Laurie Beechman News

"Pace Sings Carner & Gregor", a showcase of the work of Sam Carner & Derek Gregor by Pace University students, will be presented at the Laurie Beechman Theatre on March 19 at 7pm. Carner & Gregor are a musical composing duo on the rise, who take great interest in working with college students. In the style of their Barely Legal Extravaganza concert series, they present nine fresh faces new to the New York City cabaret scene in this exciting concert showcasing their work.

Edmund Gaynes, in association with David Gersten, will present Loni Ackerman, Brad Bradley Gene Castle, and Karla Shook in TIN PAN ALLEY (The Original iTunes), which began an open-ended Off-Broadway engagement February 25th at Actors Temple Theater (339 West 47th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues). Opening Night is set for March 19th (7pm). TIN PAN ALLEY will run 75 minutes.

SHANA FARR "Whistling Away the Dark: Through Songs of Julie Andrews" will perform at the METROPOLITAN ROOM February 25th (7:00pm) March 15th (9:30pm). $20.00 Music Charge / Two Drink Minimum, Food also available.

Actor/Songwriter/Performer Jared Weiss will present his debut evening of original songs (entitled Desperate Times) at 9:30pm on Friday, March 16th at the Laurie Beechman Theater. Jared invites you to join him and his band of gypsies (Seth Eliser, Joe Iconis, Ian Kagey and Rob Rokicki) as they unleash a new brand of theatrical rock music on the world. Equal parts Rock, Folk, and Musical theatre, Desperate Times' truthful fictions chronicle an artist's turbulent emotional life. Sagas of love, fear, hope, submission, and more abound as Jared and the gang, take you on a roller-coaster ride through the life of his mind. Come watch them live and die on stage, four minutes at a time, as they take no prisoners.

SHANA FARR "Whistling Away the Dark: Through Songs of Julie Andrews" will perform at the METROPOLITAN ROOM February 25th (7:00pm) March 15th (9:30pm). $20.00 Music Charge / Two Drink Minimum, Food also available.

The Manhattan Association of Cabarets & Clubs (MAC) is pleased to announce the 26th Annual MAC Awards Show. The event will be held on Thursday, March 29th, at the world-famous B.B. King Blues Club & Grill in NYC. The evening will feature many live performances as well as the live announcement of the winners of the 2012 MAC Awards. In addition, as MAC celebrates The Year of the Songwriter, five exceptional songwriters will receive special honors.

Libra Theater Company presented Songs You Should Know, a concert of new and rarely performed songs by some of today's most prolific music theater writers on Monday, February 6th at The Laurie Beechman Theatre. Video clips have just been released and BroadwayWorld brings you NEWSIES' Jeremy Jordan performing 'If the World Looked Like You' by Will Reynolds. Check it out below.

Due to audience reception and demand The Fugitive Kind (Michael Page, Artistic Director) once again will present the cabaret show, Sarcastic, Sentimental, Bitchy and Sweet for one performance only: March 13 at 7:00 p.m. at The Laurie Beechman Theatre (407 West 42nd St.). Written by Laura Caufield, directed by Michael Page, music direction by Jason Burrow - the cast includes Jason Burrow, Matthew Cleaver, Susan Molloy and Ethan Paulini.

Negin Farsad, Amy Albert and Beth McGregor present the weekly standup show, Comedy School Dropout. In the grand tradition of East Village alternative rooms, Comedy School Dropout brings standup comics, the occasional comedy musical act, subversive duo, or talented threesome, to the stage for the price of zero dollars.

CrAzYToWn is set to come to New York City. All performances take place at The Broadway Comedy Club, 318 W. 53rd St. (Btw 8th Avenue & 53rd Street), New York, NY.

Obie Award-winning playwright/performer David Drake makes his long-awaited return to New York with the premiere of MY TAWNY VALENTINE.

