Emily Bordonaro News

The original cast album for Chip Deffaa's musical play 'Irving Berlin & Co.' (published by Eldridge Plays and Musicals)  will be released December 21st.  The album can be pre-ordered now from CDBaby (http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/irvingberlinco); as of the 21st, it will be available from Amazon, iTunes, Google Music Store,  SoundExchange, Rhapsody, etc.  This is the 13th cast album of Deffaa's to be released, and the fourth dealing with Berlin.  Cast-members will help celebrate the release with performances of songs at Birdland and on 'The Barry Z Show.'  

'The Irving Berlin Ragtime Revue' is being released today, September 15th.

The original cast album of 'The Irving Berlin Ragtime Revue,' which set box-office records at the 13th Street Theater, is being released September 15th.  To celebrate the release, members of the company  will be singing at Birdland, and on Barry Z's TV show, and promoting the album on radio programs hosted by George Bettinger, Moe Banshee,  Gail Kubik, and others.

'The Irving Berlin Ragtime Revue' is being released on September 15th. The show, which drew packed houses throughout its limited engagement at the 13th Street Theater, features 44 of the songs that helped make Irving Berlin the most successful songwriter in history. Some members of Deffaa's cast will perform at Birdland to help launch the new CD, which will be available via Amazon.com, CDBaby.com, iTunes, etc.

The 13th Street Rep has  presented  its 'Lisa Lambert Award'--named after the Tony Award-winning co-creator of the musical comedy 'The Drowsy Chaperone,' and honoring an outstanding woman in theater--to actress Maite Uzal.  Currently appearing in the musical 'Mad About the Boy,' Uzal is a resident member of both the New York-based  Rebel Theater Company and of Chip Deffaa's repertory company at the 13th Street Theater.  

The 13th Street Repertory Theater celebrated veteran stage/film/TV actor Ray DeMattis' 50th anniversary in the business -- honoring his lifetime achievements -- by proclaiming May 10th 'Ray DeMattis Day.'  DeMattis was presented with a framed certificate of honor by one of his proteges -- Michael J.C. Anderson, an actor with the 13th Street Rep.  And DeMattis, in turn, presented the first annual  'Ray DeMattis Award,' honoring young artists-to-watch, to actors Cody Jordan and John Brady, co-stars of Chip Deffaa's musical-comedy success  'Mad About the Boy.'  They each received a plaque, a copy of a cast album featuring DeMattis ('Flora the Red Menace'), and a $100.00 honorarium.

The 13th Street Rep's 'Betty Buckley Award'-honoring a 'young artist-to-watch'--has been presented to Emily Bordonaro, 18. Tony Award-winner Betty Buckley-who was performing a concert several thousand miles away on the night of the awards presentation in New York City--presented the award via videotape.

The 13th Street Repertory Theater will present an 'Irving Berlin Teach-In,' immediately following the Sunday (November 23rd) matinee performance of Chip Deffaa's 'The Irving Berlin Ragtime Revue.' The 'Ragtime Revue,' which has been selling out at the theater, will begin at 3 pm. The teach-in is expected to begin at 4:30 pm. Michael Townsend Wright, who previously co-starred at the theater with Giuseppe Bausilio in 'Irving Berlin's America' (as seen in the photo) will be one of the special guests at the teach-in, singing a rare Berlin ballad as well as sharing recollections and insights. (Wright may also be heard on the cast album for 'Irving Berlin's America,' which includes some never-before-recorded material.) Surprise guests with ties to Berlin and his world will be joining Wright, the cast of 'The Irving Berlin Ragtime Revue,' pianist Richard Danley, and playwright Chip Deffaa in the teach-in.

ASCAP Award-winning writer/director Chip Deffaa's 'The Irving Berlin Ragtime Revue'-currently playing at the 13th Street Theater in repertory with Deffaa's long-running 'One Night with Fanny Brice'--is to receive a cast recording. The cast album will feature all of the singing actors currently appearing in the show: Rayna Hirt, Ken Adams, Michael Cyzz, Maite Uzal, Michael Kasper, Jonah Barricklo, Emily Bordonaro, Missy Dreier, K.W. Andersson; Andrew Lanctot, Ann Marie Calabro, Brandon Pollinger, and Timmy Thompson, with musical direction by Richard Danley. Deffaa will produce the album; Slau Halatyn will be the recording engineer; with production to begin later this month at Be-Sharp Studios in Astoria. The album will be released in the United States on the Original Cast Records label. It will be the sixth show of Deffaa's to get a cast album.

