Cates, Kennedy, And Wheatley Join THE AFTER PARTY 12/19

The Laurie Beechman Theatre, located within The West Bank Café (407 West 42nd St.), is pleased to continue our Friday night soiree, THE AFTER PARTY. Now going strong it's third, THE AFTER PARTY is billed as "a weekly schmoozefest for the theatrically inclined." Every Friday from 10:30 pm until the wee hours, pros from Broadway and aspiring stars alike belt it out on the stage of The Laurie Beechman Theatre. Join hosts Brandon Cutrell (MAC & Bistro Award winner) and Alysha Umphress (XL Star) with Ray Fellman (Captain Louie) at the piano for this weekly party in the theatre district. There is no cover charge for this event. Come and sing yourself as the mic is always open, or sit back and enjoy a cocktail with friends. Located just blocks from the Great White Way, you never know who might drop in.

Friday, December 19th, we're pleased to to welcome Wicked's Kristy Cates, KITTY HICCUPS, Vanities' Lauren Kennedy, The Apple Tree's Cindy Marchionda, Hairspray's Marissa Perry, Ace's Gabrielle Stravelli, and Avenue Q's Sharon Wheatley. All will be on hand to greet fans and perform a few numbers as only they can. Professor Terry LaBolt, who taught Cates, Cutrell, Hiccups, Kennedy, Marchionda, Stravelli and Wheatley at CCM, will also perform.

The Laurie Beechman Theatre is located downstairs, within The West Bank Café, 407 West 42nd St. at 9th Avenue . There is a full bar and bar menu available, and reservations are not necessary for this event. THE AFTER PARTY highly recommends audience members arrive early. Seating is first come, first serve. Priority seating may be given to those who wish to order from the menu and/or the bar.

Kristy Cates recently originated the role of Tracy Boyd in the Off-Broadway bound musical Unbeatable. The actress is best known for playing the role of Elphaba in the smash hit musical, Wicked. She made her Broadway debut as a member of the original Broadway cast (as, among other things, "the woman with the parasol" in the Emerald City). Kristy was the original understudy to Idina Menzel, and filled in for an injured Stephanie Block for several weeks in Toronto. Kristy went on to complete a twelve month runas Elphaba in the Chicago production of the mega-hit. Other New York credits include Jerry Springer: The Opera at Carnegie Hall, Princess Ida and her acclaimed portrayal of Ruth Wallis in the off-Broadway production of Boobs! The Musical. Kristy has also appeared at the St. Louis MUNY, The Lucille Lortel White Barn Theatre, North Bay Opera, The Playhouse on the Green and The Eugene O'Neill Theatre Conference. As a singer, she's appeared at a number of nightlife hotspots, including Don't Tell Mama, The Duplex Cabaret Theatre, The Producer's Club, Joe's Pub, XL, The Triad, Vlada and Therapy. She was also honored to sing the National Anthem for the Chicago Bears, Bulls and White Sox. Kristy is a graduate of the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music where she was the first recipient of the Laurie Beechman Scholarship Award. Please visit www.KristyCates.com.

KITTY HICCUPS performs regularly at some of New York's most popular nightclubs, including The Ritz, Splash, and Therapy. He is often featured at The After Party and Brandon and Ray's Broadway at the Beach.

Lauren Kennedy will return to Broadway in early 2009 in Vanities. She was most recently seen on the New York stage as the Lady of the Lake in the Tony-winning musical Spamalot. She covered the role of Daisy Hilton in the Broadway production of

Side Show and also appeared in the New York companies of Sunset Boulevard and Les Misérables. Kennedy starred in The Rhythm Club and was also a part of the early incarnations of Jason Robert Brown's The Last Five Years. Kennedy previously crossed the Atlantic to star in The National Theatre's revival of South Pacific. She was also seen in The Ten Commandments: The Spectacle Musical. Her solo albums are titled "The Songs of Jason Robert Brown" and "Here and Now." Please visit www.LaurenKennedy.com.

Terry LaBolt served as a conductor and music director on Broadway for ten years, during which time his credits included Sugar Babies, 42nd Street and Hello, Dolly with Carol Channing). After teaching for ten years at Cincinnati's College-Conservatory of Music, he is now a professor at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana.

Cindy Marchionda's Broadway/New York Theatre credits include: The Apple Tree at City Center Encores!; The Wizard of Oz, Madison Square Garden (Dorothy u/s); The West Side Story Suite with NYC Ballet, Lincoln Center (Rosalia). Off-Broadway: Our Sinatra (lead female singer). National Tour: A Chorus Line (Morales). Regional: Damn Yankees (Gloria Thorpe), Arena Stage Washington, DC; Nine (Lina Darling), North Shore Music Theatre, On the Town (Hildy), Gateway Playhouse; Man of La Mancha (Fermina), Pittsburgh Public Theatre; Early One Morning (Mary Magdalene), Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park and Kiss of the Spider Woman (Spider Woman), Apple Tree Theatre, Chicago--Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Actress in a Musical. Cindy is a proud graduate of the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music (CCM).

