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Anita Gillette and Penny Fuller to Present SIN TWISTERS: THE NEXT FRONTIER at Birdland in April

The evening is a joyful testament to the glories of the American musical theater as well as to the enduring bonds of friendship.

By: Mar. 07, 2023
Anita Gillette and Penny Fuller to Present SIN TWISTERS: THE NEXT FRONTIER at Birdland in April  Image
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BIRDLAND JAZZ CLUB will present Anita Gillette and Penny Fuller - two of Broadway's most beloved Tony Award-nominated performers - in their latest show "Sin Twisters: The Next Frontier" on Monday, April 17 at 7:00 PM. These two glorious veterans of stage and screen share stories about shows they've done (or perhaps might have done) as well as give voice to many of the Broadway songwriters they have been fortunate to work with over their fifty years in the business, including Irving Berlin, Charles Strouse & Lee Adams, John Kander & Fred Ebb, Arthur Schwartz, Jule Styne, and William Finn. Once again, musical director Paul Greenwood is at the keyboard and veteran director Barry Kleinbort is at the helm. The evening is a joyful testament to the glories of the American musical theater as well as to the enduring bonds of friendship. There is a $40 music charge. Birdland is located at 315 West 44th Street in New York.

Anita Gillette

debuted her one woman show After All at Birdland and won the MAC and Bistro Awards. She has also played 54 Below, Cape May Stage, and London's St. James Studio. Probably best known as Miss Mona in Moonstruck, or Miss Mitzi in Shall We Dance?, her other feature films include: The Fitzgerald Family Christmas, Boys on the Side, She's the One, Bob Roberts, Larger Than Life, The Guru, and The Great New Wonderful. She starred in fourteen Broadway shows including: Chapter Two (Tony nomination, LA Drama Critics Award), Cabaret (Sally Bowles), Carnival, Gypsy, Guys & Dolls, Don't Drink the Water, All American, Jimmy, They're Playing Our Song, Brighton Beach Memoirs, and Mr. President. She was Tina Fey's mother on "30 Rock," a series regular on "Quincy," "Almost Grown," and more. Episodic work includes "Modern Family," "Chicago Med," "Elementary," "Sex and the City," "Cold Case," "Frasier," "Law & Order," and "Mad About You." She has appeared on every major game show including "Pyramid, "Password," "Match Game," "To Tell the Truth," "What's My Line" and more, in addition to being a foil for Johnny Carson on at least 50 episodes of "The Tonight Show."

Penny Fuller

was recently seen on Broadway in the acclaimed revival of Sunday in the Park with George. She began her Broadway career starring in Barefoot in the Park, three Shakespeare-in-the-Park productions, and the musicals Cabaret, Rex, and Applause (Tony nomination for "Eve Harrington"). Her television work garnered her six Emmy nominations and the Emmy Award for ABC's "The Elephant Man." Recent Broadway productions include Horton Foote's Dividing the Estate and Neil Simon's The Dinner Party (Tony nomination). She was seen at Lincoln Center Theater in William Finn's A New Brain and Off-Broadway in Love, Loss and What I Wore; Beautiful Child; Southern Comfort; and Three Viewings. With the encouragement of director Barry Kleinbort, she has embarked on a new career as cabaret artist in New York clubs and theaters. Their latest collaboration is a solo musical play: Thirteen Things About Ed Carpolotti, seen at 59E59 Theaters in New York, and Merrimack Repertory in Lowell, Massachusetts, for which she won the 2015 IRNE Award for Best Solo Performance. She and Anita Gillette began their collaboration several years ago, and they have performed together in New York and London.

BIRDLAND JAZZ CLUB will present Anita Gillette and Penny Fuller in "Sin Twisters: The Next Frontier" on Monday, April 17 at 7:00 PM. There is a $40 music charge and a $20 food and beverage minimum. Birdland is located at 315 West 44th Street (between 8th and 9th Avenues) in Manhattan. For reservations, please call (212) 581-3080 or visit www.BirdlandJazz.com.

