Broadway's Next Hit Musical to Present THE PHONY AWARDS At 54 Below

BROADWAY'S NEXT HIT MUSICAL will return to 54 Below on Friday, May 17 at 9:30pm. 

"The Phony Awards," is the original improvised awards show! Master improvisers gather made-up, hit song suggestions from the audience and create a spontaneous evening of music, comedy and a ton of laughs. The audience then votes for their favorite song and watches as the cast turns this Phony Award winning song into a full-blown, improvised musical — complete with memorable characters, witty dialogue, plot twists galore and songs that you will be humming for days.

Every song is fresh.
Every scene is new.
Every night is different.
It's all improvised and
it's all funny.

Don't miss the next great American musical… It could be written by YOU!

Emceed by GREG TRIGGS with music direction by George Luton, this fully improvised performance on Friday, May 17 features Heidi Gleichauf, DEB RABBAI, ROB SCHIFFMANN, PAT SWEARINGEN, and special guest ZENIBA NOW (2024 Woman to Watch on Broadway, The Loophole).

Shares ZENIBA NOW, “This is the kind of night at the theatre that we all need. I can't wait to join this amazing cast of comedic geniuses. It's crazy to realize they never do the same show twice!”

Under the direction of improv veterans ROB SCHIFFMANN and DEB RABBAI.

Tickets are available at 54Below.org.

BROADWAY'S NEXT HIT MUSICAL

has been touring extensively throughout the United States and internationally to rave reviews since 2011. When the group is not on the road, the show can be seen at their home in NYC, the 2022 Tony Award-winning cabaret club, 54 Below, where they have been performing since 2022. Broadway's Next Hit Musical is a winner of the MAC award and has appeared off-Broadway at The Jerry Orbach Theater, as well as many other major NYC venues. With cast members whose credits include Avenue Q, The Radio City Rockets, Major Motion Picture film direction and many more, this show is a nonstop hit that you MUST see over and over because, of course, it is different EVERY TIME!

ZENIBA NOW

(Special Guest):  2024 Woman to Watch on Broadway, Zeniba Now is an award-winning musical storyteller, performer, and vocalist from Los Angeles, California. As a writer of musicals, her work includes the musical shorts: “Beloved” (PBS, #BARS at The Public) and "To Be on Hold Forever/Stay on The Line" from HUMAN RESOURCES (St. Louis Rep, Woolly Mammoth) and full lengths: THE LOOPHOLE (Richard Rodgers Award Winner, Headliner Pass The Mic Hip Hop Festival, Public Studio), TAKE THE LEAD (Paper Mill Playhouse 2025), THE THIRST TRAP (Dramatist Guild Foundation 60th Anniversary Gala, Songbyrd Demo Grant) and a new musical in development with Disney Theatrical Productions! Clips from her one-woman specials have received millions of views online, you can watch  “iQuit: Millennial Retirement Gala”, “Sincerely, Z”, and “April Fools” on TikTok, IG or Youtube.  You can listen to her music on the streaming service of your choice, including her new meditative EP, Wholly Chill. She is the winner of The Jonathan Larson Grant, The Richard Rodgers Award, The Vivace Award, The Thom Thomas Award, and is West High's Funniest Senior. To stay up-to-date on shows and releases, please follow her on social media @zenibanow or subscribe on her website www.ZenibaNow.com.

Ralph Buckley

(Co-Producer) has worked as an actor and director on and off Broadway, in television, film and radio.  Ralph has produced music and improvisation in diverse venues including Joe's Pub, El Flamingo and The Triad.  He is executive director/producer of the ongoing improvisational performance workshop, The Yes Show. 

Heidi Gleichauf

(Performer) is an actress, singer and improviser who hails from Franklin, Massachusetts. She is a proud graduate of Hofstra University where she studied Musical Theatre and received a BFA in Theatre Performance. Recently Heidi originated the role of “Sandy” in the well-received off-Broadway musical “With or Without You”, soundtrack available on Spotify and other streaming services. Heidi writes and does voiceover work for the popular children's YouTube channel “TBTV Toy Adventures” and has collaborated with Dreamworks Studios to create original content for their “Universal Kids” YouTube channel. Stay up to date on all of Heidi's happenings at www.HeidiGleichauf.com

George Luton

(Musician) is an internationally regarded pianist, composer, and music director. NYC: Alice, (Pre)Scripted, Of Sleepless Nights (The Tank). Mean Girls (Theater On the Go). Move Meant (Prospect Theatre Company) REGIONAL: Mary Poppins, Once Upon a Mattress (Island Theatre Workshop). Hair, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Spring Awakening (Purple Summer Productions). Paradise Blue (Gloucester Stage). The Abolitionist's Refrain (Punctuate 4). WORKSHOP: Earhart, Nottingham, Stiltskin (Stage 284). The Trojan Women (Columbia University). Conditions of Readiness, Facework (In Vivo Productions). Apple and the Bear, Apple Plus (Boston Children's Theatre). Learn more on Instagram @GeorgeLuton.music and www.GeorgeLuton.com.

