Anderson, Arngrim, Champlin, Davis & More Set For Laurie Beechman Theatre In May

The Laurie Beechman Theatre located within The West Bank Café is pleased to announce upcoming performances in May, Featuring: Nancy Anderson, Alison Arngrim, Donna Lynne Champlin, Mary Bond Davis, Lauren Kennedy, Steven Lutvak, Joan Rivers, Tim Sullivan and more!

It is with great pleasure that The West Bank Café announces upcoming performances to be presented in The Laurie Beechman Theatre. The West Bank Café is located at 407 West 42nd. St., at Ninth Avenue. For reservations, please call 212.695.6909.

The Laurie Beechman Theatre has a rich tradition of presenting cutting-edge work, which has played a role in shaping American theatre and live performance. Since the 80's, the theatre has staged numerous plays and hosted a myriad of live performance events.

This May, the theatre is proud to announce an exciting and eclectic line-up of performers and performances, all of which will take place in the gorgeous eighty -five seat venue.

Please note there is a $15 food and/or beverage minimum at each performance, with the exception of The After Party. All major credit cards are accepted, and a full dinner/bar menu is available.

The After Party
Every Friday from 10:30pm to 3am
No cover, no minimum
This weekly open-mic schmoozefest
for the theatrically inclined has become the hit of midtown, hosted by iron-lunged Brandon Cutrell and Alysha Umphress, with Ray Fellman at the keys. Come hang and belt out a showtune or two. No cover, no minimum. You never know who might drop by.

Our High School Musical: Flashback to the 80's
Friday, May 1 @ 8pm
Saturday, May 2 @ 8pm
Wednesday, May 6 @ 7pm
$15 in advance, $20 at the door
Remember when...A Flock of Seagulls was cool? When you made mix tapes for your friends? When you really wanted your MTV? Join Juliet Ewing-Kwan, Blair Casdin and Maree Johnson as they revisit their musical coming of age-with a twist. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll cringe as Toni Basil meets Kurt Weill and Lionel Richie goes punk. Break out you? shoulder pads and leg warmers as they belt out songs by Journey, The Eurythmics, Blondie, The Police, Heart, Squeeze and many, many more. Musical Direction by Ben Morss and a rockin' 4 piece band. For t?ckets, visit Smarttix: www.smarttix.com, 212 484 4444.

Le Scandal Cabaret
Saturdays, May 2, 9, 23 @ 10pm
$25 cover
Le Scandal Cabaret is NYC's longest running burlesque variety show. In its ninth year, Le Scandal features variety acts, circus performers, live music and a bevy of burlesque beauties. NY Magazine called Le Scandal, "the rock star of the NY burlesque scene!" And the show is a NY Times "critics pick." New performers every week! Expect
sword swallowers, belly dancers, rope trick cowboys, contortionists, torch singing fan dancers and comedic aerobats, all set to the live music of the Le Scandal Orchestra. For tickets, visit Smarttix: www.smarttix.com or 212 484 4444.

Voice From the Great White Way: Nancy Anderson
Sunday, May 3 @ 7pm
$25 cover
The third installment of our celebrated Voices from the Great White Way series, featuring one night only concerts from some of Broadway's most exciting voices, continues tonight with a visit from A Class Act/Wonderful Town's Nancy Anderson.

Crazy, Beauty, Youth
Monday, May 4 @ 7pm
No cover
Centered around a painting entitled "The Levitating Virgin," this monologue brings you on a breathtaking 60 year journey of one woman's life from a colorful yet insane family to sanity and "semi-enlightenment." The story, told in a series of 30 vignettes ranging from comedic to heartbreaking, takes the heroine from her visit with her cousin in Panama (the then Vice President of Panama) to?the disappearance of her adopted son. Performed by Liz Canavan of the LAByrinth Theater Company (in residence at the Public Theater) and Actor's Stud?o. Written by Linda Ford Blaikie, who is also a psychotherapist in Manhattan.

