Laurie Beechman News

The Philipstown Depot Theatre will host Phil Geoffrey Bond's My Friend, the Cat on Saturday, October 1 at 8pm. My Friend, the Cat, a hit at off-Broadway's Laurie Beechman Theatre in 2007, is being revived for this special one-night-only performance on the banks of the Hudson River. Featuring music by some of the greatest songwriters of the past century, the evening is intermingled with spoken text by Bond about his ten year relationship with one particularly mischievous feline.

Sally Mayes and Jeff Harnar announce further performances of their cabaret show, Double Take: Sally Mayes and Jeff Harnar at the same time! The pair will perform the show on Wednesdays September 7, 14, 21 & 28 at 7pm and again on Thursday 20 October at 2pm, as part of a special cabaret convention week. All performances will take place at the Laurie Beechman Theatre.

After a successful launch earlier this year (in THE MYSTERY OF THE FAMILY JEWELS), those meddling teen detectives Nasty Drew and That Harder Boy return in an all new evening that blends theater, comedy, mystery, drag, stripping -- and disco. NASTY DREW AND THAT HARDER BOY: THE CASE OF THE PEEPSHOW PHANTOM will begin performances September 9 at The Laurie Beechman Theater inside West Bank Cafe.

MISSED CONNECTIONS NYC has announced the return engagement of the acclaimed MISSED CONNECTIONS: An Exploration into the Online Postings of Desperate Romantics, created by Ricky Dunlop. MISSED CONNECTIONS will play at 9:00pm for a six-week limited engagement at The Kraine Theater (85 East 4th Street). Performances begin tonight, September 6.

BROADWAY SESSIONS is an evening of musical performances, games and open mic featuring a new Broadway guest each week. The show is created and hosted by Ben Cameron (Bway Wicked, Aida and Footloose) and features musical director Joshua Stephen Kartes on piano.  This Thursday, September 8th, Broadway Sessions is thrilled to welcome cast members from the Tony award winning, box office behemoth, The Lion King.

In an election year filled with cults of all shapes and sizes, Steven Fales takes audiences on a journey through our cult-susceptible culture. Think of it as an entertaining TED Talk with original songs, parodies, monologues and stand-up as he leaves no cult untouched and takes no prisoners using his Cult Scale (0-6) and addressing his own personal experiences with OCD-Obsessive Cult Disorder. Leave your common sense at the door as you enter his outrageous cult of personality and perfection!.  

Tonight, September 1st, BROADWAY SESSIONS is thrilled to return from its annual summer hiatus with a special ALL OPEN MIC PARTY SEASON KICK-OFF! 

When I was a kid, I spent a lot of time daydreaming about someday making it on big Broadway. There was lots of community theatre and talent shows and dancing for grandma and daydream after daydream. For a lot of us it was just that- a dream. But for these kids, it's just another day at the office. Big talent comes in little packages on The Great White Way. Here's a look back at some of the incredible Broadway kids from Matilda, Finding Neverland, On Your Feet, Once, Les Miserables, Kinky Boots, Elf, South Pacific and of course the face shredders from School of Rock!

Those Girls, the dynamic vocal harmony group that debuted in New York last spring, returns to the Laurie Beechman Theatre in New York City for two shows in September.

This week our Broadway [OB]Session is our good friend, and arguably one of Broadway's best actors, Patrick Page! Broadway's favorite villain (Hunchback's Frollo, Lion King's Scar, Spider-Man's The Green Goblin... HADESTOWN!) is equally at home on the musical stage (he was THE GRINCH after all) as he is sinking his teeth into Shakespeare on the world's finest stages. Patrick is the sort of actor that can find truth and meaning in any text... SO we at Sessions have put his skills to task with a series of dramatic readings. Enjoy Mr. Page putting his stamp on Lady Gaga and Nikki Minaj (a personal favorite) as well as performances from some of his iconic roles and more. Keep your eye out for his beautiful wife Paige Davis! Here's to a master of his craft at WERK!

MISSED CONNECTIONS NYC has announced the return engagement of the acclaimed MISSED CONNECTIONS: An Exploration into the Online Postings of Desperate Romantics, created by Ricky Dunlop. MISSED CONNECTIONS will play at 9:00pm for a six-week limited engagement at The Kraine Theater (85 East 4th Street). Performances begin Tuesday, September 6.