DEB RABBAI

(Co-Artistic Director, Co-Producer, Performer) is an original member and co-creator of Broadway's Next Hit Musical. A native New Yorker, Deb has worked as an actor, improviser, singer and voiceover artist for the last twenty-five years.  Deb became the Co-Artistic Director of BNHM in 2009 and has proudly witnessed its progress into the hilarious hit it is today. A graduate of The American Academy of Dramatic Arts in NYC,  Deb spent ten years performing and teaching improvisation with Freestyle Repertory Theatre (TheatreSports New York), five years performing with ComedySportz NY and seven years with the Chicago City Limits national touring company. Deb is a highly experienced teacher of improvisation and acting, having worked at NYU, Marymount Manhattan College, The American Comedy Institute, NY Film Academy and American Musical and Dramatic Academy in NYC. Deb successfully created programs that teach curriculum through improvisation – these programs have been integrated into public schools in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.  Deb has appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and in national commercials for MasterCard, Wendy's and Zyrtec.  Deb has done countless voiceovers, ranging from radio and TV advertisements, to video games and anime films. For more information, please visit www.DebRabbai.com

ROB SCHIFFMANN

(Co-Artistic Director, Co-Producer, Performer) has worked and toured as a professional improviser and musician for over seventeen years. As a two-time MAC (Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs) Award winner and the recipient of the 2011 INNY (Improvisation News) Award for Best Improv Coach, Rob's musical and improv talents are known across the country. He has taught and directed improv at The School for Film and Television, Weist-Barron, and the Perry-Mansfield Performing Arts School in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. A graduate of Oberlin College, Rob performed regularly with Chicago City Limits before joining Broadway's Next Hit Musical in 2001.  BNHM's master improvisers started their success at the famous NYC cabaret club Don't Tell Mama as well as with the New York Musical Theater Festival.  Rob became Co-Artistic Director in 2009, and continues to perform with the hysterical troupe throughout the country and at their resident theater The Triad in NYC. Called “sharper than a pound of cheddar cheese” by reviewfix.com, Rob has showcased his skills on The Daily Download and The CBS Early Show. Rob's musical talent is also evident with the New York based acoustic-pop band, The Hillary Step; he is the main writer, lead singer, guitarist and Music Director. For more information, please visit www.robschiffmann.com

PAT SWEARINGEN

(Performer) is an actor living in New York City. His hometown of Danville, Illinois has also produced Dick Van Dyke, Bobby Short, and Gene Hackman so here's hoping some of that rubbed off on him! He is currently a featured performer and instructor at the Peoples Improv Theater in NYC.  Favorite musical performances in the field of parodies have been as Doc Brown in "That 80's Time Travel Movie", Freddie Krueger in "A Bad Dream on Elm Avenue", Caesar in "The Hungry, Hungry Games", and more traditionally as Frump in "How To Succeed.." and Crazy Old Maurice in "Beauty and the Beast". You can check out his comedy acting reel at Pat Swearingen Acting Reel 2023 - YouTube

GREG TRIGGS

(emcee, co-producer) Performance: Disney's Comedy Warehouse, the Brave New Workshop & Chicago City Limits. Writer/director: Disney, the NFL, the Tribeca Film Festival, the World Science Festival, Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas & the Scholastic Harry Potter series.  TV: BBC, ABC, TLC, Oxygen, the Discovery Channel & Nickelodeon. Greg's radio show, Travels with Triggs can be heard on Catskills Public Radio or as a podcast, available on all platforms.  He also appears with and co-produces Yarnslingers, a writer's group performing memoir essays. Greg's novels The Next Happiest Place on Earth and That Which Makes Us Stronger are available at www.Amazon.com. Blog entries and more at www.GregTriggs.com and www.StrategicEntertainmentNYC.com. 

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