Award-winning cabaret, theater, and concert star Carolyn Montgomery-Forant will be a special guest at select performances of 'The Irving Berlin Ragtime Revue' at the 13th Street Repertory Theater (50 W. 13th Street, NYC). Montgomery-Forant-who has won the MAC Award, the Bistro Award, and the New York Nightlife Award--will take time out from her own concert schedule to make guest appearances in the revue at the following performances: Sunday, November 16th at 3 pm and 7 pm, and Sunday November 23rd at 3 p.m.

ASCAP Award-winning writer/director Chip Deffaa will be joined by special guests, including noted showbiz biographer Herb Goldman, writer/entertainer Brian Gari, and actor Michael Townsend Wright, for special audience 'talkback' sessions, following select performances of Deffaa's shows 'One Night with Fanny Brice' and 'The Irving Berlin Ragtime Revue,' which are playing in repertory this fall at the 13th Street Theater (50 W. 13th Street, NYC).

When ASCAP Award-winning writer/director Chip Deffaa's "The Irving Berlin Ragtime Revue" opens November 9th at the 13th Street Repertory Theater (50 W. 13th Street, NYC), it will include some Berlin rarities and rediscoveries unheard in a century, including some never-recorded Berlin numbers.

When ASCAP Award-winning playwright/director Chip Deffaa's 'The Irving Berlin Ragtime Revue' has its world premiere at the 13th Street Repertory Theater on November 9th, it will be the second new show about Berlin to play the theater this year.

Most playwrights would be happy to have one script of theirs produced in New York in a year. "Theater Boys"--which opens tomorrow, September 21st at the 13th Street Repertory Theater--is the third show by ASCAP award-winning writer/director Chip Deffaa to open this year.

Theater-goers may be seeing double in the coming week as two different actresses-one in her 60s, the other in her teens-offer radically different interpretations of the same role, portraying legendary singing comedienne Fanny Brice. Both seasoned pro Patricia Dell, 63, and rising newcomer Chloe Brooks, 17, will appear in productions of ASCAP award-winning writer Chip Deffaa's musical play "One Night with Fanny Brice."

Casting has just been announced for the 13th Street Rep's forthcoming production of ASCAP Award-winning playwright/director Chip Deffaa's new show "The Irving Berlin Ragtime Revue." The show, which opens November 9th, will be the third production of Deffaa's to play this year at the 13th Street Theater (50 W. 13th Street, NYC, www.13thstreetrep.org); the others are Deffaa's "One Night with Fanny Brice" and "Theater Boys," playing in repertory at the theater this fall.

Casting has just been announced for the 13th Street Rep's forthcoming production of ASCAP Award-winning playwright/director Chip Deffaa's new show "The Irving Berlin Ragtime Revue." The show, which opens November 9th, will be the third production of Deffaa's to play this year at the 13th Street Theater.

Playwright Chip Deffaa says he never dreamed, when his musical play "One Night with Fanny Brice," first opened Off-Broadway at St. Luke's Theater in the 2011-2012 season, that the starring role would someday be played by a teenager. Over the past three years, stars in their 30s, 40s, and 60s have played the show, which transferred in 2013 to the 13th Street Repertory Theater. Chloe Brooks, who now stars in the show, after previously serving as an understudy, is just 17.

Tonight, November 18th, A Time To Shine Kidz/Teen Cabaret will be celebrating the Youth of Broadway on the Main Stage at The Broadway Comedy Club 318 West 53rd Street at 5:30PM.

On November 18th, A Time To Shine Kidz/Teen Cabaret will be celebrating the Youth of Broadway on the Main Stage at The Broadway Comedy Club 318 West 53rd Street at 5:30PM.