James Barbour to Return to Birdland With Annual Holiday Concert in December

BIRDLAND JAZZ CLUB will present the return of Broadway leading man James Barbour in his annual Holiday Concert on Monday, December 18 at 7:00 PM. The audience will be entertained with holiday classics, incredible music, and the warmth of the season. With Rachel A. Kaufman at the piano, James and his surprise guests from the Broadway stage will help you ring in the holiday season. There is a $35-45 music charge. A livestream option is available for $20. Birdland is located at 315 West 44th Street in New York.

 

James Barbour was nominated for the Drama Desk, Drama League and Outer Critics Awards for “Best Actor in a Musical” for his portrayal of Sydney Carton in the Broadway musical version of A Tale of Two Cities, and won the Sarasota Magazine “Best Actor” award for the Asolo Rep pre-Broadway production. He has starred on Broadway in such Tony Award-winning shows as Stephen Sondheim's Assassins, Disney's Beauty and the Beast as The Beast, Carousel as Billy Bigelow, Urinetown as Officer Lockstock, and Jane Eyre as Edward Rochester (Drama League Award nomination). He also appeared in the Broadway production of Cyrano and the national tour of The Secret Garden.

His television credits range from the pilots of “The District,” “Just Shoot Me” and “Flashpoint” to appearances on “Sex and the City,” “Ed,” “That's Life,” “Some Enchanted Evening: Celebrating Oscar Hammerstein” (PBS),” “Beauty and the Beast: A Concert on Ice” (CBS), the PBS mini-series “American Experience: John & Abigail Adams” (playing Thomas Jefferson) and the film version of A Tale of Two Cities in concert for Public Television.

 

BIRDLAND JAZZ CLUB will present James Barbour on Monday, December 18 at 7:00 PM. There is a $35-45 music charge and a $20 food and beverage minimum. . A livestream option is available for $20. 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 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 2003. Called “show-business heaven” by The New York Times and “the gold-standard of open mic nights” by The Wall Street Journal, “Cast Party” presents 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). Eric Adams, the Mayor of the City of New York, recently proclaimed, “Whereas, I am enormously proud to lead a city renowned as a global capital of the arts, ‘Jim Caruso's Cast Party' has enriched our dynamic cultural landscape since 2003, and on the occasion of its 20th anniversary, I am pleased to recognize the weekly show's tremendous contributions to our performing arts and nightlife sectors.”

$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

December 4 (Monday) 7:00 PM – Birdland Jazz Club

Ben Jones – “Let Me Be Frank”

The show, featuring music director Rob Abel, includes swinging Sinatra standards and lush blue-eyed ballads from the songbooks of Cy Coleman, Duke Ellington, Harold Arlen, Cole Porter, and Sammy Cahn. In this follow-up to Ben's two “jaw-dropping”(BroadwayWorld) 2022 solo shows – “I Think I'm in Love” and “I Think We Should See Other People” – Ben confronts Frank truths about marriage, family and a life in the entertainment industry. Jones and Abel have brought their magic to stages around the world and together bring an incredible depth and originality to Sinatra's hits and deep cuts alike. Ben Jones is a singer, comedian, storyteller, and actor who has appeared in front of audiences worldwide, from the Edinburgh International Festival to the Shanghai Concert Hall. He's shared the spotlight with the likes of Rita Moreno, Michael Tilson Thomas, Frederica von Stade, Nathan Gunn, Isabel Leonard, and the Bang on a Can All-Stars. Ron Abel's film and television credits include composing, arranging and/or orchestrating for Michelle Pfeiffer, Kim Basinger, Lily Tomlin, Bea Arthur, and Carol Burnett. As an arranger and conductor, Ron has appeared on-stage with Bette Midler, Johnny Mathis, Liza Minnelli, Shirley Jones, Lucie Arnaz, Sam Harris, Mandy Patinkin, Patti LuPone, David Hyde Pierce, and opera diva Julia Migenes.