Our Meeting at the Crossroads
Monday, May 4 @ 9:30pm
$10 cover
Our Meeting at the Crossroads is the story of eight lost souls finding their way through a universal, neo-soul experienc
e. This journey of music travels down smoky jazz back roads, across heavy blues highways, and converges at a crossroads where love is lost and found. Meet us at the Crossroads and let the music rock your spirits.

Maxine Lineham in Who am I? A tribute to Petula Clark
Thursdays, May 7, 14, 21 & 28 @ 7 pm
$20 cover
Irish actress and songstress Maxine Lineham returns to the cabaret circuit with her new show WHO AM I? A tribute to international recording artist Petula Clark. The fun-filled cabaret show charts the course of Ms Clark's career from her early recordings in the 1940's through her mega stardom in the 1960's to her award-winning performances on Broadway in the 1990^TMs. Maxine received a 2007 MAC award nomination for her cabaret debut SO FAR¦ She played Emma to critical acclaim in the 2008 revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber^TMs Tell Me on a Sunday, also a? the Beechman. Musical Direction by Gerald Sto?kstill, Directed by Kelly McGee.

Brandon Cutrell & Co-Horts
Thursday, May 7 @ 9:30
Thursday, May 14 @ 9:30
$20 cover
Brandon Cutrell, popular co-host of The After Party, invites a few of New York's most promising newcomers to take the stage and showcase their talents. From songwriters to singers, this show is full of variety!

Anthony Santelmo, Jr. Seeks out Wintersongs
Fridays, May 8 & 22 @ 8pm
Saturdays, May 9 @ 23 @ 7pm
$20 cover
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0favorite of the cabaret scene, Santelmo returns to the Beechman in a brand new solo show.

Tim Sullivan
Saturday, May 9 @ 4pm
$20 cover
Part of the celebratEd Sullivan clan (KT, Heather, etc)., acclaimed vocalist and songwriter Tim Sullivan brings his country-infused show to the Beechman stage for one night only.

Alison Arngrim: Confessions of a Prairie Bitch
Sunday, May 10 @ 8pm
$20 cover
Comic, former child star, outspoken activist and TV Land Award winner Alison Arngrim makes her annual return to New York with Confessions of a Prairie Bitch for one performance only this Mother's Day. Best known as acid-tongued, pre-Midol meanie Nellie Oleson from Little House on the Prairie, Alison Arngrim presents an uproarious evening of storytelling and stand-up about life as everyone's favorite toxic pre-teen brat, complete with petticoats and ringlets. Never afraid to dish the dirt on TV land, she lets loose all t?e secrets of Little House, Hollywood and much more, including backstage gossip from the TV Land Awards and the Broadway-bound musical version of Little House on The Prairie (starring close friend, Melissa Gilbert). Recalling her life and career as bitchy Nellie Oleson, Arngrim startles audiences internationally with off-color jok?s about child stars and TV icons of the 1970s and 80s. For reservations, call 212-352-3101 or purchase online at www.spincyclenyc.com.
Voices from the Great White Way: Donna Lynne Champlin in Finishing the Hat
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Monday, May 11 @ 7pm
$25 cover
The third installment of our celebrated Voices from the Great White Way series, featuring one night only concerts from some of Broadway's most exciting voices, continues tonight with a visit from Sweeney Todd/Hollywood Arms/The Dead's Donna Lynne Champlin. In her hilarious show, Finishing the Hat, Donna Lynne recalls a variety of stories of showbiz lore from her theatrical past.

Lynne Halliday in Let Yourself Go
Tuesdays, May 12, 19, 26 @ 7pm
Sunday, May 24 @ 6pm
$12 cover
Lynne Halliday returns to the Laurie Beechman Theatre with an all-new show, an exploration of, ummmm... letting go! With David Brunetti on piano.

