Cabaret artist Jim Caruso is throwing a brunch 3 PM Aug. 13 at Arci's Place in Manhattan, and those attending will be part of a live recording of his latest act, which has Billy Stritch on piano.

The Sunday afternoon is an add-on to four weeks of sold out shows at the Park Avenue boite.

"Material-wise, there's some very unusual stuff," Caruso said. "I open with 'Summer in New York,' which I wrote along with Andrew Lippa [Manhattan Theatre Club's The Wild Party] and Sharon Douglas. Fred Ebb gave me a hilarious song called 'Boy From Fire Island,' about...well...you can imagine."

A few years ago, Caruso was associate producer of the unlikely talk show, "Jim J. and Tammy Faye," and he hired Ann Hampton Callaway to write the theme song and Billy Stritch to produce it. "Needless to say, we do the song, along with some Tammy Faye Bakker stories too bizarre to believe," said Caruso.

"John Pizzarelli and Jessica Molasky gave me a song they wrote called, 'I Wouldn't Trade You,' which is a great New York love song!" he added. "My favorite number is 'How Deep Is The Ocean.' The late, great Kay Thompson arranged it for herself in the 40's, and gave it to me just before she died, because she knew how much I loved it. It's totally insane, with a scat/rap section that is spectacular! Billy Stritch has done all the other arrangements, and joins me on quite a few vocals." Arci's Place is at 450 Park Avenue South. For reservations, call (212) 532-4370.

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Singer comedian Caruso was the founding member of the nationally acclaimed, award-winning jazz vocal and comedy trio, Wiseguys. He has appeared in concerts, nightclubs and cabarets and in Manhattan, Chicago and Los Angeles. He is a 1992 MAC Award winner (from The Manhattan Association of Cabarets) for musical comedy excellence. Caruso hosted the 2000 MAC Awards at Town Hall in Manhattan.

-- By Kenneth Jones