Laurie Beechman News

Acclaimed composer, Rona Siddiqui will present her collection of musical theatre songs ranging from comic metal love songs to aquatic funk and everything in between with Songs Rona Wrote: The Music of Rona Siddiqui at the Laurie Beechman Theatre, June 10th at 9:30pm. The concert event will include performances by Erin Dilly (A Christmas Story), Sarah Stiles (Avenue Q, Into the Woods), Gideon Glick (Spring Awakening), Mykal Kilgore (Hair), MJ Rodriguez (Rent), Manu Naruyan (Bombay Dreams), Margo Seibert, Ayesu Lartey, Matt Bauman, Andrew Leggieri, and Ben Langhorst. For more information on Rona Siddiqui check out her website, www.ronasiddiqui.com

Ryan Raftery returns to the Laurie Beechman Theatre for Ryan Raftery IS BLACK AND BETTER THAN EVER: A CAUCASIAN CELEBRATION OF THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN SONGBOOK! with very special guest Romelda Teron Benjamin (Catch Me if You Can, Bare) and musical direction by Daniel Lincoln. The show will be presented tonight, May 29 and Wednesday, June 26, at 9:30 pm at Laurie Beechman Theatre.

Shrek cast members scheduled to perform include Tony nominees Brian D'Arcy James and John Tartaglia alongside Ben Crawford, Ryan Duncan, Dennis Stowe, Heather Janes Rolff, Haven Burton, Denny Pashcall, Colleen Hawks, Jacob Ming Trent, Danette Holden and Greg Reuter who will also serve as co-host for the evening.

On June 2nd at 7:30pm, BroadwayUnderstudies.com has once again invited some of Broadway's most talented understudies to the stage of the Laurie Beechman Theatre to share their rare talent-the ability to perform at a second's notice. They'll be thrown into the fire in 'Half Hour 3: A Last Minute Concert,' a show where even they don't know what they'll be singing before they step up to the microphone. The audience will get to vote on what song each performer will sing.

World Choreography Institute, a new organization directed by Wendy Taucher, is holding its Inaugural Year Think Tank on Martha's Vineyard, at the Noepe Center for Literary Arts from May 23 to May 28, 2013. World Choreography Institute is dedicated to 'advocacy and education for the art of choreography'. The vision of this unique organization is deliberately cross-genre, dealing with choreographic principals and challenges that are common to all live dance vocabularies, from ballet to modern to Broadway and beyond. The theme for the inaugural year is 'defining choreography'. Seeking to propel thoughtful, creative dialogue and action which advances creativity in the field, WCI is creating workshops, seminars and lecture demonstrations geared to three groups: professionals in the dance world, students and the general public. The design of these activities will be based on the thinking and input of the Inaugural Year Think Tank participants. In addition, the WCI team will publish its first annual Choreography Folio in early 2014, with on-line and print versions created under the umbrella of Arts & Ideas, Patrick Phillips publisher.

Unless the host is particularly warm, funny, and charismatic (think Dana Lorge and her new monthly vehicle at the Metropolitan Room) or the show is a way to champion a good cause (like Joseph Macchia's Cabaret Cares events), for the most part cabaret variety shows are clunky affairs which can be too long, too rambling, give too much time to average talent or not enough of a showcase to outstanding talent. I ran into one of the rare exceptions last month (April 23) in the form of the The Concerts for City Greens' First Annual Gala & 2012 Songwriting Contest Finale, a variety show at the Laurie Beechman Theatre that served as a fund raiser for the launch of a new non-profit called Music and Art for Green which will incorporate Concerts for City Greens within its umbrella.

Molly 'Equality' Dykeman is a loveable, but barely lucid security guard at PS 339 who dabbles in a bit of poetry, a bit of Percocet and a lot of drink. She may be a foul mouthed, straight talking, lady kissing, mother lover, but she still needs to find a way to pull herself together, overcome bed bugs, love and sissy kids to perform in her first poetry show. Will she succeed? Only Molly can tell...

On Monday, June 3, 2013, over a dozen Broadway performers will honor the life and lyrics of Howard Ashman at a concert for AIDS Walk New York, benefiting GMHC and 40 other AIDS service organizations in the tri-state area. Hosted at the Laurie Beechman Theatre at the West Bank Cafe, the concert will feature songs with lyrics written by Ashman throughout his career, from his Oscar-winning work in Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid, to lesser known gems from Smile and songs originally written for Aladdin.

World Choreography Institute, a new organization directed by Wendy Taucher, is holding its Inaugural Year Think Tank on Martha's Vineyard, at the Noepe Center for Literary Arts from May 23 to May 28, 2013. World Choreography Institute is dedicated to 'advocacy and education for the art of choreography'. The vision of this unique organization is deliberately cross-genre, dealing with choreographic principals and challenges that are common to all live dance vocabularies, from ballet to modern to Broadway and beyond. The theme for the inaugural year is 'defining choreography'. Seeking to propel thoughtful, creative dialogue and action which advances creativity in the field, WCI is creating workshops, seminars and lecture demonstrations geared to three groups: professionals in the dance world, students and the general public. The design of these activities will be based on the thinking and input of the Inaugural Year Think Tank participants. In addition, the WCI team will publish its first annual Choreography Folio in early 2014, with on-line and print versions created under the umbrella of Arts & Ideas, Patrick Phillips publisher.

