THE AFTER PARTY Welcomes Nick Spangler, Cast of LIKE YOU LIKE IT and More Tonight,10/24

Now going strong it’s second year, THE AFTER PARTY is billed as “a weekly schmoozefest for the theatrically inclined.” Every Friday from 10:30 pm until the wee hours, pros from Broadway and aspiring stars alike belt it out on the stage of The Laurie Beechman Theatre. Join hosts Brandon Cutrell (MAC & Bistro Award winner) and Alysha Umphress (XL Star) with Ray Fellman (Captain Louie) at the piano for this weekly party in the theatre district. There is no cover charge for this event.

Friday, October 24th, THE AFTER PARTY will welcome CBS’ “The Amazing Race” and The Fantasticks’ Nick Spangler, The Fantasticks’ Lewis Cleale, as well as the cast of LIKE YOU LIKE IT.  The show will also feature special guest pianist Steven Silverstein. 

The Laurie Beechman Theatre is located downstairs, within The West Bank Café, 407 West 42nd St. at 9th Avenue. There is a full bar and bar menu available, and reservations are not necessary for this event.  THE AFTER PARTY highly recommends audience members arrive early.  Seating is first come, first serve.  Priority seating may be given to those who wish to order from the menu and/or the bar.

Nick Spangler can currently be seen on CBS on Sunday nights competing on “The Amazing Race.”  He previously appeared in the Off Broadway company of The Fantasticks as The Mute before taking on the role of Matt.  Regional credits include Jimmy in Thoroughly Modern Millie (Gateway Playhouse), Jean Michel in La Cage aux Folles (Arvada Center), Matt in The Fantasticks (Casa Manana).  Training: CAP 21 at NYU where he played Bat Boy in Bay Boy the Musical and Jaime in The Last Five Years.  Nick's performance in The Fantasticks has been recognized by the Theater Hall of Fame with the Elaine and Jerry Orbach Musical Theater Fellowship.

Lewis Cleale's Broadway credits include Sir Galahad and others in Spamalot, Amour, Sir Harry in Once Upon A Mattress (with Sarah Jessica Parker), Swinging On A Star (Drama Desk nomination).  Off Broadway: Time and Again (MTC), A New Brain (Lincoln Center), Call Me Madam (opposite Tyne Daly at Encores!), Big City Rhythm.  National tours: Joe Gillis in Sunset Boulevard (opposite Petula Clark), Lt. Cable in South Pacific (with Robert Goulet).  Regional: more than 30 leading roles including Georgio in Passion (Helen Hayes Award) and John Adams in 1776 for Ford's Theater (Helen Hayes nomination).  Recordings include William Finn's “Infinite Joy,” “Myths and Hymns,” “Sara Zahn: Witchcraft” and four original cast albums.

All the world’s a mall in this popular musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s As You Like It, Sammy Buck and Daniel S. Acquisto’s 1980s-style Like You Like It is “a totally awesome mix of Shakespeare and John Hughes.” With all the excitement of High School Musical, Like You Like It is filled with memorable tunes, a hip sense of humor, pure joy and a huge heart. The show is directed by Igor Goldin, who directed a recent production of Like You Like It at Theater Under The Stars and last year’s heralded production of Yank! at The Gallery Players. Like You Like It is running through November 9th at The Gallery Players. Please visit www.LikeYouLikeIt.com.

Steven Silverstein’s Broadway credits include Blood Brothers and Swining on A Star.  Off-Broadway:  A Naughty Knight, The Jazz Singer, When Pigs Fly, The Green Heart and Annie Warbucks.  Music director for Neva Small’s one-woman show entitled “Not Just an Ingenue.”  Regional:  Gypsy and Hello, Dolly! (Paper Mill Playhouse) with Tovah Feldshuh.  Steven has had the pleasure of “tickling the ivories” for celebrities like Debra Messing, Sean Hayes, Eric McCormack, Megan Mullally, Harry Connick, Jr., John Raitt, Deborah Gibson and Carole King.  Steven appeared as an onstage piano player in the hit TV show “The Gossip Girls.” He provided background music for the premiere broadcast of “At Martha’s Table,” with Martha Stewart, on Sirius Radio. Steven is the composer of the musical The Human Heart, which received a grant from the Billy Rose Foundation. His song “The Path You Choose” is featured on John Treacy Egan’s CD, “Count the Stars.”  He provided music to The Boss in the Satin Kimono, which is part of the Fringe Festival 2008. Steven will serve as music director for Will & Anthony Nunziata at the Cabaret Convention on November 1st.  He has an MA in Music Education from NYU and a BA in Theatre.  Please visit www.steven-silverstein.com.

Brandon Cutrell is a Bistro Award and two-time MAC Award winner. New York credits: Broadway By The Year at Town Hall, The 2nd Annual Broadway Unplugged at Town Hall, Pippin (with Ben Vereen and Rosie O'Donnell), La Gioconda at TheatreSource, David Friedman's King Island Christmas, and Liz Swados' Waiting For Lefty. National: Theatre of the Stars, Goodspeed Musicals, the Human Race Theatre and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. For nearly two years, Brandon was the original host of the MAC Award nominated show, Mostly Sondheim. In December of 2005, Brandon made his debut in the world-famous Oak Room at The Algonquin Hotel. In June of 2006, Brandon made his solo debut at Feinstein's, New York's legendary nightclub on Park Avenue. Currently, Brandon can be seen every Friday night at The Laurie Beechman Theatre on 42nd Street as the host of The After Party, a weekly open-mic, musical theatre soiree. Brandon's self-titled debut cd was released on June 4th, 2007 at Feinstein’s and is now available on iTunes and at www.BrandonCutrell.com.

Alysha Umphress, a graduate of  The Boston Conservatory, made a splash at the Chelsea bar, XL, winning their American Idol-type competition, XL Star. She recently opened for Diana Krall at the Fujitsu Jazz Festival, soloed along side Carlos Santana at San Francisco’s Fillmore Auditorium and performed with the Boston Pops. Regional roles include the Witch in Into the Woods, Trina in Falsettos and Winnifred in Once Upon a Mattress. Alysha is the recipient of two Bay Area Theatre Critics Awards for her work in Rags and FAB! She has belted out the National Anthem for The Oakland A's, San Francisco Giants, Golden State Warriors, Sacramento Kings and San Jose Sharks.

Bistro Award winner Ray Fellman recently made his Off-Broadway debut when he was handpicked by Stephen Schwartz to musical direct his off-Broadway musical, Captain Louie. Other Musical Director credits include The Tutor by Wood/Gerle (59 E. 59th), Reluctant Pilgrim (The Barrow Group), Blood Drive: A Musical Triptych by Sheinkin/Derfner (workshop at the O’Neill Theater Center) and Amahl and the Night Visitors (national tour directed by David Aiken). Ray has been seen behind the piano in The Storefront Theatre’s New Mondays (with Bill Russell and Emily Skinner), No Reservations (starring Brandon Cutrell with special guests Karen Mason and Shoshana Bean), Broadway Downtown (with Kristy Cates) and We Miss Nancy: The Storefront Sings Lamott (with Liz McCartney). He has also served as accompanist for Utah Festival Opera Company, The Opera Company of Brooklyn , Mid America Productions at Carnegie Hall (with John Rutter) and A Yuletide Celebration with the Indianapolis Symphony starring Judy Kaye. As a singer, Ray has sung with some of the finest opera companies in the country, including Florida Grand, Glimmerglass and New Orleans operas. Ray holds degrees in piano and voice from the Indiana University School of Music.

To post a comment, you must register and login.