Jason Robert Brown, Julia Murney, Eden Espinosa and More Set for 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, will welcome the following events:

Julia Murney, Sept. 10 at 7PM, Sept. 16 at 9PM:
Julia Murney has tackled leading roles in Broadway's Wicked and Lennon, to off-Broadway's The Wild Party, Time and Again and recently, Queen of the Mist. Well known for her concert work, her acclaimed CD, I'm Not Waiting (on the Sh-K-Boom label), runs the gamut from original tunes written for the musical theatre to contemporary music by greats such as Bobbie Gentry, Joni Mitchell and John Lennon. This September, 54 Below will welcome Julia and her band of musicians, led by Pulitzer Prize winning composer Tom Kitt (Next to Normal), as she makes her 54 Below debut. Cover charge: $20 - $30. $25 food and beverage minimum.

Eden Espinosa, Sept. 10 at 9:30PM:
Following the success of her debut solo show, ME, which played to in New York and LA, Eden Espinosa, star of Broadway's Wicked, Rent and Brooklyn brings her new show to 54 Below for two special performances only. Cover charge: $20-30. $20 food and beverage minimum.

Jason Robert Brown with guest vocalist Shoshana Bean, Sept. 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 at 8:30PM, and Sept. 14 & 15 at 11PM:
54 Below will welcome Tony and Drama Desk winner Jason Robert Brown to our stage for a week of exciting performances. Introducing material from his new musicals The Bridges of Madison County, Honeymoon in Vegas and his forthcoming CD, Caravan of Angels, Jason and his band will also include classics from Songs for a New World, Parade, The Last 5 Years, 13 and Jason's fabulous solo CD, Wearing Someone Else's Clothes. Guest vocalist Shoshana Bean (Wicked, Godspell) will be on hand to create musical magic with the standard JRB formula: amazing musicians bringing wonderful songs to life. Cover charge: $30 - $40. $25 food and beverage minimum.

BACKSTAGE, hosted by Susie Mosher and guest stars Donna Vivino and Nicholas Rodriguez, Sept. 11at 10:30PM:
Join Broadway’s Tuesday night cocktail party/songfest. There is a $15 food and beverage minimum, but no cover charge for Backstage. 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. This week’s special guest stars include Donna Vivino (currently in Wicked, Hairspray, Saturday Night Fever, Broadway’s original Young Cosette in Les Misérables) and Nicholas Rodriguez (Tarzan, “One Life To Live”). No Cover charge. Food and beverage minimum: $15. Doors open at 10:00PM

(**SCHEDULE NOTE: Backstage is now presented on its new day and time, TUESDAYS, AT 10:30PM. Doors open at 10PM).

THE GREEN ROOM, Sept. 12, 13 after 9:45PM:
Join us on Wednesdays and Thursdays after 9:45PM when 54 Below becomes a post-theatre lounge with live music, creative cocktails, and small food plates. No cover charge. No minimum.

SING, HARLEM, SING!, Sept. 15 at 1PM:
Sing, Harlem, Sing!, a musical revue created by Vy Higginsen and directed by Ken Wydro (the creative team behind the award-winning 1983 gospel musical Mama, I Want To Sing), comes to 54 Below with a soulful score filled with classic gospel tunes and well as R&B, jazz, and rock n’ roll hits from the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. Sing, Harlem, Sing! is a celebration of African-American music, urban radio, and the energy of one of the world’s most legendary neighborhoods. Doors open at 12PM. Cover charge $20-30/$25 food and beverage minimum or $45 prefix menu.

JAZZ BRUNCH WITH Barbara Carroll Sept. 16 at 1PM:
54 Below will welcome jazz legend Barbara Carroll to our stage for a series of seven exciting jazz brunches. In 1947, Leonard Feather dubbed 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.

To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.54Below.com or call (866) 468-7619.