Callaway, Love, Graham, Carroll, SONDHEIM UNPLUGGED and More to Play 54 Below This Week

Coming up this week, 54 BELOW, the new performance venue located just below the legendary Studio 54 at 254 West 54th Street, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, rock-n-roll, the jazz world and the downtown scene, including Ann Hampton Callaway, Darlene Love, Janis Siegel, Barbara Carroll and more!

Darlene Love, Sept. 24 at 7PM:
Darlene Love’s thunderbolt voice is as embedded in the history of rock-n-roll as Eric Clapton’s guitar or Bob Dylan’s lyrics. From her first number one recording, “He’s a Rebel,” through her string of label hits with legendary producer Phil Spector (including “Da Doo Ron Ron,” “The Boy I’m Gonna Marry” and “Christmas Baby, Please Come Home”), to the countless songs for which she sang backup (for artists like Sam Cooke, Elvis Presley, Dionne Warwick, Cher and Aretha Franklin), Darlene Love has blazed a trail of success in the music industry that has recently led to her induction into the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame. And all of this is to say nothing of her acclaimed Broadway performances in Leader of the Pack, Carrie, Grease and Hairspray. Join this true musical legend when she takes 54 Below by storm. Cover charge: $40 - $50. $25 food and beverage minimum.

Cole Escola, Sept. 24 at 9:30PM:
For his debut performance at 54 Below, downtown darling Cole Escola will show you what it looks like for a white trash girl-boy from the backwoods of Oregon to be drunk with power in a cabaret venue. Described as "punkish and puckish" by The New York Times and a "superurchin" by Time Out New York, kitten-sized singer/character actress Cole Escola tries to steal his own show as he performs comedic original songs like they're old-timey showstoppers and old-timey showstoppers like they're nobody's business. From racist Irving Berlin toe-tappers to angsTy Taylor Swift tearjerkers, Cole Escola at 54 Below will provide something for everyone, and then take it away from you. Cover charge: $5-15. Two-drink minimum.

Ann Hampton Callaway, Sept. 25, 26, 27, 28 & 29 at 8:30PM, Sept. 28 & 29 at 11PM:
For the first time in New York City, Platinum Award-winning singer-songwriter Ann Hampton Callaway celebrates the music of one of America’s most powerful and enduring musical artists. Singing timeless classics from five decades of Barbra Streisand’s multi-faceted career, Callaway crafts a loving musical portrait of the icon who once described herself as being “simple, complex, generous, selfish, unattractive, beautiful, lazy and driven.” The Tony-nominated actress puts unique pop/jazz spin on unforgettable songs from Barbra’s Broadway years (Funny Girl) to her film works (A Star Is Born), from her early pop albums (“People”) to her later concept albums (“Higher Ground”) which debuted at number 1 on Billboard and featured Ann’s original peace anthem “At The Same Time.” Callaway weaves humorous and inspiring anecdotes of how Streisand began as such a role model for her and evolved as a mentor, recording Ann’s songs on six of her recent CD’s, including “I’ve Dreamed Of You,” the song that Streisand sang on her wedding day. In a night of soaring songs and stories, Callaway promises us a performance that not only celebrates the extraordinary career of Barbra Streisand, but also reminds us of “the way we were.” Cover charge: $30-40. $25 food and beverage minimum.

BACKSTAGE, hosted by Susie Mosher, Sept. 25 at 10:30PM:
Join us at 54 Below, Broadway’s Tuesday night cocktail party/songfest. There is no cover charge for Backstage, merely a $15 food and beverage minimum. There is a full bar and dinner menu available for Backstage. Each week, Broadway cast members and audiences alike gather to mix and mingle at 54 Below, Broadway’s most intimate haunt, located in the heart of the theatre district. Musical Director Brad Simmons keeps the house jumping from the piano, while host Susie Mosher (the love child of Joanne Worley & Paul Lynde) guides the crowd through an evening of music, mayhem and full throttle belting. Special guests from hit Broadway shows drop in to perform and answer the question on everyone’s minds, “what happened in the show tonight?” Members of the Backstage repertory company, featuring some of New York’s most exciting musical theatre talent, is on hand each week to sing everything from Schwartz to Sondheim. You might even get up and sing yourself if you’re feeling brave, or relax with a cocktail and some sliders – the night belongs to you. Special guest stars on September 25th are songwriter Joe Iconis, pop/jazz vocalist Miss Maggie Moore, and from Alter Boyz, Tyler Maynard. No Cover charge. Food and beverage minimum: $15. Doors open at 10:00PM

THE GREEN ROOM, Sept. 26 after 9:45PM:
Join us after 9:45PM when 54 Below becomes a post-theatre lounge music, creative cocktails, and small food plates. Wednesday, September 26 will feature The John Miller Quartet. No cover charge. No minimum.

