TV: Sterling's Upstairs Opens at The Federal

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Continuing its six year reign as the most popular and award-winning supper club of its kind in the greater Los Angeles area, dedicated to presenting the best of Broadway performers and nightclub artists dedicated to the Great American Songbook, Sterling's Upstairs had its Grand Opening Sunday, April 1st at The Federal Bar and Restaurant in North Hollywood's trendy NoHo Arts District. Sterling's presented Bruce Kimmel's Kritzerland production of Take Me Along: The Songs of Bob Merrill as its premiere offering. The six member cast starred musical theatre stars Julie Garnyé and Juliana Hansen, Broadway's Melody Hollis and Kristofer McNeely, and musical theatre star Jeffrey Christopher Todd, with Special Guest... Broadway, film, TV, concert and recording star Lainie Kazan. Christy Crowel served as the evening's Musical Director, with Shelly Markham serving as Musical Director for Lainie Kazan. Bruce Kimmel conceived, produced and directed Take Me Along, with Adryan Russ on board as Associate Producer.

As invited guests arrived on the red carpet "upstairs," they were greeted by club host Nick Sartoris and Tony Monsour, Associate Producer for Sterling's. Club Executive Producer and BWW TV Los Angeles producers Michael Sterling and Jerry Evans (JLE Media Group) conducted interviews with such Southern California Musical Theatre stars as Kristin Towers Rowles (granddaughter of MGM film legend Kathryn Grayson), Stephanie Wall, and James Mulligan; Broadway's John Arthur Greene (West Side Story), television's JEN RAY (The Middle), State of the Arts Radio Show Co-Host Paul Stroili, singer Kat Kramer (daughter of film director Stanley Kramer and Goddaughter of Katherine Hepburn), animation, film, TV and musical theatre composer Michele Brourman and cabaret sensation Pat Whiteman, notable philanthropist and patron-of-the-arts Barbara Van Orden, and LA jazz aficionado and jazz talent booker April Williams.

Laurance Juber (former guitarist for Paul McCartney's Wings) and wife/musical composer Hope Juber, Olympic Ice choreographer Sarah Kawahara with husband/ comedian Jamie Alcroft, TV's "Glee" piano man Brad Ellis, choreographer Joe Giamalva, former member of Dean Martin's Golddiggers Susie Ewing with husband Bill Ewing, philanthropist Elton Bailiss, Broadway's Alvin Ing (Flower Drum Song, Pacific Overtures) and Yuka Takara (A Chorus Line, Pacific Overtures), and Tony Award winner Daisy Eagan (The Secret Garden) with Cable Radio Network Host Brett Chapin were among the over 100 guests who dined on The Federal's critically acclaimed California gourmet cuisine while enjoying the club's cool sense of 1930's meets 2012 chic enhanced by state-of-the-art lighting and sound, a thrust proscenium stage, and an outdoor patio overlooking the NoHo surroundings.

Sterling's Upstairs at The Federal is located at 5303 Lankershim Blvd. (at Weddington Street), North Hollywood, CA 91601. Attendance is by reservation only: (818) 754-8700. Visit www.msapr.net for pricing and further information.

Musical Theatre Star Stephanie Wall (Gypsy/West Coast Ensemble Theatre Co.) headlines Beyond the Blonde on Sunday, April 15th; followed by celebrated film, TV, and musical theater composer Michele Brourman (Dangerous Beauty/Pasadena Playhouse) with special guest and cabaret sensation Pat Whiteman on Sunday, April 22nd in an evening to benefit Hope Net, an interfaith and community effort to eliminate hunger and homelessness in metro Los Angeles. Young Broadway star Melody Hollis (White Christmas) takes center stage in Melodyland on Sunday, April 29th.

Valet parking is offered in The Federal's own lot directly behind the venue (off Weddington Street); as is ample street parking in the immediate area. Additional parking can be found in an enclosed parking structure a half block east of The Federal adjacent to the Art Institute of California. The NoHo Arts District's is also home the historic El Portal Theatre, the NoHo Arts Center, the nationally acclaimed Deaf West Theatre, numerous Equity waiver theatres, the world renowned Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, newly constructed high rise condo living; and Metro Rail, a rapid transit rail system serving 70 stations in Los Angeles County.

Sterling's Upstairs at The Federal is produced by Michael Sterling and Tony Monsour of Michael Sterling & Associates, the Studio City-based entertainment public relations and Production Company. Since 1980, Sterling has represented such clients as Elizabeth Taylor, Lance Armstrong, Scott Hamilton, David Copperfield, Joan Collins, Alan Thicke, Carol Lawrence, David Brenner, Andy Gibb, and Robert Goulet, Burt Bacharach, Carole Bayer Sager to name but a few. Aside from his celebrity clientele, Sterling has represented Broadway musical theatre, various National Theatre and arena tours, Los Angeles theatre productions, Emmy Award-winning television specials, celebrity books, albums and CD's. Mr. Sterling is also a critically-acclaimed director of musical theatre in Los Angeles, and has produced various theatrical events and productions throughout southern California. 

Since 2009, Sterling has served as the Los Angeles co-producer and correspondent for Broadway World TV by providing video coverage of select theatre and theatrical events. Currently partnered with Producer Jerry Evans of the JLE Media Group, Sterling's and Evans have produced packages for the Center Theatre Group's Ahmanson Theatre and Mark Taper Forum, Broadway LA at Hollywood's Pantages Theatre, Cabrillo Music Theatre at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, Musical Theatre West at the Richard and Karen Carpenter Performing Arts Center in Long Beach, CA, and the Pasadena Playhouse, among others.

On May 31, 2010, Mr. Sterling, along with LA Stage Ovation-nominated actor/writer Paul Stroili, joined forces as co-producers and co-hosts of the now immensely popular radio series State of the Arts presented by Breakdown Services and Performing Arts Live.com. The 50 minute global series is broadcast live each Monday at 4:00 pm PST by the LATalkRadio.com Network (LATR); and (with the proper "app") can be heard on all iPhones, Android Phones, and any other technical devices that can access the worldwide web. Following its live broadcast, each episode moves into Network's public- accessible archives and is also uploaded to iTunes. To date, State of the Arts has hosted such stars as Carol Lawrence, Carol Channing, Florence Henderson, Richard Chamberlain, Lainie Kazan, Lorenzo Lamas, Mike Farrell, Jim Parrack, Tab Hunter, Donna McKechnie, Craig Bierko, Scott Hamilton, Andrea McArdle, Skylar Astin, Sally Struthers, George Chakiris, Russ Tamblyn, Marcia Wallace, John Tartaglia, Rex Smith, Anne Archer, Roslyn Kind, Gillian Zinser, Michael Rupert, Megan McGinnis, David Burnham, cast members from the U.S. National Tours In the Heights, West Side Story, and many more. For more information visit www.stateoftheartsla.com.

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