Fridays are frequently a Big Night Out wherever you live. In New York, however, when more conventional folk call it a night and head home, there are ample opportunities for night owls to keep the party going.  Among the better choices, those in the mood for more music, entertainment, food and drink, can head over to the Laurie Beechman Theater’s After Party and indulge their appetites for the any and all of that until three or four in the morning.  They shouldn't be surprised, arriving late, to find the room already packed with twenty-somethings – plus a scattering of grey hair here and there. The show actually begins at ten-thirty and picks up steam, and audience, as the night progresses.

Brandon Cutrell, the perennial youth who hosts the open mike event, always enjoys a plenitude of guests eager to take the mic and sing.  Like other New York cabaret rooms and piano bars, the staff is peopled with talented performers. The night we caught the goings-on, on several occasions, co-host Alysha Umphress took time away from her other duties to join the After Party’s pianist-regular Ray Fellman for a few songs. 

Not surprisingly, one can't predict who’ll perform from week to week.  There are visitors whose turn at the mic is the highlight of a New York trip, established vocalists who sing because they love it, the Beekman’s own bar and wait staff, and a few relaxing Broadway musical cast members, still wired enough to please the crowd with a number or two from their just-completed shows. 

You can join the After Party every Friday from ten-thirty p.m. to the wee hours at the Laurie Beechman Theater.

Peter Leavy
Cabaret Scenes
August 15, 2008
www.cabaretscenes.org