Manhattan Transfer’s Janis Siegel, Sept. 27 at 11PM:
Over the past four decades, the voice of Janis Siegel, a nine-time Grammy winner and a seventeen-time Grammy nominee, has been an undeniable force in The Manhattan Transfer’s diverse musical catalog. Alongside her career as a member of this 40 year musical institution, Siegel has also sustained a solo career that has spawned more than a half dozen finely-crafted solo albums and numerous collaborative projects, amassed a large international fan base and garnered consistently high critical praise. Join Janis for this one night only, late night musical adventure, which celebrates a new CD recording. Piano, bass, drums and Janis …What better way to end a Thursday and welcome a Friday? Cover charge: $25 - $35. $25 food and beverage minimum.

JAZZ BRUNCH WITH Barbara Carroll September 30 at 1PM:
54 Below is honored to welcome jazz legend Barbara Carroll to our stage for a series of seven exciting jazz brunches. In 1947, Leonard Feather dubber her “the first girl ever to play bebop piano.” In a career that has spanned more than half a century (she played her first New York engagement opposite Dizzy Gillespie’s big band at the Downbeat Club in 1947), Ms. Carroll is an elegant jazz pianist, composer and vocalist, long recognized as one of the premier players of swinging jazz piano. Her inventive piano playing and totally unique vocal sound leads her into transforming any composition into her own art with her trademark emotional directness and respect for the tune, its lyrics and its many possibilities. Says Stephen Holden in The New York Times, “Barbara Carroll is about as good as it gets!” Cover charge $30-40. $25 food and beverage minimum.

SONDHEIM UNPLUGGED, September 30 at 5:30PM:
It’s back by popular demand! Following its unprecedented eighteen month NYC run in 2010 - 2011, the show that celebrates Sondheim and his legendary career debuts at 54 Below. Sondheim Unplugged features some of Broadway and cabaret's most dynamic voices, accompanied by piano only. Expect tunes from A Little Night Music, Company, Into the Woods, Follies, Passion, Dick Tracy and more. Special guests on September 30 include original cast members from Sondheim classics: Teri Ralston (Company, A Little Night Music), Annie Golden (Assassins) and Sarah Rice (original Sweeney Todd). Sondheim Unplugged is hosted by series creator, Phil Geoffrey Bond, who will fill the audience in on Sondheim facts, history and assorted tidbits of theatrical lore. Doors open at 6PM for 8PM shows. Cover charge: $20-30. $25 food and beverage minimum.

Nathan Lee Graham, September 30 at 9PM:
Nathan Lee Graham, the ubiquitous presence who most recently graced Broadway in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert has also been seen on The Great White Way in The Wild Party and in a slew of Hollywood’s most hilarious comedies. Please join this Grammy-winning artist when he presents Standards in Blue, an elegant evening of classic songs sung by a classic singer in our classic new setting! From “Beyond The Blue Horizon” to finding the "Little Girl Blue" who says "I'd Rather Be Blue" in her "Mood Indigo" under that "Blue Moon" untilthere are at last "Blue Skies," Standards In Blue is a show about pure emotion inspired by this one word that takes on so many meanings. This turquois-tinted musical event is under the musical direction of Dan Bolton with arrangements by the ever so clever Dennis Deal. Doors open at 6PM for 8PM shows. Cover charge: $20-30. $25 food and beverage minimum.

54 BELOW, Broadway’s nightclub, is the new performance venue in the grand tradition of New York City nightlife. A few blocks from the heart of Times Square and just below the legendary Studio 54, 54 BELOW is a classically designed state-of-the art nightclub in the theatre district that hosts audiences with warmth and style.

Designed by Tony Award winner John Lee Beatty and architect Richard Lewis, lit by Tony Award winner Ken Billington, and with sound by Tony Award nominee Peter Hylenski, 54 BELOW features an in-your-living-room intimate relationship between its performers and audiences. Tony Award winner Scott Wittman serves as Creative Consultant and MAC Award Winner Phil Geoffrey Bond serves as Director of Programming. André J. Marrero is the Executive Chef of the new venue, which provides a food and beverage menu from early evening through the wee hours of the morning that is worthy of the world-class entertainment on the stage. Bringing together his love of the arts with his passion for cooking and hospitality, Chef André has created a market driven contemporary bistro menu that includes ingredients sourced from all over the world.

54 BELOW is owned and operated by Tony Award winning producers Tom Viertel, Marc Routh, Richard Frankel, and Steven Baruch. 54 BELOW features up to three shows nightly and has audio and video recording capabilities. The cover charge ranges from $5-$85. 54 BELOW is located at 254 West 54th Street. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.54Below.com or call (866) 468-7619.

Pictured: Nathan Lee Graham

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