Joan Rivers
Tuesdays, May 12 & 19 @ 9pm
Wednesdays, May 13 & 20 @ 8pm
$30 cover
Legendary comedian Joan Rivers brings her her live stand-up act to Times Square, as she presents an evening of her newest and most outrageous riffs on Hollywood, pop culture, celebrities, and award show fashions. A portion of the proceeds benefit Joan Rivers' favorite charities: God's Love We Deliver and Guide Dogs for the Blind. For reservations, call 212-352-3101 or purchase online at www.spincyclenyc.com. Doors open one hour before showtime.
Steven Lutvak
Friday, May 15 @ 7:30pm
$25 cover
Award-winning composer Stephen Lutvak returns to The Laurie Beechman Theatre to share some of his newest compositions, including songs from his forthcoming musicals. Of course
, some of his most treasured chestnuts are included as well. Steven has won the first Johnny Mercer Foundation Emerging American Songwriter Award, two Jonathan Larson Performing Arts Foundation Grants for his work in the theatre (he is the first and only recipient of two such awards), a New American Works Grant from the NEA, two Bistro Awards and three MAC Awards...and for his work for the theater, he and his principal collaborator, Robert L. Freedman, won both the Kleban Award for Lyric Writing, and the Fred Ebb Songwriting Award -- and in the same year. For tickets, please visit www.smarttix.com, or 212 868 4444.

Cabaret Cares Gala
Sunday, May 17 @ 6pm
$100 includes dinner & show
Cabaret Cares is a benefit series that brings together the best of the Broadway and Cabaret communities to raise funds for Broadway Cares and Help Is On the Way Today, and not for profit organization providing funds for children living with HIV.

A Night of Song for Hope
Monday, May 18 @ 7pm
$25 cover
This special star-studded event features a cast of performers from the Broadway productions of Shrek, Wicked, Altar Boys, Grease, 9 to 5, The Pajama Game and more! 100% of the evening's proceeds will go to benefit the Hope Foundation, a transitional home located in a densely populated slum in Lusaka, Zambia which provides food and shelter for homeless girls. The money raised from this benefit will assist with school fees, operating expenses, improvem
ents to the physical structure and health education programs.

Special MAC Awards edition of The After Party
Monday, May 18 @ 11pm
No cover
A special edition of our MAC (Manhattan Association of Cabarets) nominated "schmoozefest," tonight celebrates all of the winners and nominees of this year's MAC Awards, held tonight just up the street at BB King.

Voices from the Great White Way: Lauren Kennedy
Friday, May 29 @ 7pm
$25 cover
The third installment of our celebrated Voices from the Great White Way series, featuring one night only concerts from some of Broadway's most exciting voices, continues tonight with a visit from Les Miserables/Sunset Boulevard/Side Show/Spamalot's Lauren Kennedy, who will have just wrapped up Papermill Playhouse's successful production of 1776.

Heather Powell in The Artist's Journey
Saturday, May 30 @ 4pm
Friday, June 5 @ 8pm
$10 cover
The Artist's Journey: joy, love, regret, humor, passion, tenderness, discovery and celebration as told through original poetry and Broadway song.

Jim Van Slyke in The Sedaka Show
Sunday, May 31 @ 3pm
$20 cover
A celebration of the music of pop icon and legend Neil Sedaka. Jim bring his acclaimed show back to the Beechman stage for one performance only.

Voice from the Great White Way: Mary Bond Davis
Sunday, May 31 @ 7pm
$25 c
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The third installment of our celebrated Voices from the Great White Way series, featuring one night only concerts from some of Broadway's most exciting voices, continues tonight with a visit from Hairspray/The Women/Jelly's Last Jam/Marie Christine's Mary Bond Davis.

Craig Stevens' Guide to Broadway
Sunday, May 31 @ 9:30
$5 cover
Meet Craig Stevens, he's fierce and collects show posters. Meet his "girlfriend," Janine, she recently lost 78lbs on the Subway diet. Recent graduates of Virginia's prestigious Tidewater Community College, these love birds have moved up to the city in hopes of making it on Broadway. Hailed as "the most clueless boy in New York" by Gawker.com, Craig has been sharing his New York adventures for the past year on Youtube with the "Craig Stevens Video Blog. Now Craig and Janine are coming to you live, teaching a performance based master class, featuring an original one-act musical, audience interaction, and performances from 3 TBD Broadway names. Starring: Kevin Michael Murphy, Lauren Marcus, and Lauren C. Adams. Directed by David Alpert, choreography by John O'Malley.