Chip Deffaa News

In an awards ceremony at the 13th Street Repertory Theater, veteran stage/screen/television actor Michael Townsend Wright has presented the second annual 'Matthew Nardozzi Award'--the only award celebrating reliability and dependability in theater--to Kate Solomon-Tilley.

Emmy Award-winning producer Steve Garrin - longtime producer of 'The Joe Franklin Show,' among many other credits - has presented the first annual 'Joe Franklin Entertainment Award' to Jon Peterson, for his work starring in Chip Deffaa's musical play 'Irving Berlin: In Person,' currently running at the 13th Street Repertory Theater, 50 W. 13th Street, New York City.

'Others, who did not know him, can write obituaries about David Cassidy. I want to share some personal remembrances. I knew him, I liked him, I am saddened by his loss. I was glad that David chose me to ghost-write his autobiography, 'C'Mon Get Happy' (by David Cassidy with Chip Deffaa, published by Warner Books). And writing that book with him was an intense experience. He was open, candid, frank, and a fantastic storyteller. He had a seemingly endless supply of self-deprecating stories to tell, which I appreciated. He shared everything with me, with the understanding that we could decide later what to put into the book, and what to keep private. I liked his openness.

ASCAP Award-winning playwright/producer Chip Deffaa's latest album, 'Irving Berlin: Ragtime Rarities,' is out now. The CD, featuring an all-star New York cast performing two dozen rare--and, in many cases, never-before-recorded--ragtime numbers, is the 24th CD that Deffaa has produced and the tenth dealing with master songwriter Irving Berlin.

Tuesday, November 21st, will be 'Eddie Cantor Day' at the historic 13th Street Repertory Theater (50 W. 13th St., NYC), where Chip Deffaa's show 'Irving Berlin: In Person' is now playing. For 50 years, entertainer Eddie Cantor and songwriter Irving Berlin were friends. Berlin provided Cantor with some of his biggest hits, from 'Mandy' to 'You'd Be Surprised.' Cantor was singing Berlin songs (such as 'Araby') in vaudeville even before he rose to stardom in the Ziegfeld Follies (for which Berlin was a major songwriter). And Cantor continued to sing Berlin songs in films, on radio, and on TV. In 'Irving Berlin: In Person,' Jon Peterson (portraying Berlin) speaks of Berlin and sings/dances 'Mandy.'

ASCAP Award-winning playwright Chip Deffaa will lead audience talk-backs after performances of his new show, 'Irving Berlin: In Person,' at the 13th Street Repertory Theater.

Performances begin November 13th for 'Irving Berlin: In Person,' written and directed by ACAP Award-winner Chip Deffaa. Jon Peterson--fresh from starring in the national tour of 'Cabaret'--stars in this new solo show at New York's historic 13th Street Repertory Theater. Richard Danley is music director.

Mary Cantoni Johnson will reprise her acclaimed portrayal of legendary entertainer Fanny Brice when 'One Night with Fanny Brice,' in which Johnson long starred in New York City, opens at the Square Foot Theater in Wallingford, CT, on November 10th.

ASCAP Award-winning playwright/producer Chip Deffaa's latest album, 'Irving Berlin: Ragtime Rarities,' will be released on November 20th.

Fresh from starring in the national tour of 'Cabaret,' Jon Peterson will star in a new solo show, 'Irving Berlin: In Person,' written and directed by ASCAP Award-winner Chip Deffaa. Performances will begin November 13th at the venerable 13th Street Repertory Theater.

A new cast album of Chip Deffaa's long-running Off-Broadway show, 'One Night with Fanny Brice,' starring Mary Cantoni Johnson, is out now. It is available for sale from Amazon, CDBaby, iTunes, Google Music, etc.The album is being officially launched September 24th at the venerable 13th Street Repertory Theater, which will be celebrating 'Mary Cantoni Johnson Day.' The new CD will be available in the theater lobby, 6:30 pm September 24th, at a specially discounted 'album-release' price.

Fresh from starring in the national tour of 'Cabaret,' Jon Peterson will star in a staged reading of ASCAP Award-winning writer Chip Deffaa's new show 'Irving Berlin: In Person,' 7 pm., Sunday, September 24th.

Arizona Theatre Company (ATC; David Ivers, Artistic Director; Billy Russo, Managing Director) is pleased to welcome back four-time Academy Award-nominee Marsha Mason, who will direct Neil Simon's autobiographical romantic comedy Chapter Two to open ATC's 51st season, Oct. 5-22 at the Herberger Theater Center, 222 E. Monroe in Phoenix.

A new cast album of Chip Deffaa's long-running Off-Broadway show, 'One Night with Fanny Brice,' starring Mary Cantoni Johnson, will be released on September 24th. The album will be launched on at the venerable 13th Street Repertory Theater--which will be celebrating 'Mary Cantoni Johnson Day'-- and will be available for sale from Amazon, CDBaby, iTunes, Footlight Records, etc.

Arizona Theatre Company (ATC; David Ivers, Artistic Director; Billy Russo, Managing Director) is pleased to welcome back four-time Academy Award-nominee Marsha Mason, who will direct Neil Simon's autobiographical romantic comedy Chapter Two to open ATC's 51st season, Sept. 9-30 at the Temple of Music & Art, 333 S. Scott Ave. in Tucson, Oct. 5-22 at the Herberger Theater Center, 222 E. Monroe in Phoenix.

ASCAP Award-winning writer/producer Chip Deffaa's new CD, 'Irving Berlin Rediscovered' - being released today - features such Broadway notables as Stephen Bogardus ('Bright Star'), Giuseppe Bausilio ('Hello, Dolly!'), and Jon Peterson ('Cabaret'), plus such nightclub and cabaret stars as Seth Sikes and Natalie Douglas.

ASCAP Award-winning writer/director Chip Deffaa is releasing a second cast album of his show 'Mad About the Boy' today. The new album - which follows on the heels of the cast album of his recently released 13th Street Theater production - mixes performances by stars of Deffaa's original festival production, plus some very special surprise guests.

The cast album for Chip Deffaa's hit gay musical, 'Mad About the Boy,' which broke box-office records at New York's historic 13th Street Repertory Theater, is out now. 

The original cast album for Chip Deffaa's trailblazing gay musical, 'Mad About the Boy,' which broke box-office records at New York's venerable 13th Street Theater, will be released April 28th.  The CD can be pre-ordered now from such sites as Amazon.com and CDBaby.com; digital downloads are available from iTunes, starting today. 

A new cast album for ASCAP Award-winning writer/director Chip Deffaa's musical play "Irving Berlin's America" (published and licensed by Steele Spring Stage Rights) is being released today.   Michael Townsend Wright and Matthew Nardozzi co-star on the new album.  An earlier cast album of the show, with Wright and Giuseppe Bausilio--co-stars of the first New York production at the 13th Street Theater--will continue to be available.  Both albums are being distributed in the US by CDBaby, and are available now  from Amazon, iTunes, Google Play, Footlight Records, etc.