As a singer, Ray has sung with some of the finest opera companies in the country, including Florida Grand, Glimmerglass and New Orleans operas. Ray holds degrees in piano and voice from the Indiana University School of Music.

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