The Group Theatre Too, along with choreographer, Justin Boccitto and director, Kimberly Vaughn presents the 2013 Broadway Performance Project (BPP), an evening of young, aspiring Broadway bound talent performing on Tuesday, June 11th and Thursday, June 13th, 7:00pm at cabaret hub, The Laurie Beechman Theater. BPP selected twelve participants from among those who auditioned, including: Caitlin Catanella, Melissa Coffey, Isaac Dayley, Kristin Feeney, Anelena Frollini, Billy Hannon, Erica Kimble, Amelia Rose Ortman, Kelly Reader, Daniel Schultz, Alan Simon and Micki Weiner. In preparation for their Beechman performances these artists will have coached with Justin and Kimberly, along with musical director Andrea Grody, and workshopped their songs in an 'in studio' performance class with a panel of industry professionals who include talent manager Naomi Kolstein and casting director Dale Brown. The project also had a successful benefit show last December where they unveiled "The Nicole Fosse Scholarship" and saw performances from Richard Kline, Phillip Boykin, Anita Gillette, Kurt Peterson, Wayne Alan Wilcox, Colleen Zenk, Kevin Spirtas, Raissa Katona Bennett and Sheri Sanders.

Tonight, May 21, composer/lyricist Janine McGuire will present an evening of her original music in 'Let's Make Noise: The Music & Lyrics of Janine McGuire.'

Acclaimed writer/performer Candice Guardino premieres the outrageous Italian Bred Off-Broadway. With this 80 minute one-woman show, Candice slips in and out of characters as she cooks up a full meal of growing up Italian on Staten Island. Special celebrity guest Vincent Pastore recently returned to the stage, and BroadwayWorld has a photo of him in action with Guardino below!

Judy Tenuta is the most famous person who has ever lived...and if you don't believe it, just ask her. Judy's stand-up routine is appropriately described as outrageous, mind-blowing comedy. Her one-woman show promises to be nothing less. In fact, Judy recently became an ordained minister, and has been known to convert her audiences to her own fan based signature religion, 'Judyism.'

The Broadway Dreams Foundation announced their dedication to three educational initiatives that align with their mission and will offer BDF students exciting performance opportunities while also supporting emerging artists and creative projects. The three initiatives include a sophomore album by musical theater songwriter Joey Contreras, the development of a new musical, and a showcase featuring BDF students from across the country at NYC's New World Stages.

Molly 'Equality' Dykeman is a loveable, but barely lucid security guard at PS 339 who dabbles in a bit of poetry, a bit of Percocet and a lot of drink. She may be a foul mouthed, straight talking, lady kissing, mother lover, but she still needs to find a way to pull herself together, overcome bed bugs, love and sissy kids to perform in her first poetry show. Will she succeed? Only Molly can tell...

Joe's Pub at The Public welcomes world premieres, highly-anticipated debuts and the return of many esteemed performers this May and June. Funny girl JULIE KLAUSNER makes her debut with two evenings of cabaret. Legendary downtown performance artist JOHN KELLY returns to premiere Rebel Songs. The 60s-inspired flight attendant PAM ANN returns for five nights in the Cockpit. Elsewhere: Tony Award-winners TONYA PINKINS and LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA, Once star CRISTIN MILIOTI, TAYLOR MAC'S epic exploration of popular music, a special appearance from Justin Vivian Bond, JOEY ARIAS, the greatest rapper in the world, CHAMPAGNE JERRY and more. Read on for more May and June cabaret, comedy, Broadway and musical theater highlights at Joe's Pub at The Public.

Stephen Hanks, BroadwayWorld.com Cabaret columnist and reviewer, has produced and will host Stephen's Angels, a cabaret variety show presented by ScoBar Entertainment and slated for the Iridium Jazz Club tonight, May 14 at 10pm. Stephen's Angels will introduce audiences to six 'smart, sassy, sexy young women, whose singing is sublime.' Five of the six ladies are currently preparing summer or fall cabaret shows for the Metropolitan Room, and one will be launching a CD release show at the Laurie Beechman Theater in June.

Two years ago, in my generally favorable review of Pamela Lewis' quirky, if flawed, cabaret show Dog Walking Diva, I went a little bit out on the limb with . . . “She has the potential to be a major cabaret star.” Well, as Lewis (who given her bubbly and bold personality performs under the totally appropriate moniker of “Champagne Pam”) remarked often in her newest show, during which she assessed whether she had yet achieved a list of life goals, that particular observation would have to get a “check.” Because with Daddy's Little Girl, Champagne Pam--who proudly admitted to having reached the Big 4-0--is all grown up as a cabaret performer and should be a member of that rarified group who even a reviewer on a press comp should pay to see and hear.

Hottest Articles on BroadwayWorld.com from this weekend Sunday, May 12, 2013 - Sunday, May 12, 2013.