Eddie Varley Sings, Indefinitely

[SonofMammaMiaSam]

Posted: 9/15/06 at 8:28am

D. BENJAMEN BROWN CO.
DIVES“INTO THE WEEDS”

ATLANTIC CITY PRODUCER PICKS UP LATE NIGHT REVUE AND EXTENDS IT INDEFINITELY AT THE WEST BANK CAFÉ

GUEST STARS ANNIE GOLDEN AND STEPHANIE D’ABRUZZO RETURN ON 9/16 & 9/23

The D. Benjamen Brown Company makes its New York producing debut by picking up the musical revue INTO THE WEEDS – Selections from the Bill Weeden Songbook and announcing an indefinite extension at The West Bank Café, 407 West 42nd Street @ 9th Avenue. The show runs Saturday nights at 11 PM. Admission is $15 cover plus a two-drink minimum. For reservations, call 212-695-6909.

INTO THE WEEDS is fast becoming a destination for Broadway guest stars and announces the return of ANNIE GOLDEN on Saturday September 16th and Tony Award nominee STEPHANIE D’ABRUZZO on Saturday September 23rd.

INTO THE WEEDS is also continuing its post-theatre ticket policy of free admission to all Broadway performers and a special discount menu.

INTO THE WEEDS – Selections from the Bill Weeden Songbook, is a musical revue conceived and directed by Jeff Cohen. It features the following cast: Ted Anderson, Melissa Center, Grey Garrett, Hilary Mann, Kristen Rozanski, John Paul Skocik, Michael Vaccaro, Eddie Varley, Amanda Weeden, Bill Weeden & John Weisenburger. The show features the premiere of the NEW YORK YANKEES song “ONE BIG TEAM.”

INTO THE WEEDS is an eclectic sampling of songs written and performed over the last forty years by composer/performer Bill Weeden and a host of friends and collaborators including Sally Fay, Ethan Fein and David Finkle. The team of Weeden, Finkle and Fay won the 1980 NACCA Award (which later became the MAC) as Best Cabaret Comedy Group. Their musical Move It and It’s Yours was named New Jersey’s “Best New Musical” in 1998. Several of their songs are featured in Martin Charnin’s popular The No-Frills Revue. Mr. Weeden wrote the song “One Big Team” for the 1988 New York Yankees’ Old Timer’s Day – and an updated version of the song will be premiered at INTO THE WEEDS prior to its airing on the YES Network and at Yankee Stadium this September.

D. Benjamen Brown Co. (Producer) The Browns are involved in every aspect of their productions from concept to completion; casting, directing, sets and costuming. Their most recent revue shows staged at the Tropicana were wonderfully successful, including the original Havana After Dark, Mickey Rooney’s Christmas Memories, Little Shop of Horrors, All-Star Christmas Carol Starring John Byner, Always, Patsy Cline, and Smokey Joe’s Café, They also presented the Legendary Lead Singers of The Temptations in Las Vegas, NV.

Jeff Cohen (Director) Mr. Cohen recently founded The Dog Run Repertory Theatre Company which made its Off-Broadway debut as associate producer of his play Men of Clay – named Best New Play of 2005 by the Baltimore City Paper. He is the founder and former artistic director of the award-winning Worth Street Theater Company, whose productions, including celebrated revivals of Larry Kramer’s The Normal Heart and Tennessee Williams’ Small Craft Warnings, the premieres of Tristine Skyler’s The Moonlight Room and Christopher Shinn’s Four, and the internationally acclaimed response to 9/11, The Tribeca Playhouse Stage-Door Canteen, have been named to the annual Ten Best lists of The New York Times, The New York Post and The Boston Globe and have garnered such honors as the Drama Desk Award, the GLAAD Media Award, the Outer Critics Circle Award, the Drama League Award, the Obie Award and the Lucille Lortel Award. In 2005, Mr. Cohen directed the critically acclaimed revival of Weeden, Finkle & Fay’s musical Move It and Its Yours at Trenton, New Jersey’s Passage Theatre Company. Uncle Jack, his adaptation of Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya, will be published in September 2006.