Marissa Perry made her Broadway debut as Tracy Turnblad in Hairspray. Prior to that, Marissa was seen playing Tracy Turnblad in one of the first regional theatre productions of Hairspray at the Weston Playhouse in Vermont. Other regional credits include Wild Mushrooms (Seven Angels Theatre), Princesses (world premiere, Goodspeed Musicals). Pre-Broadway/original cast: Princesses (5th Avenue Theatre, Seattle).

Gabrielle Stravelli is a 2008 Bistro Award Winner. She has performed at the acclaimed Birdland Jazz Club in the show Her Song, as the featured singer at the Iridium Jazz Brunch and at the BB King Blues Club at the 2007 MAC Awards. She has performed her own cabarets at The Laurie Beechman Theatre at the West Bank Café and The Duplex Cabaret Theatre. Under the direction of Craig Carnelia, Gabrielle made her cabaret debut at Don't Tell Mama. She has appeared as a soloist with several orchestras, including the Cincinnati Pops, conducted by Erich Kunzel. Gabrielle originated the role of Anique in the musical Ace in its world premiere at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park and Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, and in its West Coast premiere at The Old Globe in San Diego. Please visit www.myspace.com/GabrielleStravelli.

Sharon Wheatley recently joined the Broadway cast of Avenue Q

after playing Mrs. T/Bear in the Las Vegas company. Sharon's other Broadway shows include Les Misérables, The Phantom of the Opera and Cats. 'Til the Fat Girl Sings, Sharon's memoir, was named a "Best Summer Read" by The Wall Street Journal and consequently featured on "Good Morning America." Sharon is married and has a daughter, Charlotte. Please visit www.SharonWheatley.com.

Brandon Cutrell is a Bistro Award and two-time MAC Award winner. New York credits: Broadway By The Year at Town Hall, The 2nd Annual Broadway Unplugged at Town Hall, Pippin (with Ben Vereen and Rosie O'Donnell), La Gioconda at TheatreSource, David Friedman's King Island Christmas, and Liz Swados' Waiting For Lefty. National: Theatre of the Stars, Goodspeed Musicals, the Human Race Theatre and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. For nearly two years, Brandon was the original host of the MAC Award nominated show, Mostly Sondheim. In December of 2005, Brandon made his debut in the world-famous Oak Room at The Algonquin Hotel. In June of 2006, Brandon made his solo debut at Feinstein's, New York's legendary nightclub on Park Avenue. Currently, Brandon can be seen every Friday night at The Laurie Beechman Theatre on 42nd Street as the host of The After Party, a weekly open-mic, musical theatre soiree. Brandon's self-titled debut cd was released on June 4th, 2007 at Feinstein's and is now available on iTunes and at www.BrandonCutrell.com.

Alysha Umphress, a graduate of The Boston Conservatory, made a splash at the Chelsea bar, XL, winning their American Idol-type competition, XL Star. She recently opened for Diana Krall at the Fujitsu Jazz Festival, soloed along side Carlos Santana at San Francisco's Fillmore Auditorium and performed with the Boston Pops. Regional roles include the Witch in Into the Woods, Trina in Falsettos and Winnifred in Once Upon a Mattress. Alysha is the recipient of two Bay Area Theatre Critics Awards for her work in Rags and FAB! She has belted out the National Anthem for The Oakland A's, San Francisco Giants, Golden State Warriors, Sacramento Kings and San Jose Sharks.

Bistro Award winner Ray Fellman recently made his Off-Broadway debut when he was handpicked by Stephen Schwartz to musical direct his off-Broadway musical, Captain Louie. Other Musical Director credits include The Tutor by Wood/Gerle (59 E. 59th), Reluctant Pilgrim (The Barrow Group), Blood Drive: A Musical Triptych by Sheinkin/Derfner (workshop at the O'Neill Theater Center) and Amahl and the Night Visitors (national tour directed by David Aiken). Ray has been seen behind the piano in The Storefront Theatre's New Mondays (with Bill Russell and Emily Skinner), No Reservations (starring Brandon Cutrell with special guests Karen Mason and Shoshana Bean), Broadway Downtown (with Kristy Cates) and We Miss Nancy: The Storefront Sings Lamott (with Liz McCartney). He has also served as accompanist for Utah Festival Opera Company, The Opera Company of Brooklyn , Mid America Productions at Carnegie Hall (with John Rutter) and A Yuletide Celebration with the Indianapolis Symphony starring Judy Kaye. As a singer, Ray has sung with some of the finest opera companies in the country, including Florida Grand, Glimmerglass and New Orleans operas. Ray holds degrees in piano and voice from the Indiana University School of Music.

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