$40 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

December 7 (Thursday) 8:30 PM - Birdland Theater

Edmund Bagnell – “Home for the Holidays”

Singer and violinist Edmund Bagnell will return with “Home for the Holidays.” The countdown to the holidays is on, and through music and humor Bagnell shares his heartfelt and humorous recipe for a perfectly imperfect holiday season. This new show will feature selections from his 2020 USA Today top-ranked holiday album, Christmas at Home, along with Edmund's original tunes. He will be joined on stage with actress and singer Kate Simone, and music director Mark Hartman on piano. Edmund Bagnell is a diverse artist, having performed as an actor, violinist, singer, and 1st violinist and singer in the internationally touring string quartet Well Strung, which released three chart-topping albums in the classical crossover genre and performed live three times on the NBC's “Today” show. In 2020, he released his first solo album, Christmas at Home, which was included on several “Best Of” lists including USA Today. This past summer, Edmund debuted his second solo show, Happy Days Are Here Again, and in the fall released a new EP The Road, which includes the original songs “The Water” and “The Road.”

$30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

December 11 (Monday) 7:00 PM – Birdland Jazz Club

Karen Mason – “Christmas! Christmas! Christmas!”

With Karen's unique interpretations of holiday classics, old and new, the holidays will never be the same.  Sassy, brassy, and tinged with confessional monologues, this show includes a slinky arrangement of “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town,” a heartfelt “I'll Be Home for Christmas,” and more.  The show will be directed by Barry Kleinbort, and features music direction by Christopher Denny on piano, with Tom Hubbard on bass. 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

 

December 21-25 (Thursday-Monday) 5:30 PM - Birdland Jazz Club

14th Annual “A Swinging Birdland Christmas” – with Klea Blackhurst, Jim Caruso, and Billy Stritch

This wildly successful extravaganza has been celebrating the holidays at this historic music room since 2010. In the tradition of beloved seasonal specials, the trio of singers will perform swinging arrangements of “The Christmas Waltz,” Kay Thompson's “Holiday Season,” “Sleigh Ride,” “I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm,” “Snow,” and “It Happened in Sun Valley,” among other favorites. The show will also include a musical tribute to Birdland regular Freddy Cole, who was also a holiday tradition. The vocalists will be joined by Steve Doyle on bass and Daniel Glass on drums. Klea Blackhurst is an actress, singer, and comedienne known for her award-winning tribute to Ethel Merman, Everything the Traffic Will Allow. She's performed with symphony orchestras and in theatrical productions across the country and abroad including the London Palladium presentation of Jerry Herman's Broadway, with Angela Lansbury, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra tribute to Marvin Hamlisch, 15 Mabel Mercer Cabaret Conventions, New York's Town Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and The Chicago Humanities Festival. Jim Caruso is the host of “Jim Caruso's Cast Party,” the wildly popular weekly open mic night that has brought a sprinkling of Broadway glitz and urbane wit to Birdland in New York City every Monday night since 2003. “Cast Party” has been seen at Jazz at Lincoln Center, across the country, and, most recently, on YouTube as “Pajama Cast Party.” Jim made his Broadway debut alongside Liza Minnelli in the Tony Award-winning Liza's at the Palace!, singing, dancing and celebrating the music and arrangements of Kay Thompson and the Williams Brothers. He has won six MAC Awards and eight BroadwayWorld Awards for his work in nightclubs. Billy Stritch is a pianist-singer who has been a presence on the New York and national nightclub scene for nearly four decades. A solo entertainer, he has performed his own shows (including tributes to Mel Tormé and Cy Coleman) in concert halls and nightclubs across the country and his 2022 solo run at Birdland was named Best Jazz Vocal Engagement by BroadwayWorld. Billy is a highly sought after accompanist, currently working with such leading vocalists as Linda Eder, Marilyn Maye, Linda Lavin, Christine Ebersole, and Ann Hampton Callaway.

$40 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum

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