Every day is opening night.

Press Contact:
Rick Miramontez / Gerilyn Shur
rick@omdkc.com / gerilyn@omdkc.com
212 695 7400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ON THURSDAY, JUNE 27, 2024

TONY AWARD ® NOMINEE A.J. SHIVELY AND JASON HENDERSON ADDED TO
JAMIE deROY & friends
A BENEFIT FOR
ENTERTAINMENT COMMUNITY FUND
TAKING PLACE ON MONDAY, JULY 1
PRESENTED BY BROADWAY AT BIRDLAND

OTHER SPECIAL GUESTS JASON GRAAE, CORY KAHANEY, MOIPEI, JIM VALLANCE AND CATHERINE PORTER

New York, NY– Today, producer Jamie deRoy announced that Tony Award® nominee A.J. Shively (Paradise Square) and Jason Henderson have been added to Jamie deRoy & friends on Monday, July 1 at 7:00PM at Birdland (315 W 44^th Street, New York City 10036). Other special guests are Jason Graae, Cory Kahaney, MOIPEI, Jim Vallance and Catherine Porter. This performance will be livestreamed HERE.

A frequent presence on the New York cabaret scene, Jamie deRoy has produced Jamie deRoy & friends for more than 34 years. For the last decade, Jamie deRoy & friends has benefitted the Entertainment Community Fund.

In a statement, Ms. deRoy said, “I initially started the ‘Jamie deRoy & friends Cabaret Initiative’ to advocate for cabaret performers to receive benefits from the Entertainment Community Fund. Producing benefits for the Fund has since been one of the cornerstones of my producing career. I’m thrilled to continue that proud tradition next month with this wonderful line-up of talent.”

The Entertainment Community Fund, formerly The Actors Fund, is a national human services organization that addresses the unique needs of people who work in performing arts and entertainment with services focused on health and wellness, career and life, and housing.

Jamie deRoy & friends will be directed by Barry Kleinbort with musical direction by Ron Abel and Tom Hubbard on Bass.

Reservations are open now at 212-581-3080 or www.BirdlandJazz.com. Tickets are $100 VIP/$50 General Seating. $20 food/drink minimum.

BIOGRAPHIES

JAMIE deROY started producing theater by accident…which has led to 12 Tony® Awards and credits on 150+ Broadway and Off-Broadway shows including, in recent seasons, Stereophonic, Merrily We Roll Along, The Who’s Tommy, Spamalot, Gutenberg The Musical, Parade, Good Night Oscar, Leopoldstadt, and The Play That Goes Wrong. Additional awards include nine MAC® Awards, 12 Drama Desk® Awards, four Audience Choice® Awards, 13 Drama League® Awards, three GLAAD® Awards, four Back Stage Bistro® Awards, numerous Telly® Awards and CaB Magazine’s Lifetime Achievement® Award. She has been honored by Theatre Works/USA, Albert Einstein Spirit of Achievement, Primary Stages, the Ruth Kurtzman Benefit Award, and The York Theatre Founder’s Award. She was inducted into the MJHI Manhattan Jewish Hall of Fame Class of 2020. Jamie’s television producing credits include “Jamie deRoy & friends,” “CityArts: The Biggest Little Operas in Town” (Emmy® nomination), and “Where Do Musicals Come From?” Films include the documentaries Broadway: The Golden Age, Broadway: Beyond the Golden Age and Left Alone Rhapsody.

A.J. SHIVELY. Broadway: Paradise Square (Tony, OCC, Chita Rivera noms.); Bright Star (Drama Desk nom.); La Cage Aux Folles. Nat’l Tour: Bright Star; The Sound of Music. Off-Broadway/New York: Titanic (Encores); Philadelphia, Here I Come (Theatre World Award, Drama Desk, Lortel noms.), Brigadoon (Irish Rep); A Man Of No Importance (Lortel award, OCC nom.; CSC); February House (The Public); The Suitcase Under The Bed (Mint); Unlock’d (Prospect); …Guide To A Successful Marriage (Cherry Lane); Things To Ruin (Second Stage); Little Airplanes Of The Heart (EST); ReWrite (Urban Stages). Regional: Boston Pops; Berkeley Rep; Kennedy Center; CTG; Old Globe; PCLO. TV/Film: “Julia” (HBO Max); “Bull” (CBS); “Hunters” (Amazon Prime); “Homeland” (Showtime); “Madam Secretary” (CBS); “The Blacklist” (NBC); “Younger” (TV Land); Other People’s Bodies(upcoming); Nobody Walks In LA; From Nowhere; Syrup; HairBrained. Training: University of Michigan; RADA.

