The Saloon Sessions are back for a whole new year of music to support the Breast Cancer Research Foundation at Hurley’s Bar in Manhattan. Featuring Broadway ensembles and Tony Award winners, the monthly jams help fund research into a cure for one of the most malignant diseases around the world.
The Saloon Sessions are produced by Broadway actor Matt DeAngelis, who started the program after losing his mother Janice in 2022 to metastatic breast cancer. Co-produced with his former Swept Away castmates Hunter Brown and Rico LeBron, the monthly sessions provide intimate evenings of good music, friends, and joy.
Unlike structured Broadway shows, the Saloon sessions provide a unique “jam” session where performers come up to the stage to sing either their favorite Broadway hits or songs they love. The unscripted structure provides unique and hilarious moments (including a few interruptions for calls to collect your order from the bar) while showcasing the humanity and individuality of actors who are often seen only as their parts.
On Monday, December 1st, the event featured Tony Award-winner John Gallagher Jr., Katerina McCrimmon, Gracie McGraw, and the ensemble cast of Swept Away. Singing both sea shanties and new music, the artists provided a heartwarming and intimate evening for those in person and watching on the event’s live stream. While the exact special guests for this year’s season of the Saloon Sessions are not yet known, the monthly format allows for a rotating cast of special guests from up and down 42nd Street.
In addition to the Saloon Sessions, DeAngelis organizes the Janice Jam, a larger fundraiser in May, which, combined with the Saloon Sessions, has helped raise more than $132k for breast cancer research.
Oh, and if you needed one more reason to go, DeAngelis has a secret weapon – his dog chowder! Chowder wanders the crowd, boosting morale (and we assume donations) wherever he wanders. P.S. If you’re very lucky, you’ll get a chance to hold Chowder.
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