Obie Award-winning playwright/performer David Drake (The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me) makes his long-awaited return to New York with the premiere of MY TAWNY VALENTINE. Written by and starring Drake, this drag tragicomedy with music is directed by Robert La Fosse (Tony Award nominee for Jerome Robbins' Broadway) featuring musical direction by Lance Cruce (Joan River's longtime pianist, Karen Finley's Make Love), original music by Trevor Kuprel, and video by Ned Stresen Reuter. Performances begin February 17th at The Laurie Beechman Theatre.

Carole Demas, Broadway's original "Sandy" (Grease), and Star of TV's The Magic Garden is celebrating the 40th Birthdays of both GREASE and The Magic Garden at the Laurie Beechman Theatre inside the West Bank Cafe (407 West 42nd Street at Ninth Avenue; 212-695-6909; www.beechmantheatre.com)

Fresh off the heels of her sold-out Violent Holiday Extravaganza, Julia Mattison will be joined by her Godspell friends once again for A Sexy Valentines Day Massacre! Featuring a collection of brand new twisted Valentines Day tunes, the concert is set for the Laurie Beechman Theatre on Monday, February 13th at 7pm. Expect to hear songs with titles like 'Cupid is the Most Dangerous Baby', 'Fired From Hallmark', and 'Chocolate Boyfriend'.

KIM SMITH, the acclaimed international performer called 'all decadence and sly appeal' by Back Stage, will bring his critically-acclaimed concert 'Misfit' back to New York for one night only. 'Misfit' premiered in March 2011 at New York's Laurie Beechman Theatre, and performed at Café Sabarsky and Duane Park Supper Club throughout the year. The next performance of 'Misfit' will take place at The Laurie Beechman Theatre (407 West 42nd Street at 9th Avenue) on Sunday, February 12 at 9:30 PM. Tickets are $15, with an additional $15 food and beverage minimum. For reservations, please call (212) 695-6909 or visit www.beechmantheatre.com.

Legendary comedian JOAN RIVERS returns to The Laurie Beechman Theatre in Times Square for an additional show on Valentine's Day -- Tuesday, February 14 at 8pm.

Libra Theater Company presented Songs You Should Know, a concert of new and rarely performed songs by some of today's most prolific music theater writers. The concert took place on Monday, February 6th, 2012 at 9:30 pm at The Laurie Beechman Theatre and BroadwayWorld was there to cover the event! Check out the photos below!

Fresh off the heels of her sold-out Violent Holiday Extravaganza, Julia Mattison will be joined by her Godspell friends once again for A Sexy Valentines Day Massacre! Featuring a collection of brand new twisted Valentines Day tunes, the concert is set for the Laurie Beechman Theatre on Monday, February 13th at 7pm. Expect to hear songs with titles like 'Cupid is the Most Dangerous Baby', 'Fired From Hallmark', and 'Chocolate Boyfriend'.

Song stylist and performance artist Kim Smith is a truly unique performer who brings together the worlds of cabaret and theatre in a wholly idiosyncratic and arrestingly amusing manner. Part Marlene Dietrich, part Eartha Kitt and all Kim Smith, Kim and I recently had the chance to discuss his solo show, MISFIT - what inspired it; what he will be singing; what we can expect from the show - as well as a host of other topics, such as his Australian upbringing, the music and performers who inspire him most, performing in Sondheim's MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG and other musicals, as well as other collaborations with director Christian Coulson. Plus, Smith and I take an overview of his favorite current pop artists - many of whom he pays tribute to in his shows, such as Bjork and Robyn - and what elements draw him most in creating his series of surreal solo shows, the most recent being the highly regarded MISFIT, which returns to New York this Sunday. Also, we have first news on his forthcoming solo album and much, much more!

THE ASTORIA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER (APAC) is proud to present an APAC Workshop of Matt Schatz's Love Trapezoid, directed by APAC Artistic Director Tom Wojtunik. Love Trapezoid will play four performances only at the Good Shepherd United Methodist Church (30-44 Crescent St, Astoria, NY 11102. Entrance on 30th Road.) Performances are February 10-11 and February 17-18.