The 7 PM concert, which will benefit The Jazz Foundation of America and the New Orleans Musicians' Clinic, will also feature the talents of Q stars Ann Harada, Stephanie D'Abruzzo and Christian Anderson as well as Karen Mason and Christine Pedi. Mary Ann McSweeney will be the evening's musical director.
The first performance of Avenue Q Swings was presented June 27 as a benefit for the Greenwich House Music School Piano Fund. The evening featured Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx's Tony-winning Avenue Q score performed in jazz, classical and "other surprising arrangements."
Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx met at the BMI Workshop in 1998. Prior to Avenue Q, they collaborated on Kermit, Prince of Denmark and Theatreworks/USA's Reading Rainbow and Ferdinand the Bull. The young composers/lyricists are currently at work on a musical comedy film for Universal Pictures as well as a stage musical with "South Park" creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker. Avenue Q, which continues to play to sold-out audiences at the Golden Theatre, recently opened a second production at Wynn Las Vegas.
Barrett Foa made his Broadway debut in Mamma Mia! and was part of the all-star Children of Eden benefit concert. Foa's other theatrical credits include Godspell, Cupid and Psyche, Much Ado About Nothing, Camelot, Kept, The Fantasticks and Gypsy. Foa is a graduate of the University of Michigan musical theatre department.
Both The Jazz Foundation of America and the New Orleans Musicians' Clinic have been helping musicians affected by Hurricane Katrina.
There is a $25 cover charge and a $10 food/drink minimum for the concert. Birdland is located in Manhattan at 315 West 44th Street. Call (212) 581 3080 for reservations or visit www.instantseats.com.