Photos: Broadway's Julie Benko & Company Take the Stage At Birdland

Birdland recently welcomed Broadway's Julie Benko who marched her band out onto the historic stage on Monday, August 12.

Following her recent tour of sold-out shows at San Francisco’s Venetian Room at the Fairmont Hotel, Los Angeles’ Catalina club, and NYC’s Café Carlyle, Julie returned to her musical home witxh a set of new arrangements by her longtime musical director (and husband), pianist Jason Yeager.

The evening included material like “The Story Goes On” and “What Could Be Better?” from the Broadway musical Baby.

The band featured Michael O’Brien, Paul Francis, Justin Poindexter and Gabe Terracciano. Julie’s special guest was Jeremiah James, who was standby for the role of Nick Arnstein in Funny Girl.

About Julie Benko

Julie Benko joined the annals of theatrical lore for her sensational understudy-to-star trajectory as Fanny Brice in the recent Broadway revival of Funny Girl. Between her tenure as the standby, alternate, and full-time Fanny, she played the role over 180 times and received numerous accolades for her interpretation, including Theatre World’s Dorothy Loudon Award for Excellence in the Theatre. She was also called the 2022 “Breakout Star for Theater” in The New York Times, named among “10 Broadway Stars to Watch for 2023” by Variety, honored as one of “40 Under 40” for Crain’s New York Business, hailed by CBS Mornings as “Broadway’s breakout star,” and profiled in numerous national media outlets such as The New York Times and Time. Most recently, she was back on Broadway originating the role of Ruth in the Barry Manilow/Bruce Sussman musical Harmony. Her recent album Hand in Hand (Club44 Records), a duo effort with her pianist-composer spouse Jason Yeager, won the BroadwayWorld Cabaret Award for “Best Commercial Album” and received a MAC Award nomination for “Best Major Album.” Other recordings include Christmas With You (Club44 Records) and Introducing Julie Benko. She has played leading roles in many Off-Broadway and regional productions and enjoys a vibrant concert career, having headlined sold-out solo shows at venues around the country. 

Photo Credit: Kevin Alvey

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