Photo Flash: Broadway at Birdland With Nicole Parker And Billy Stritch
By: Gabrielle Sierra Feb. 11, 2010
This past Sunday and Monday nights, the Broadway at Birdland concert series was in full swing, showcasing two completely different, yet wildly entertaining acts! On Sunday, Nicole Parker (from MAD-TV, Wicked and Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me) took on the persona of Jilane Jenkins, a semi-washed up sit-com star, in the faux-autobiographical "Suitcase Full of Lies." The Birdland audience included her old Wicked co-star Adam Fleming, as well as Brooks Ashmanskas (currently in Present Laughter), John Tartaglia (Imaginocean) and Michael Shawn Lewis.
The following night, singer/pianist/arranger Billy Stritch (42nd Street, Liza's At The Palace) was singing and swinging with the 17-piece Michael Berkowitz (Liza's At The Palace) Big Band, thrilling the packed house with arrangements originally performed by Sinatra, Mel Torme, Steve Lawrence and Dean Martin. As always, Stritch had a starry audience, which included Michele Lee, Julie Halston, Julie Budd, and Marilyn Sokol.
Jim Caruso's Cast Party followed the Stritch concert, with special surprise performances by Ricki Lake, Lance Horn, Matt Beilis, Hilary Kole, Zach Berger, Jody Shelton, Dorothy Bishop as Sarah Palin, and 13-year old Julliard student/jazz pianist Beka Gochiashvili, who recently won the Montreaux Jazz Festival.
Photo credit: Stephen Sorokoff
Ricki Lake & Yair Evnine
Jody Sheton
Zach Berger
Ricki Lake and Carly Jibson
Beka Gothchiasvilli
Tedd Firth, Dorothy Bishop & Jim Caruso
Dorothy Bishop & Jim Caruso
Julie Halston & Michele Lee
Michele Lee & Billy Stritch
Billy Stritch & The Michael Berkowitz Big Band
Billy Stritch & The Michael Berkowitz Big Band
John Tartaglia, Michael Shawn Lewis & Adam Fleming
Nicole Parker & Brooks Ashmanskas
Nicole Parker transforming into Jilane Jenkins
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