Bill Weeden (Songwriter) began his career as a writer of comic songs, contributing to the famous revues at Julius Monk's Plaza 9- and Upstairs at the Downstairs and creating material for such performers as Carol Channing, Lily Tomlin, Dick Shawn, Gregory Hines, Madeline Kahn, Caterina Valente, and Stiller & Meara. This material was written in collaboration with David Finkle, a relationship which began at Phillips Academy and Yale University, where they helped revive a tradition dormant since the era of Cole Porter - writing several musicals and the commencement songs. In the 1970s, Weeden and Finkle began performing their own material in cabarets around New York and on television, and, in 1977, with new partner Sally Fay, they formed a cabaret trio which won applause from critics and awards as the best cabaret comedy group of its era. Weeden, Finkle & Fay went on to carve an impressive career as writing-performing purveyors of corporate entertainment for Fortune 500 companies. They also created the critically-acclaimed musical Move It and It’s Yours, contributed material to Martin Charnin’s often-produced The No-Frills Revue, and wrote a musical based on Babar for Theatreworks/USA. On television they were semi-regular satirical commentators on PBS’s Adam Smith’s Money World. As a performer on his own, Mr. Weeden played Hucklebee in the classic musical The Fantasticks for the final year-and-a-half of its legendary 42-year New York run. He has appeared in Shakespeare (Much Ado About Nothing, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Two Gentlemen of Verona, As You Like It), has been featured in regional and international tours of The Rocky Horror Show, The Wizard of Oz, Damn Yankees, The House of Blue Leaves, and Death of a Salesman. He’s appeared in leading and supporting roles in a host of independent movies, and played a principal recurring role on the recent F/X comedy series Starved. Bill is co-host of Sundance Channel’s weekly “Doc Day,” the home of documentaries on television. As (almost) always, he lives in New York City.

The West Bank Café opened in 1978, West Bank Cafe was a pioneer of fine dining on far-west 42nd Street at a time when Hell’s Kitchen still lived up to its name. (The restaurant’s early clients even included the notorious Irish gang, the Westies.) In the 1980’s, the West Bank’s owner, Steve Olsen, opened the downstairs Laurie Beechman Theater, which staged plays and hosted events nightly. A young Lewis Black was named playwright-in-residence; Howard Stern aired his third-annual live birthday broadcast from the theater; and the restaurant’s regulars included Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, Bruce Willis, and Sean Penn, among others. Throughout the 1980s and ’90s, the Laurie Beechman Theater continued to regularly stage the work of emerging writers, actors, and singers (many of whom later became stars) as well as established acts: The Who even gave four live performances at the restaurant while their musical Tommy was running on Broadway. Over 27 years, West Bank Cafe continues to evolve, all the while maintaining a commitment to serving high-quality food and superior entertainment in an unpretentious setting where both theater-goers and theater stars feel at home.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 9/15/06 at 8:48am

this is a really great show and our eddie shines. go see it!

[etoile]

Posted: 9/15/06 at 4:13pm

Couldn't happen to a more deserving talent.

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 9/15/06 at 4:36pm

Congratulations, Eddie!

I am thrilled for you and can't wait to come see INTO THE WEEDS!

Updated On: 9/15/06 at 04:36 PM

[Corine2]

Posted: 9/15/06 at 4:59pm

Everyone should check out this adorable gem of a show.
My favorite song was the "Bloomingdales" song.
Eddie is very talented.
An interview with Eddie is coming in the very near future.
Go into the Weeds....

[WeddedBliss22]

Posted: 9/15/06 at 5:05pm

Felcia Finley performed with this show one week, it sounds like it's fun, Eddie Varley was nice to us when we met him and Felicia after we saw The Wedding Singer, glad the show is going well for him and the cast! Maybe I need to see it.

[Phantom2]

Posted: 9/17/06 at 1:01pm

Is this a paying gig?

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 9/17/06 at 1:03pm

You can't put a dollar amount on experience and the joy that you bring to an audience, P2.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 9/17/06 at 1:09pm

But phanty's used to the audience putting a dollar amount in his experience and joy. One dollar bill at a time...


Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

[erikaamato]

Posted: 9/17/06 at 5:05pm

Congrats! I like the word "indefinitely," 'cause that implies I may be able to see it the next time I get back to NY! =)

[Corine2]

Posted: 9/17/06 at 5:12pm

I plan on interviewing Eddie.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 9/17/06 at 5:15pm

I dance with Amanda Weeden. She's cool.

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 9/17/06 at 5:18pm

Oh, I am sorry, CoCo, I thought you had already interviewed Eddie. When will this take place? And what about Steph? Has she told you if she is planning on being a regular in the show?

[Dollypop]

Posted: 9/17/06 at 5:29pm

Everyone knows that the very height of professionalism is an interview with Corine Dana Cohen.

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 9/17/06 at 5:38pm

You know though, she said she "plans on interviewing him." She didn't say that HE plans to be interviewed by HER.

[Phantom2]

Posted: 9/17/06 at 8:58pm

Is there money involved for the interview?

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 10/2/06 at 5:03pm

god, what a fun show! usually i have to drink like a fish just to get through these things that my friends are doing, but i was happily sober enough to catch the witty lyrics and look up the pretty girls' skirts and appreciate some great voices. mmmmmmmm, miss third from the right...i lust after you mightily.

you'll be tapping your toes and thanking your stars that you stopped by.