Ebersole, with Stritch, Performs at Birdland, Dec. 17

Christine Ebersole, star of the hit Broadway musical Grey Gardens, will return to Birdland on Sunday, December 17 with a 8pm holiday concert.  She will be joined by cabaret star Billy Stritch at the piano and on vocals.  This evening is part of the Broadway at Birdland series, presented by Jim Caruso and TheaterMania.com, which features top Broadway performers and composers at the legendary nightclub.

Ebersole has recently drawn praise from critics and audiences alike for her performance as Edie Beal in Grey Gardens on Broadway, for which she won the Outer Critics Circle Award, The Obie Award and Drama Desk Award for Best Actress in a Musical, and was given a special citation from the New York Drama Critics Circle.  She won the 2001 Tony for her star-turn in 42nd Street, then teamed with cast-mate Billy Stritch for a cabaret run at Feinstein's in NYC and The Cinegrill in Los Angeles before making Birdland her musical home. 

According to press materials, Ebersole "will be returning to Birdland for her sixth engagement, armed with a dazzling concoction of Broadway tunes, standards, holiday songs and wry take on life."  There will also be performances from the duo's cd "In Your Dreams," (Ghostlight Label) which is a studio re-creation of the show they have been performing across the country.

Birdland has been a world-class music room on the Manhattan nightclub scene since 1949.  Jazz superstars Sarah Vaughan, Count Basie, Dinah Washington, and more recently Ann Hampton Callaway, Diana Krall, John Pizzarelli and Tito Puente have all performed on the Birdland stage.  The room offers top-flight music in a world class setting, good sight lines and acoustics, and a menu featuring award-winning Southern cuisine, available until 1am.  Most recently, it's become the home of Cast Party, the weekly Monday late night showbiz gathering featuring impromptu performances by the Broadway, jazz and nightclub crème de la crème.

Birdland is located at 315 West 44 Street, NYC.  Tickets are $40 or $50 (ringside) plus a $10 food/drink minimum.  Call 212-581-3080 or visit www.instantseats.com/birdland.

Photo by Melanie Dunea