A magical night at The Magic Castle with Cybill Shepherd, Melissa Manchester and more bright stars

BROADWAY IN LA: There are nights when you go to a big Hollywood event with high expectations and are let down because the biggest stars skip the red carpet or the film or play are not very good.

I went to The Magic Castle on Thursday night for the Cast Party event with no expectations and ended up having one of the best times ever! In the intimate setting where the castle has been holding its increasingly popular cabaret events, dozens of performers dropped by to perform a song in the West Coast premiere of this impromptu variety show.

It’s a bring your own sheet music kind of affair filled with surprises that has been taken place at legendary Birdland in New York City every Monday night for the past seven years.

STAR-STUDDED NIGHT: Performers on Thursday included Cybill Shepherd, Melissa Manchester, Joely Fisher, JoAnne Worley, Coco Peru, and many other established stage stars including Julie Garnye, Erich Bergen, Sharon McKnight, Shelly Goldstein, and Aleks Pevek among others. POWERFUL DUO: The amazing Billy Stritch was at the piano for most of the numbers and keeping the evening flowing and filled with laughter was emcee Jim Caruso who recently appeared alongside Liza Minnelli in the smash hit Liza’s At The Palace!

My favorite moment was when Billy and Jim teamed up for Sonny and Cher’s All I Need is You with Jim doing a perfect Cher imitation and Billy a very solid Sonny.

The night got off to an interesting start when I made my way to the little table I was assigned to sit at. There were three people already sitting there and it was a bit of a tight fit. I recognized the woman across from me as singer Roslyn Kind who I did a newspaper profile on a few years ago then realized that next to me was her nephew, Jason Gould. They are better known as Barbra Streisand’s sister and her son!

Roslyn is a fantastic singer and will be performing in Palm Springs this month while Jason starred with his mom in The Prince of Tides and also directed and starred in an acclaimed short film.

The photographer for the event, Brian Putnam, came by to take a photo of the table and Jason wanted no part of it! Saying he was allergic to cameras, he excused himself and Brian snapped a photo of Roslyn and I. When Jason returned, I assured him that while I as covering the event for my site, anything said at our table was off-the-record so he should relax and have fun.

I will tell you that Jason’s biggest concern seemed to be the tie he was forced to wear which is part of the dress code at the castle. If you walk in without a coat and tie, they will provide one for you. Jason thought his tie was a bit funky looking and didn’t like it but actually, he looked really nice in it.

It’s a pity Roslyn didn’t sing because she has one heckuva voice and is just looking gorgeous these days.

The room was dark and crowded so it was just one surprise after another when a star would emerge to take the stage. I did not realize that Melissa Manchester was sitting about five feet from me until her name was announced. But Cybill Shepherd (pictured with me) is hard to miss. She is very blond and very gorgeous and seemed very relaxed and happy. I’m told another event is scheduled for May but meanwhile, there are several cabaret shows planned at the castle and all credit goes to Matt Patton who came up with the idea. LA has been in desperate need of a venue for cabaret.

My friend Harlan Boll, who handled the PR for the event, told me that Eve Plumb had also attended the show but TV’s Jan Brady had left by the time I got the chance to say hello. I think she should’ve performed! And no, not Sunshine Day. I know she’s moved on!

Here is Eve pictured outside the castle before the show with Kate Linder, Melissa Manchester and Teresa Ganzel.