Brown, Lee, Ebersole, Etc. Join 'Bway at Birdland' in July

Ashley Brown, Lucie Arnaz, Michele Lee, Christine Ebersole, Stephanie J. Block and more have joined the July Broadway at Birdland line-up of performances.

The Broadway Boys, who will appear at Broadway at Birdland on Monday, July 9 at 7 PM, have just announced that their special guests will include Brown (currently starring as Mary Poppins), Antonique Smith (currently Mimi in Rent), and 'The Three Graces" (Universal Classics/Decca Records female answer to Il Divo – Sara Gettelfinger, Joy Kabanuck and Kelley Levesque).

"The Broadway Boys were assembled by Jesse Nager to create a new sound for theater and non-theater audiences alike.  By mixing pop, jazz, gospel, and funk elements to Broadway standards, The Broadway Boys have created what has been called, 'A Symphony of Sound,'" state press notes. The Broadway Boys include Maurice Murphy (25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Two Gentlemen of Verona), Daniel Torres (Woman in White, Pirate Queen), Danny Calvert (Altar Boyz, White Noise), Michael Scott (All Shook Up, Mamma Mia!), Jesse Nager (Mary Poppins, Good Vibrations), and Peter Matthew Smith (Hairspray, Fiddler on the Roof).  There is a $25 cover, $10 food/drink minimum for The Broadway Boys.

Also, on Sunday, July 15th and Monday, July 16th, Ron Abel  will be joined by Special Guests Lucie Arnaz, Valarie Pettiford and the newly-announced Michele Lee. Ron Abel is a multi-award winning composer, producer, arranger, orchestrator, conductor and musical director.  He has worked with Michelle Pfeiffer, Kim Basinger, Lily Tomlin, Bea Arthur, Carol Burnett, pop star Taylor Dane and many others.  He recently produced and arranged albums for Deborah Gibson ("Colored Lights: The Broadway Album") and Valarie Pettiford ("Hear My Soul") and his arrangements and songs can be heard on Petula Clark, Helen Reddy, Lucie Arnaz, and Dorian Harewood's albums.  Abel is the co-creator and arranger of the Broadway musical, Blame it on the Movies. His score for the musical, Twist of Fate, was awarded both the Los Angeles Drama Critic's Circle and L.A Weekly Theatre Awards, for "Best Musical of the Year." His latest project, undressed, a musicalization of the Dumas Fils classic Camille, was a finalist in the O'Neill Musical Theatre 2007 Conference.  There is a $25 cover/$10 food/drink minimum for Ron Abel.

And on Sunday, July 29 at 7 PM, "Billy Stritch and The Girls" will feature Tony Award-winner Christine Ebersole, Stephanie J. Block, Sally Mayes and Klea Blackhurst.  "An award-winning composer, arranger, vocalist, and jazz pianist, Billy Stritch breathes new life into the Great American Songbook, all the while bringing an easy sense of humor and showmanship to his performances."  He has arranged for, produced and performed onstage with Liza Minnelli, Christine Ebersole, Marilyn Maye and Charles Aznavour, and was guest conductor for "The Rosie O'Donnell Show."  As a composer, Stritch co-penned the 1994 Grammy Award-winning country song, "Does He Love You?" recorded by Reba McIntire and Linda Davis, which has sold over four million copies nationwide.  The song was named one of the Top Ten Country Songs of 1994.  Stritch has headlined in every famed nightspot in Manhattan, including Birdland, Birdland.  He is the winner of the Nashville Music City News Award, a BMI Song of the Year Award and five awards from the Manhattan Association of Clubs and Cabarets.  There is a $30 cover, $10 food/drink minimum for Billy Stritch.

To read Birdland's previously announced July and August line-up, click on this link.  Visit www.birdlandjazz.com for more information.

Photo of Michele Lee by Ben Strothmann

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