The Broadway Artists Connection (BAC) presents its tenth Broadway Artists & Friends Open Mic & Mingle hosted by Broadway Veteran Antoine L. Smith (THE COLOR PURPLE) on Monday, September 12th at 7pm (doors open at 6pm).

Feinstein's/54 Below, Broadway's Supper Club, presents Mel Johnson Jr. (Jekyll & Hyde, The Lion King, The Rink), Kate Rockwell (Bring It On, Rock of Ages, Hair, Legally Blonde), Heath Saunders (Natasha, Pierre...), Gretchen Wylder (Clinton, Bed Bugs, Divorce the Musical), Erin Maya (Wearing Black, The Donkey Show), Viet Vo (Miss Saigon Ntl Tour, Fishing for Wives), Alexis Field (50 Shades Ntl Tour, Angelina Ballerina) in THE SONGS OF RILEY THOMAS on Friday, August 19th, at 9:30 pm.

WICKED!!!! You tingled didn't you? It's hard not to. No modern musical has had quite the impact that this mega musical has had all over the world. And I won't lie to ya, Wicked hold's a very special place in my heart (listen to track #2 of your cast album, you may hear a familiar voice asking 'Glinda, is it true you were her friend?') But humble bragging aside, Wicked is nothing short of a phenomenon. So this week we've compiled some of our favorite Broadway Sessions performances from Stephen Schwartz's box office blockbuster! 'The Wizard and I,' 'Popular,' 'As Long As Your Mine,' 'No Good Deed,' 'Defying Gravity' and even a cliff notes version of ensembling in Wicked w/ myself and original caster Marcus Choi, it's just too good…or is it Wicked?

NiCori Studios and Productions announces a new installment of the monthly concert series, 'Music at the Mansion', on Sunday, August 28, at 3pm at the Oakeside Bloomfield Cultural Center in Bloomfield, NJ.  Performers include Lauren Stanford, Sean Harkness and Marieann Meringolo.  The Young Musician Moment will be Alex DiFilippo.

SCOBAR ENTERTAINMENT is proud to present the acclaimed, MAC Award-nominated variety show, Mark Hartman's LATE BREAKING STORIES, on Tuesday, August 23, 2016, at 8pm at Iridium. The evening is hosted by Pianist/Music Director/Conductor MARK HARTMAN, with John Miller on bass, Ray Marchica on drums & special guest vocalists Dana Levinson, Paul Victor, Erin Quill & T. Oliver Reid.

ALGONQUIN THEATER PRODUCTIONS and JASON HEWITT proudly present the world premiere of On the Rails, a new musical with book by Tony Sportiello (Second Chance, National Pastime), music and lyrics by Al Tapper (Sessions, An Evening at the Carlyle), arrangements and musical direction by David Wolfson, and directed by Misti B. Wills (In Search of Euphoria).

Broadway became just a little more Broadway this last week as CATS made it's return to the Great White Way. Whether or not you think Cats is a ground breaker or a punch line, one thing is certain, the man behind the music is a living legend. Andrew Lloyd Webber has been an ubiquitous part of any theatre fans experience for decades. From those first chilling organ chords in Phantom (which still gets me every time- then again I wore my Phantom T-shirt to have my 8th grade school photos taken); to the synth pop of Starlight Express; to the irresistible bubble gum goodness of Joseph; it's hard not to walk out of a Lloyd Webber show not humming the tunes. He's had hits (um, Cats is BACK), he's had misses (The Woman in White) he's blazed trails (JC Superstar is arguably the first and finest rock musical) and has written a masterpiece of a score or two along the way (Evita, and anyone remember Aspects of Love? Divine). We're celebrating the kitties' return with a Broadway Sessions stroll down memory lane with the Lord. Let the memories live again…

Pogue Mahone Productions is pleased to present Anonymous, Anonymous as a part of the 20th Annual New York International Fringe Festival - FringeNYC. Jason Sofge, operating as both writer and director is making his FringeNYC debut with this the World Premiere of his new play, Anonymous, Anonymous, starring A.R.T./Harvard M.F.A Acting graduate Kristin Wetherington and Dustin Charles, who has co-starred in hit shows such as Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Royal Pains, and Boardwalk Empire!

Truly unique performer BenDeLaCreme, who became an international favorite on RuPaul's Drag Race, returns to New York with the debut of her latest theatrical blend of burlesque, comedy, performance art and music. BENDELACREME'S INFERNO A-GO-GO, an evening of entertainment about an eternity of suffering, began performances July 28 at The Laurie Beechman Theatre and will continue through August 19.