Westside Theatre News

The romantic comedy, Handle With Care, which runs through March 9th at Westside Theatre (407 West 43rd Street) celebrates romance tonight, Tuesday, February 25th following the evening performance at 7PM. Elizabeth Davis (Tony-nominee for Once on Broadway) and Jordan Richard (Television Director) will host a talk back. The couple met their first week of college when they were 18 years old. They 'found' each other again in NYC years later and their friendship grew into love. The couple married in 2008.

As BroadwayWorld reported last week, five-time Tony winner Audra McDonald will return to the stage as legendary songstress Billie Holliday in a revival of Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill. The show will open at the Circle in the Square Theatre on April 13 for a limited 10-week run. Performances will begin on March 25. Check out the just-released artwork for the show below!

As BroadwayWorld reported last week, five-time Tony winner Audra McDonald will return to the stage as legendary songstress Billie Holliday in a revival of Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill. According to the New York Times, the show will open at the Circle in the Square Theatre on April 13 for a limited 10-week run. Performances will begin on March 25.

BroadwayWorld.com has learned that talks are indeed currently underway with five-time Tony winner Audra McDonald to bring her back to the stage as legendary songstress Billie Holliday in a revival of Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill. The show will reportedly play at the Circle in the Square Theatre, where current occupant Bronx Bombers will close on March 2, 2014. An official announcement has not yet been made, but sources tell us that a deal, dates and release is 'imminent.'

Bill Pullman recently attended a performance of Satchmo at the Waldorf at Off-Broadway's Westside Theatre. After the show, the stage and screen favorite posed for a few photographs with director Gordon Edelstein and star John Douglas Thompson. BroadwayWorld brings you photos from backstage below!

Martin Charnin & Shelly Burch celebrate romance this week at Handle With Care. Talkbacks are set for each Tuesday in February (and the first Tuesday in March prior to the show concluding its run on March 9). At each talk, one of four romantic duos will wax poetic on their life and love. Details below!

Marc Agger and William Brown present Bikeman: A 9/11 Play by Thomas F. Flynn based on his acclaimed book. Flynn is an Emmy Award-winning CBS reporter who nearly lost his life when the Twin Towers fell. He lived to write about his odyssey in an epic narrative poem that soon became a best seller. Dan Rather called it 'a journey into a modern underworld, and of the escape that made it possible to tell the tale.' Now, this critically acclaimed book has been adapted for the stage directed by Michael Bush. Bikeman features Tony Award nominee Robert Cuccioli, Irungu Mutu, Angela Pierce, Elizabeth Ramos, and Richard Topol. Opening night is tonight, February 18 at 7PM.

Marc Agger and William Brown proudly present Bikeman: A 9/11 Play by Thomas F. Flynn based on his acclaimed book. Flynn is an Emmy® Award-winning CBS reporter who nearly lost his life when the Twin Towers fell. He lived to write about his odyssey in an epic narrative poem that soon became a best seller. Dan Rather called it 'a journey into a modern underworld, and of the escape that made it possible to tell the tale.' Now, this critically acclaimed book has been adapted for the stage directed by Michael Bush. Bikeman features Tony Award® nominee Robert Cuccioli, Irungu Mutu, Angela Pierce, Elizabeth Ramos, and Richard Topol.

Greg Edwards & Andy Sandberg's acclaimed two-actor, 30-character comedy about travel agents and the people they serve, Craving for Travel, now making its world premiere at the Peter J. Sharp Theater (416 W. 42nd Street, NYC), will close as scheduled this Sunday, February 9. The play is commissioned and produced by Jim Strong, one of America's leading luxury travel agents, and directed by Sandberg.

The hit romantic comedy Handle With Care, a Critics' Pick from the New York Times, which calls it 'A Hilarious and Heartwarming Romantic Comedy' that 'exudes gobs of comic energy and insight', will conclude its run at the Westside Theatre March 9, 2014, two weeks after its originally announced end date. The play, by Emmy Award nominee Jason Odell Williams is directed by Karen Carpenter ('Love, Loss and What I Wore'), will have played 112 performances including 15 previews.

