Laurie Beechman News

Ah, summertime in New York. Strolls through Central Park, Yankees games, sweaty subway platforms, and most excitingly... NYMF!!!! That's right, the newly renamed New York Musical Festival is at hand and you should be excited. New musicals are being born and workshopped throughout the summer and the future of musical theatre is being forged. This last week at Broadway Sessions, our audience got the chance to be the first folks to hear music from nine of NYMF's most exciting offerings from this years festival. Lisa and Leonardo, Normativity, Camp Rolling Hills, Dust Can't Kill Me, LUDO's Broken Bride, Midnight at the Never Get, Icon, One Child Born and Freedom Riders all offered up musical glimpses into their productions. Get your own sneak peek here and make sure you go to NYMF.org and see as many of these shows as you can this summer! After all, what is summer for?

'When You've Got a Gift: 3 One-Act Musicals' will premiere at the Kraine Theater July 10 and 11.

This Thursday night, June 30th, Broadway Sessions will offer a snake peek of some of the show featured in this years New York Musical Theatre Festival.

New York Musical Festival (NYMF) presents FREEDOM RIDERS from July 27th through August 2nd at June Havoc Theatre (312 W 36th St #1, New York, NY 10018). The official opening is set for Wednesday, July 27th, at 8PM.

Broadway Sessions turned up the heat this last week with our final All Open Mic Party of the summer. Performers came ready to rock with every thing from burlesque performances to introspective tear jerkers. Enjoy some of the performances below and make sure you're in the room when we get our open mic on in September.

The New York Musical Festival (NYMF), previously known as The New York Musical Theater Festival, has announced Tony Award winner Jessie Mueller (Waitress, Beautiful - The Carole King Musical) as the 2016 NYMF Honorary Chair. The 2016 New York Musical Festival will be presented from July 11 through August 7 in various venues in Midtown Manhattan.

Watch (but mainly listen) as Tanya O'Debra lends her voice to ten characters while staging live sound effects in this naughty 1940's radio detective spoof. When a wealthy client hires Private Dick Nick McKittrick to find her husband's killer, she learns that he will literally stick his nose where it doesn't belong. Just like the golden age of radio. Only much, much dirtier.

Hailed as one of Time Out New York's Top 10 Cabaret Artists (2013), belter and bad decision maker Tori Scott returns to Joe's Pub at The Public just in time for Gay Pride with her solo show, MAKING AMERICA GAY AGAIN! -- a shameless journey that celebrates stiff drinks, bad decisions and the gays that enable her -- tonight, June 25th, at 9:30pm.

Truly unique performance artist 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, drag, video and music. BENDELACREME'S INFERNO A-GO-GO, an evening of entertainment about an eternity of suffering, will begin performances July 28 at The Laurie Beechman Theatre.

After selling out its initial run, I'LL SAY SHE IS, the legendary musical comedy that was the Broadway debut of the Marx Brothers, will extend its historic revival at The Connelly Theater through July 3.

Hailed as one of Time Out New York's Top 10 Cabaret Artists (2013), belter and bad decision maker Tori Scott returns to Joe's Pub at The Public just in time for Gay Pride with her solo show, MAKING AMERICA GAY AGAIN! -- a shameless journey that celebrates stiff drinks, bad decisions and the gays that enable her -- on June 25th at 9:30pm.

Off-Broadway singer-songwriters Anya Turner & Robert Grusecki return to the Brick Room at Don't Tell Mama in their show 'Hello, West 46th Street', an evening of new cabaret songs.

8 was great this last Thursday at Broadway Sessions! Not only did we celebrate 8 years of weekly shows but we celebrated host Ben Cameron's (that's me) 38TH birthday. Some of Sessions' most memorable guests returned to share music, stories and surprise our host (once again, that's me). Performances ranged from sentimental to insane, just the way we like it! Check it out here.

The New York Musical Festival (NYMF), previously known as The New York Musical Theatre Festival, announced today the initial slate of artists participating in NYMF 2016, taking place from July 11 through August 7 in Midtown Manhattan.

The John W. Engeman Theater announces the cast and creative team for MAMMA MIA!  Performances begin on Thursday, July 21 at 8:00pm and run through Sunday, September 11, 2016.

Musical Theater Heritage will enters the foray of original new work by presenting a concert style reading of Michael Finke's new musical, HURRICANE. MTH is bringing the composer in from New York and will spend the week fine-tuning the new musical culminating with a free public reading on Sunday, June 26 at 8pm.

The John W. Engeman Theater announces the cast and creative team for MAMMA MIA!  Performances begin on Thursday, July 21 at 8:00pm and run through Sunday, September 11, 2016.

The Tony Awards aired last night on CBS (yeah yeah yeah, we know you know). The show was lovely and came at just the right moment, given all the horrific things happening in our world. We, at Broadway Sessions, got to celebrating last Thursday night as we welcomed Tony Award winner Daisy Eagan. We also celebrated the show that were "snubbed" with fabulous performances from Disaster's Olivia Phillip and Bway vet and Tuck Everlasting cast member Heather Parcells. Lion King and Ragtime vet DeMone Seraphin was also on hand to the delight of the fun loving crowd. "Rising Stars" Erin Christine Walsh, Julia Rose Hines and Daniel Joseph Baker knocked it out of the park. Enjoy the insanity here.

Of course not everyone can be piled into the Beacon Theatre on Sunday so, instead of sitting on your couch anxiously awaiting for the winners to be announced and drinking a fun musical themed cocktail, you could be out hitting up some of the best Tony Award Viewing Parties. BroadwayWorld has rounded up the best Tony Award parties to make this years ceremony one for the ages.

Of course not everyone can be piled into the Beacon Theatre on Sunday so, instead of sitting on your couch anxiously awaiting for the winners to be announced and drinking a fun musical themed cocktail, you could be out hitting up some of the best Tony Award Viewing Parties. BroadwayWorld has rounded up the best Tony Award parties to make this years ceremony one for the ages.