UPCOMING HIGHLIGHTS AT

BIRDLAND THEATER AND BIRDLAND JAZZ CLUB


Every Monday at 9:30 PM - Birdland Jazz Club

Jim Caruso's Cast Party

"Jim Caruso's Cast Party," a New York institution for almost two decades, is a wildly popular weekly open mic night/variety show that has brought a sprinkling of Broadway glitz and urbane wit to Birdland since 2004. Called "show-business heaven" by The New York Times and "the gold-standard of open mic nights" by The Wall Street Journal, "Cast Party" will take advantage of the city's post-pandemic nightlife renaissance to keep presenting a potent mix of Broadway stars, jazz swingers and cabaret legends, in addition to new faces and rising talent from every genre. The buoyant, sharp and charming Caruso guides the entire affair, while musical genius Billy Stritch (Liza Minnelli, Tony Bennett) holds court at the ivories and leads the Cast Party Symphony Orchestra (Steve Doyle on bass and Daniel Glass on drums).

$30 + $20 food/drink minimum

Every Tuesday at 8:30 PM - Birdland Theater

The Lineup with Susie Mosher

"The Lineup with Susie Mosher" is a wild, anything-goes variety show featuring entertainers from the Broadway, cabaret and comedy scenes, ranging from today's hottest headliners to the best up-and-coming stars of tomorrow. Mosher - the noted actress and singer from Broadway and beyond, called "one of those talents you need to see to believe" by Time Out New York - hosts the spontaneous extravaganza every Tuesday, and each Lineup is unique and promises to deliver an unforgettable night of quintessential New York City entertainment.

$20 + $20 food/drink minimum

Every Saturday at 5:30 PM - Birdland Jazz Club

Eric Comstock & Barbara Fasano

Hailed as "the truest heir to Bobby Short" in The New York Times, pianist/singer Eric Comstock returns to Birdland with star bassist/composer Sean Smith with songs by everyone from George Gershwin to George Harrison. These two masters met on the Off-Broadway hit Our Sinatra (which Eric co-wrote) and have since worked separately and together around the world. Vocalist Barbara Fasano joins them at Birdland for a swinging Saturday supper where the music and stories are equally great. Sean Smith has been an integral part of the international jazz scene for over 25 years, and has performed with Gerry Mulligan, Phil Woods, Benny Carter, Art Farmer, Flip Phillips, Clark Terry and many others. Barbara Fasano has been praised as "a gorgeous, soulful singer who has an actor's intensity in whatever she sings" by The New York Post and "a lyrically sensitive interpreter" by The New York Times. Her latest album Busy Being Free is the recipient of the MAC Award for "Major Recording of the Year."

$30 + $20 food/drink minimum

March 13 (Monday) 7:00 PM - Birdland Jazz Club

The Brat Pack featuring Kathryn Allison, Sam Gravitte, Luke Hawkins, and Jelani Remy

Four of Broadway's brightest stars bring the timeless style and energy of the original Rat Pack to this raucous, roaring, ring-a-ding evening of showtunes and standards. Swing along with Broadway's own in the debut of "The Brat Pack," starring Kathryn Allison, Sam Gravitte, Luke Hawkins, and Jelani Remy. Kathryn Allison is a dynamic singer who was the winner of NYMF's Next Broadway Sensation and later made her Broadway debut in Aladdin. Since then, Ms. Allison has been in the Broadway musicals Wicked, and the Tony-winning revival of Company. Sam Gravitte is an actor, writer, and guitarist. He starred as Fiyero in Wicked on Broadway. Other major professional credits include Almost Famous at The Old Globe Theatre, Joseph and Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and his solo show "Songs That Raised Me," which debuted at Birdland. Luke Hawkins is a NYC based tap dancer and choreographer who has choreographed for Harry Connick, Jr. and performed alongside him in concerts including The Hollywood Bowl, Wolftrap, and the Palladium in London. Luke also performed in and choreographed Connick's Broadway show A Tribute to Cole Porter. Luke's theatre credits include Broadway's Xanadu, Cirque duSoleil's Banana Shpeel and New York City Center Encores! productions of No, No, Nanette; Gentlemen Prefer Blondes; and On Your Toes. Jelani Remy, a New Jersey native, was last seen on Broadway as Eddie Kendricks in Ain't Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations. He made his Broadway debut playing Simba in Disney's The Lion King.

$40 tables / $40 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

March 20 (Monday) 7:00 PM - Birdland Jazz Club

Karen Mason - "Kander & Ebb... All That Jazz!"