The immortal words of Nora Ephron are brought to life, amongst racks of clothes and reminiscences of favorite shoes, at the Ivoryton Playhouse - February 21st, 22nd, and 23rd.

Mmmmmm, warm brisket of beef, sweet peppers and sauteed onions piled on a fresh Kaiser roll with the Carnegie Deli's famous hot cherry peppers on the side to 'heat up' the occasion. Sounds like the newest taste sensation at the acclaimed eatery - The "HANDLE WITH CARE by Carol Lawrence." The Carnegie Deli is probably the most famous 'Jewish Deli' in New York City with the most unbelievably tasty sandwiches anywhere! HANDLE WITH CARE, by Jason Odell Williams, directed by Karen Carpenter, is the NY Times Critics Pick - a "Hilarious And Heartwarming Romantic Comedy," now in an open-ended run at the Westside Theatre featuring Carol Lawrence, Charlotte Cohn, Sheffield Chastain and Jonathan Sale ! Carol Lawrence (the original Maria in West Side Story) is an Italian girl from the Chicago suburb of Melrose Park, who plays the most adorable 'Jewish' bubbie in this delightful hit show. Her new sandwich sensation combines the best of the Chicago Italian Beef sandwiches of her hometown into a new Carnegie Deli legendary oversized classic. Carol's best-selling cookbook, 'I Remember Pasta, a celebration of food, family and friends," is now being republished in a new softcover edition soon to be released in bookstores, and at the Westside Theatre. It's the perfect recipe for the creation of a most tasty culinary thrill - The "HANDLE WITH CARE by Carol Lawrence." Of course, in the Carnegie Deli's tradition, this piled-high wonder is truly a sandwich to 'Handle With Care'…and to enjoy!

Mmmmmm, warm brisket of beef, sweet peppers and sauteed onions piled on a fresh Kaiser roll with the Carnegie Deli's famous hot cherry peppers on the side to 'heat up' the occasion. Sounds like the newest taste sensation at the acclaimed eatery - The 'HANDLE WITH CARE by Carol Lawrence.'

Geva Theatre Center's 2014 Fielding Studio Series kicks off with Black Pearl Sings! by Frank Higgins. This production comes to Geva from The Kitchen Theatre Company in Ithaca and is directed by Sara Lampert Hoover. The production begins performances tonight, January 23 and runs in the Fielding Nextstage through February 9.

Mmmmmm, warm brisket of beef, sweet peppers and sauteed onions piled on a fresh Kaiser roll with the Carnegie Deli's famous hot cherry peppers on the side to 'heat up' the occasion. Sounds like the newest taste sensation at the acclaimed eatery - The "HANDLE WITH CARE by Carol Lawrence."

The Off Broadway Alliance will again sponsor 20at20, the bi-annual celebration of Off Broadway. The popular promotion, which begins today, January 21st and continues through February 9th, makes $20 tickets available for 48 Off Broadway plays and musicals twenty minutes prior to curtain. Now in its 8th year, 20at20 has become one of New York's most eagerly-anticipated promotions for budget-conscious theatre-goers.

A young painter must reconcile his remarkable artistic gifts with the austerity and singular devotion required by his faith. Stephen Sachs directs the Los Angeles premiere of Aaron Posner's award-winning stage adaptation of Chaim Potok's acclaimed novel, My Name is Asher Lev, opening Feb. 22 at the Fountain Theatre.

Marc Agger and William Brown present Bikeman: The 9/11 Theatrical Experience, a new play by Thomas F. Flynn based on his acclaimed book. Performances begin January 26. Opening night is February 18. Directed by Michael Bush, Bikeman features Robert Cuccioli, Irungu Mutu, Angela Pierce, Elizabeth Ramos, and Rich Topol. For information, go to www.Bikeman911.com.