Photo Flash: Klea Blackhurst, Elizabeth Teeter and More Celebrate MERMAN'S APPRENTICE Cast Album Release at Birdland

The Broadway at Birdland concert series was delighted to present the a concert celebration for the release of MERMAN'S APPRENTICE, a new musical fable by Stephen Cole & David Evans. Scroll down for photos from the evening!

The evening was a return engagement of June 2015's sold out concert of MERMAN'S APPRENTICE, celebrating the release of the Original Cast Album produced by John Yap for Jay Records. Once again, Birdland favorite Klea Blackhurst starred as Ethel Merman with a star-studded supporting cast lead by Tony Nominee Anita Gillette, Bill Nolte, Adam Grupper, Eddie Korbich, Brian Charles Rooney, F. Michael Haynie, Desi Oakley, Sarah Sessler, a six-piece band with orchestrations by Lynne Shankel, led by Lawrence Yurman, and featuring 13-year-old Elizabeth Teeter as Muriel Plakenstein.

Picture it: 1970. The Golden Age of Musical Theatre is drawing to an end. But twelve-year-old Muriel Plakenstein doesn't know that. So she runs away from home to become a Broadway star, and meets the Queen of Broadway, Ethel Merman, who takes her to a Hello, Dolly! rehearsal where they sing together. When legendary producer David Merrick hears the kid, he decides to star Muriel in the first all-child cast of Dolly! Naturally, Merman takes her under wing to teach her the ropes of being a star...making little Muriel Plakenstein Merman's Apprentice.

Photo Credit: Kevin Alvey