Mason returns to Birdland with an encore performance of her show "Kander & Ebb...And All That Jazz," which shares her love of songwriters John Kander and Fred Ebb. As one of the original stars of the off-Broadway production of And the World Goes 'Round, Mason has a personal connection to these legends and their music. A night of unforgettable stories, laughter, and music, including "Ring Them Bells," "My Coloring Book," and "Go Back Home," this show highlights Mason's vocal prowess, charisma, and overall versatility. Mason is the star of Broadway's Mamma Mia!, Wonderland, Hairspray, and Sunset Boulevard, as well as the first US tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's Love Never Dies. She is the also the recipient of the 2019 MAC Lifetime Achievement Award. She has graced the stages of Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, and The Drury Lane Oakbrook, as well as Royal Albert Hall in London. She has eight albums, including her latest release Let the Music Play, featuring the title song from Paul Rolnick and David Friedman.

$40 tables / $40 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

March 27 (Monday) 7:00 PM - Birdland Jazz Club

The Jason Yeager Septet - "Unstuck in Time: the Kurt Vonnegut Suite"

with guests Miguel Zenón and Julie Benko

Following his Birdland bandleader debut with Broadway singer-actress Julie Benko, Jason Yeager returns to the storied club fronting his own seven-piece

ensemble. This time, Yeager & Co. celebrate the release of his seventh recording, "Unstuck in Time: The Kurt Vonnegut Suite" (SunnysideRecords). Launched on the occasion of Kurt Vonnegut's centennial, Yeager's colorful and exuberant suite employs novel approaches to integrate literature with instrumental music, dialoguing with the late master of American Letters through musical onomatopoeia, text painting, and imagined scene scoring. Featuring Yeager's adventurous and lyrical writing, ranging from straight-ahead to Latin and modern jazz, the album features some of today's most dynamic improviser-performers, including Miguel Zenón, Lucas Pino, Yuhan Su, Jay Sawyer, and Alphonso Horne, among others. In his fall preview for WRTI, noted jazz writer and former New York Times critic Nate Chinen calls Jason's new album "a spirited tribute that engages in sneaky ways with the form of Vonnegut's texts."

$35 tables / $35 bar seating + $20 food/drink minimum

March 27 (Monday) 8:30 PM - Birdland Theater

Jason Kravits - "Off the Top!"

Kravits returns to Birdland with "Off the Top!" after several sold-out shows over the last few years. Whether you recognize him from Broadway (The Drowsy Chaperone, Relatively Speaking) or TV ("Halston," "The Undoing," "Dr. Death," "B Positive," "Search Party"), you've never seen Jason Kravits quite like this. In a performance London's Reviewsgate calls "a five-star masterclass in the art of improv," Jason invents an entire cabaret, from scratch, right before your eyes. Every song, every lyric, every show-biz anecdote, humblebrag and overshare... made up, on the spot, based on your suggestions. Backed by the most daring band in the business, and featuring very special guests, Jason creates a solo, improvised musical-comedy high wire act you must see to believe.

$30 tables / $30 bar seating + $10 food/drink minimum

April 6-7 (Thursday-Saturday) 7:00 PM & 9:30 PM - Birdland Jazz Club

Rickie Lee Jones - "Pieces of Treasure"

An exclusive six-show engagement from Rickie Lee Jones will preview her upcoming album Pieces of Treasure. Rickie Lee will be backed by Rob Mounsey on piano, guitarist Russell Malone, bassist Paul Nowinski and drummer Mark McLean. A livestream option is for Friday, April 7 at 7:00 PM. Pieces of Treasure is a reunion with her lifelong friend, legendary producer Russ Titelman, co-producer of Jones' star-making debut and Pirates. Throughout her career, the Grammy-winning singer songwriter has interpreted an extraordinarily wide range of songs and has recorded celebrated jazz-leaning albums including Girl at Her Volcano and Pop Pop, but until now, she had never devoted an entire album to the American Songbook. "This album is as much about being human, the view of surviving - which means aging, and loving relentlessly - as it is about anything," says Jones. Pieces of Treasure will be out April 28 on BMG Modern Recordings. The first single "Just in Time" features Mike Mainieri on vibraphone. Her acclaimed memoir Last Chance Texaco is out now.

$80-100 tables / $50 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

April 10 (Monday) 8:30 PM - Birdland Theater

The Kinsey Sicks

For over 25 years, America's Favorite Dragapella Beautyshop Quartet has served up a feast of music and comedy to audiences at performing arts centers, music venues, and comedy festivals in every kind of town you can imagine! Their award-winning a cappella singing, sharp satire, and over-the-top drag have earned The Kinsey Sicks a diverse and devoted following. They have been called "inventive, riotously and sublime" by Variety.

$40 tables + $20 food/drink minimum




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