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 second year, 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, August 8th, we're pleased to welcome No, No, Nanette's
Nancy Anderson and The Marvelous Wonderettes'
Farah Alvin. Special guest appearances will also be made by
Ben Rimalower, Diva-Lution's
Molly Pope, VGL Boys'
Cole Escola and JEFFREY SELF, the cast of
Perez Hilton Saves the Universe, and The Dreams. All will be on hand to perform a few numbers as only they can.
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.
Nancy Anderson made her Broadway debut as Mona in A Class Act, and she played the roles of Helen and Eileen in the Broadway revival of Wonderful Town. PBS "Great Performances" audiences know her for her Olivier and
Helen Hayes Nominated performance of Lois/Bianca in the West End premiere of Kiss Me, Kate. Nancy is also featured in the Great Performances Broadcast of
South Pacific starring Reba McIntyre. Off- Broadway, Nancy received a 2000 Drama Desk Award Nomination for her portrayal of all the women in Jolson & Co. at the York Theater, and a 2005 Drama Desk Nomination as the title Role in Fanny Hill. Most recently, Nancy played Winnie from Washington in the Encores! Series season finale, No, No, Nanette starring
Rosie O'Donnell and
Sandy Duncan. Nancy recently finished the off-Broadway run of the premiere of
Sallie Bingham's A Dangerous Personality. This past winter,
Nancy Starred in The Prospect Theater's production of The Blue Flower and appeared with
Michael Feinstein at
Carnegie Hall in "Hooray for Love Songs". In April, Nancy gave a concert with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and she sings regularly at Town Hall in
Scott Siegel's Broadway By Year series. She has appeared as a guest vocalist with
Vince Giordano's Nighthawks, and she has been seen regularly at the legendary jazz club, Birdland with
Ross Patterson and His Little Big Band featuring songs from her debut album, Ten Cents A Dance. Nancy is currently developing new works including
Steve Lutvak's Kind Hearts and Coronets, and Yank! by the Zellnik brothers. Other credits: Sylvia in Sylvia(
Cape Playhouse), Madeline in By Jeeves (Goodspeed, Geffin, Kennedy Center), The Black Monk (Yale Rep), Johanna in Sweeney Todd (Goodspeed), Polly in Crazy For You (Pioneer Playhouse). For a copy of her debut cd, Ten Cents a Dance, please visit www.nancyanderson.name. Coming up: Miriam in The Women at
The Old Globe in San Diego, directed by
Darko Tresnjak.
The Wall Street Journal called
Farah Alvin "the best musical comedy singer to come along in years." This fall, she will be returning to New York to originate the role of Missy in The Marvelous Wonderettes, a new pop musical. Farah has appeared on Broadway in
Grease!, Saturday Night Fever, The Look of Love: The Music of
Burt Bacharach and
Hal David, the Tony Award wining revivial of Nine, and
Madison Square Garden's
A Christmas Carol. Off-Broadway credits include the recent cult hit I Love You Because (and original cast recording), Cam Jansen, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and Other Story Books, and Kuni-Leml (and original cast recording) . Recent regional credits include Mother in Ragtime (White Plains), Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance (Goodspeed, Papermill), and Marge in Breaking Up Is Hard to Do (Ogunquit). Please visit www.farahalvin.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.
