The next. edition of Jamie deRoy & friends is “The More The Merrier (Duets and More),” on Sunday, October 25, at 7:30 PM ET on Spectrum Channel 56, RCN Channel 83, and Verizon FIOS Channel 34, as well as on East Hampton LTV Channel 20 on multiple dates.
The performances on this edition were filmed over many years at Metropolitan Room, Steve McGraw’s, Caroline’s, Don’t Tell Mama, West Bank/Laurie Beechman Theatre, Encore! and Birdland. The show starts with archival footage of the award-winning team of Bill Weeden, David Finkle and Sally Fay singing a favorite of theirs: “Reunion Prayer.” Then Chip Zien and Kerry O’Malley sing “It Takes Two” from Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods. (Chip starred in the original Broadway production and Kerry in the revival).
The show also features JQ and The Bandits, an award-winning Doo Wop group from the 1980s and 90s, played all the cabarets and even did Levis commercials. We miss them on the cabaret scene, so it’s a great chance to see them again. The Accidentals, an award-winning z cappella group comprised of Emily Bindger, Dennis Deal, Margaret Dorn, Bill Mitchell, Marcia Pelletiere, Rosie Vallese and Jim Vincent sing “Never Never Land,” recorded for deRoy’s first album on Harbinger Records (it won the 2000 MAC Award for Recording of the Year).
Uptown Express from The Gay Men’s Chorus (Jim Fontaine, Christopher May, David Montgomery and Steven Katz) sings “Remember” under the musical direction of James Followell, while deRoy and Euan Morton sing a duet of Barry Manilow’s, “All The Time.” Morton is best known for his performance as Boy George in Taboo in both London and on Broadway productions. He has won a Theater World Award and was nominated for the Olivier, the Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Drama League Awards.
Well-Strung, a sexy string quartet of string players, derive their unique blend of vocals and strings by fusing classical music with pop. They have recorded three albums and have toured extensively across America, internationally and have also appeared on national TV. The group consists of Edmund Bagnell, Christopher Marchant, Trevor Wadleigh and Daniel Shevlin.
Additionally, the show features the 25th Anniversary cast of Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris—Karen Saunders, Gabriel Barre, Andrea Barre and Joseph Neal— who tribute New York Post and Back Stage columnist Bob Harrington, shortly after his untimely death from AIDS at 42 years old in 1992. Their rendition of “If We Only Have Love” is a real tear jerker!
The musicians on this episode include: Ian Herman, Bill Weeden, James Followell, Lanny Meyers, Edmund Bagnell, Christopher Marchant, Daniel Shevlin, Trevor Wadleigh and Annie LeBeaux.
Jamie deRoy & friends is directed by Barry Kleinbort and videotaped by Russell Bouthiller.
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