Photos: Jim Caruso's Cast Party Celebrates Talent At Crooners in Minneapolis

Once again, Jim Caruso's Cast Party took the show on the road, celebrating talent at Crooners Supper Club in Minneapolis, rated one of the top clubs in the world by Downbeat Magazine. The one-night-only event took place on Sunday, July 24. Longtime Cast Party pianist/musical director Billy Stritch joined Caruso hosting the open mic/variety show.

Singer/songwriter Ann Hampton Callaway joined the musical fun following her stint headlining at the club in two extraordinary outdoor concerts with Mr. Stritch. Other local celebrities adding razzle-dazzle to the show were Connie Evingson, Danielle Troiano, Johnnie Brown, Maud Hixson, Rick Carlson, Dane Stauffer, Jen Maren, Andrew Walesch, Monique Blakey, Leslie Vincent, Elsa Dungan-Hawks, Maria Jette, Mistress Ginger, James Rocco, Kate Beahan, Arne Fogal, Ginger Commodore, Doug Anderson, and Michael Resnick. Crooners owner Mary T. was on hand for the festivities, along with club promoter Beck Lee. Technical duties were handled by Zach Thar.

Jim Caruso's Cast Party is a wildly popular weekly Open Mic Night/Variety Show that has brought Broadway glitz and urbane wit to the legendary Birdland in New York City every Monday night since 2003. Showbiz superstars hit the stage alongside up-and-comers, serving up jaw-dropping music and general razzle-dazzle. It's the ultimate spot to mix and mingle with show folk and the people who love them! Showman Jim Caruso guides the entire affair with razor-sharp humor and the unbridled enthusiasm of an uber-fan. Musical director Billy Stritch holds court at the ivories. But the real fun starts when the audience participates in the onstage festivities. Broadway legends, jazzers, cabaret divas, starry-eyed tourists, and kids right off the bus storm the stage to entertain each other. If you have a voice, a dream, and some sheet music, your Cast Party moment awaits. Caruso and Stritch regularly take the show on the road, celebrating talent in London, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Chicago, Austin, Dallas, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, the Hamptons, Provincetown, Miami, Orlando and Delray Beach, as well as special all-star events at The Town Hall and Jazz at Lincoln Center in Manhattan.

Cast Party has been honored with four BroadwayWorld Awards, two MAC Awards, a Bistro, and Nightlife Award.

The New York Times called Cast Party "show business heaven," the Wall Street Journal claimed it is "the gold standard of open mic nights," and Time Out New York exclaimed "this Party is a vital pulse point of the musical theater bloodstream."

Visit CastPartyNYC.com and follow on Instagram at @jimcarusoscastparty.

Photo Credit: Andrea Canter

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