This past Monday, August 21st,
Michael Cerveris, the demon barber of Broadway, traded his razor for an axe (guitar) and ventured downtown to the lower east side to headline Fleet Street on the Bowery, a one-night-only bill of alternative music.
Joining Cerveris onstage was
Nellie McKay from Roundabout's
Threepenny Opera at Studio 54 and singer songwriter Duncan Sheik (whose musical
Spring Awakening will take up residency at the Eugene O'Neill Theater after Sweeney Todd closes early next month.) Rounding out the bill were fellow
Sweeney Todd cast members
Manoel Felciano,
Lauren Molina, Ben Magnuson,
Donna Lynne Champlin,
Mark Jacoby, Diana DeMarzio and
Alexander Gemignani – who performed a mix of original songs and covers. The evening ended with a set by Cerveris' namesake band CERVERIS performing songs from their upcoming cd - "The Hinterlands EPs."
The event, produced by Meghan Ritchie, raised $6,500 for Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS.
Of the $6,500 raised by the event, $1,500 came from sales of posters, CERVERIS cd's and TShirts designed by actress, singer, cellist –
Lauren Molina. Molina had designed the T-Shirts as opening night gifts for the company of
Sweeney– a gift that quickly gained the attention of
Sweeney Todd's loyal fans. The hot-selling item is available online at
www.laurenmolina.com with partial proceeds benefiting BC/EFA.