Photo Coverage: Jim Caruso & Billy Stritch Begin Residency at Carlyle Hotel's Bemelmans Bar

The Carlyle, a Rosewood Hotel, will welcome Jim Caruso & Billy Stritch to Bemelmans Bar for a Sunday night residency throughout the spring 2016 season. Featuring top artists from the worlds of jazz, cabaret and Broadway alongside special unannounced guests, Sunday nights at Bemelmans Bar have become a favorite spot for a wide range of performing musicians across the city. Additionally, the classic watering hole has drawn crowds consisting of socialites, politicians, movie stars and moguls for more than five decades.

Jim Caruso & Billy Stritch's upcoming performances will build upon their recent run of shows in the intimate, storied New York City lounge, favorites not only of music fans and critics, but also of fellow artists. The duo recently added dozens of songs made famous by Frank Sinatra to their repertoire, thanks to their current national tour of The Sinatra Century. Their shows provide a place where some of the city's foremost entertainers go to commune with their own-and sometimes sit-in for a song or two-on their nights off. To be sure, Caruso and Stritch are exceptional musicians in their own right. In a recent New York Observer review, Rex Reeddescribed their Bemelmans show as "a nimble, nonstop, musical show-business bonanza with as much rhythm and class as the feet of Fred Astaire."

But part of the fun is experiencing Caruso and Stritch's impromptu collaborations with the showbiz heavy-hitters who turn up; recent guest appearances at Bemelmans have included Liza Minnelli, Michael Feinstein, Bono, Marilyn Maye, Tony Danza, Jane Monheit and Linda Lavin. In addition to performing extensively on their own, Caruso and Stritch-who are best friends-gained national exposure together as the host and musical director of the wildly popular, recurring open mic event Cast Party. Stephen Holden, in The New York Times, called a Cast Party event in the Lincoln Center American Songbook series "a welcoming oasis of traditional show business bonhomie"-a description that perfectly captures the spirit of the duo's Bemelmans residency. The pair will be at Bemelmans on April 17, April 24, May 1, May 15, May 22, May 29, June 5, June 12, June 19, and June 26.

Bemelmans Bar is located in The Carlyle, A Rosewood Hotel (35 East 76th Street @ Madison Avenue). Bar seating is $15 per person and table seating is $25 per person. Reservations not accepted; tables available on a first-come, first-serve basis. For additional information, visit www.thecarlyle.com.

Photo Credit: Stephen Sorokoff

Bemelmans Bar The Carlyle

Jim Caruso

Billy Stritch

Jim Caruso

Tom Hubbard, Billy Stritch, Jim Caruso

Billy Stritch, artistic director, co-writer, piano & vocals and host

Billy Stritch & Ron Abel

Eda Sorokoff & Sunny Sessa

The Carlyle