JASON HENDERSON. This season for his cabaret show, ‘Getting To Noël You’ – created together with Director Barry Kleinbort and Musical Director Christopher Denny, cabaret performer Jason Henderson received the 2024 Bistro Award – Musical Comedy Performer and was nominated 2024 Male Vocalist at the MAC (Manhattan Association of Cabarets) Awards. In May the show opened the 2024 Long Beach Cabaret Festival. In New York City, over multiple repeat performances at cabaret institution ‘Don’t Tell Mama’, critics have been unanimous in their praise –  the show was listed in the ‘Top 10 Cabaret Shows of 2023’ by Times Square Chronicles. Jason holds a Master of Music (awarded with distinction) in Contemporary Voice – University of Otago, is a former member of the New Zealand Opera Chorus (2012-2016), and an alumna of five New Zealand Singing Schools, and the St. Louis Cabaret Conference. Jason is proud to be a graduate of the Neighborhood Playhouse School of Theatre – a member of the extraordinary class of ’23.

JASON GRAAE has been featured on and Off-Broadway in A Grand Night For Singing, Falsettos, Stardust, Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?, Forever Plaid, Snoopy!, Olympus on My Mind, Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh (Drama Desk® Nomination) and more. He played Houdini in the LA company of Ragtime and recently was The Wiz in the National tour of Wicked. With LA, San Francisco, Houston, Dallas, Michigan, and Washington National Opera companies he has played Njegus in the Merry Widow, Frosch in Die Fledermaus, and Offenbach in The Grand Duchess. His many TV credits include “Rude Awakening”, “6 Feet Under”, “Friends”, “Frasier”, “Dukes of Hazzard”, “Sabrina”, many cartoons and for 5 years was the voice of Lucky for Lucky Charms Cereal. He has recorded over 75 CDs. Thank you and goodnight.

CORY KAHANEY has appeared on “The Late Show” with Stephen Colbert and David Letterman. Other television appearances include “CONAN”, “This Week at the Comedy Cellar” and “The View”. Cory was a grand finalist in NBC’s “Last Comic Standing” and a semifinalist on “America’s Got Talent”. She has had comedy specials on Comedy Central, HBO and her new special premieres on Amazon Prime in August.

MOIPEI (Mary, Maggy and Marta Moipei) are identical triplets from Nairobi, Kenya and currently reside in the U.S. Recent Performances include: The Kennedy Center, 54 Below, Birdland, Merkin Hall, Amarillo Opera, and the Indianapolis Symphony. They have been performing their 2-act multi-media concert, an eclectic mix of their own arrangements of Broadway tunes, jazz hits, spirituals, and Kenyan folk songs at PACs throughout the country. They were voted as “Best Vocal Group” for BroadwayWorld.com 2023 Cabaret Awards. At the age of 12, were appointed Kenya’s first ever UNICEF Child Ambassadors. They were awarded the Head of State Commendation (HSC), by the President of Kenya, in recognition of their outstanding contribution to the Music Industry and the Nation. Their album “In the Land of the Lion,” won the 2011 Best of Africa category, at the prestigious South Africa Broadcasting Corporation Awards® (SABC). “Their enchantment, either as singers or as people will bewitch all who see and hear them.” Stephen Mosher @MOIPEI.

CATHERINE PORTER’S varied career has taken her around the globe. She sang opposite Michael Crawford in The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber, touring the US, UK, Japan and Australia.  She rocked stadiums world-wide as a member of Queen guitarist Brian May’s band, opening for Guns-N-Roses. She’s starred in numerous shows in London’s West End, most notably Sunset Boulevard, which took her to Australia where she originated the role of Betty Schaefer opposite Hugh Jackman. She has sung with the likes of Chaka Khan, Mel B, Kiki Dee and most recently, Norbert Leo Butz. Catherine made her Broadway debut standing by for the role of Diana in the Tony Award®-winning musical, Next to Normal. She’s a songwriter and, most importantly, mother to Ruby, for whom her 2009 album, Gems for Ruby was created. Instagram: cathporter1.

JIM VALLANCE saw The Beatles on television at age eleven, it was a life-altering moment. Swept up and inspired by the “British Invasion” he begged his parents for a guitar or a drum kit. He got both! As a musician, producer, and songwriter Jim has collaborated with artists as diverse as Aerosmith, Heart, Tina Turner, Michael Bublé and Ozzy Osbourne, to name a few. Pretty Woman: The Musical, which he co-composed with Bryan Adams, has delighted audiences in New York, London and internationally.

ABOUT ENTERTAINMENT COMMUNITY FUND

The Entertainment Community Fund, formerly The Actors Fund, is a national human services organization that addresses the unique needs of people who work in performing arts and entertainment with services focused on health and wellness, career and life, and housing. Since 1882, the Fund has sought to ensure stability, encourage resiliency and be a safety net for those who shape our country’s cultural vibrancy. Learn more at entertainmentcommunity.org.

FOR ARTIST HEADSHOTS CLICK HERE
TO DOWNLOAD THE FLYER CLICK HERE

# # # #

www.entertainmentcommunity.org
www.facebook.com/alifeinthearts
www.instagram.com/alifeinthearts
www.twitter.com/alifeinthearts
www.linkedin.com/company/alifeinthearts
www.youtube.com/alifeinthearts

www.omdkc.com
www.facebook.com/omdkc
www.instagram.com/omdkc
www.twitter.com/omdkc