TONY AWARD WINNER DAVID ROCKWELL TO RENOVATE THE LAURIE BEECHMAN THEATRE, NEW YORK CITY’S PREMIERE CABARET VENUE
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, PLEASE
HISTORIC CABARET VENUE
LAURIE BEECHMAN THEATRE
ANNOUNCES RENOVATION BY
TONY AWARD® WINNER SCENIC DESIGNER AND ARCHITECT
DAVID ROCKWELL
LAURIE BEECHMAN THEATRE TO REOPEN SPRING 2025
WEST BANK CAFÉ REOPEN NOW!
New York, NY (March 7, 2025) – Today, Tom D’Angora and Michael D’Angora, producers and owners of the iconic 42nd Street restaurant West Bank Café, announced Tony Award® winner and renowned architect and designer David Rockwell will lead an extravagant renovation of New York City’s most prominent cabaret venue, The Laurie Beechman Theatre, to be completed by Spring 2025.
David Rockwell said, “The Laurie Beechman Theatre has been one of the theater district’s hidden gems for culture seekers over more than forty years. Having this opportunity to be part of this new incarnation, extending its legacy for new generations of legendary artists and in-the-know audiences, is incredibly meaningful. Our design concept celebrates the space’s rich and diverse history, while delivering an unabashedly glamorous experience for all who enter.”
“When we first set out to revitalize the Laurie Beechman Theatre and West Bank Café back to life, we knew it needed a makeover glitzier than Louise becoming Gypsy Rose Lee,” said owners and producers Tom D’Angora and Michael D’Angora. “We’re thrilled someone as lauded as David Rockwell would join us for the adventure – it’s truly been a dream come true. We can’t wait to open up the Laurie Beechman’s doors for audiences again this Spring.”
Since its opening in 1983, The Laurie Beechman Theatre, previously known as the “Downstairs Theatre Bar,” has welcomed legends such as Joan Rivers, The Who, Andre De Shields, Tony Shalhoub, Aaron Sorkin, Jinkx Monsoon, and many more. In the theatre’s first 14 years, more than 1,500 one-act plays were performed at the theatre. When the venue was scheduled to close in August 2024 after financial difficulties following the COVID-19 pandemic, Tom D’Angora, Michael D’Angora, Tim Guinee, and Joe Iconis joined forces to raise nearly $1 million to save the café and theatre.
Following the renovation of the Laurie Beechman Theatre, an official reopening gala will be held on a date to be announced shortly.
For more information, please visit www.wbcnyc.com.
ABOUT ROCKWELL GROUP
Based in New York with offices in Los Angeles and Madrid, Rockwell Group is an interdisciplinary architecture and design firm that emphasizes innovation and thought leadership in every project. Founded in 1984 by David Rockwell, FAIA, and led by David and partners Shawn Sullivan and Greg Keffer, the 330-person firm merges performance and architecture to create extraordinary experiences and built environments across the globe. Inspired by theater, technology, and high-end craft, the firm creates a unique narrative for each project, ranging from hospitality to cultural and educational institutions to transportation hubs and Broadway sets. Honors include the AIANY President’s Award; a Cooper Hewitt National Design Award; a Tony Award for Best Scenic Design for She Loves Me; two Emmy Awards; the Pratt Legends Award; the Presidential Design Award; the James Beard Foundation Who’s Who of Food & Beverage in America; Interior Design’s Icon Award; Architectural Digest’s AD100 Hall of Fame.
ABOUT THE LAURIE BEECHMAN THEATRE
In 1978, with Lewis Black serving as the Artistic Director, the “Downstairs Theatre Bar” opened, producing hundreds of readings, workshops, and productions by emerging talents. On the stage you could find an undiscovered Tony Shalhoub, Holly Hunter, Mary Testa, or Mark Linn-Baker working on their craft. It was where Aaron Sorkin (“The West Wing”) developed his first two plays; the first starred Nathan Lane. The Tony-winning play, Side Man, was workshopped by playwright Warren Leight and starred Edie Falco. Being across the street from Playwrights Horizon, the original production of Sunday in the Park with George, needing more space, rehearsed on our stage – it was where Sondheim first played “Finishing the Hat” for Bernadette Peters and Mandy Patinkin.
The Broadway community lost one of its favorite leading ladies, Laurie Beechman, far too soon. Known for her work as the original “Star to Be” in Annie, her Tony nomination as the Narrator in Joseph…and her brilliant turns as Grizabella and Fantine, when she was diagnosed with cancer, she feared being forgotten. After her passing, owner Steve Olsen renamed the historic theatre in her honor. Since then, it has been a premier venue for musicians, cabaret, and nightclub acts. Most famously, Joan Rivers made it her home base, performing over 200 sets, including her last, on our stage. Pete Townshend and The Who played 4 intimate concerts in 1994 and almost 20 years later a young Ariana Grande and other stars on the rise would perform at the venue’s “popular” open mic nights. When RuPaul’s Drag Race exploded in 2009, The Beechman became THE spot to catch these new stars – Jinx Monsoon even had a two-year sold-out residency in the Beechman Theatre. Being in Broadway’s backyard, the venue was a favorite for stars, such as André De Shields, Donna McKechnie, Alice Ripley and more, to do an intimate evening. Composers such as Joe Iconis, and Pulitzer Prize winner Michael R. Jackson claim they found their voice on this stage. Other stars to grace the Beechman stage include Cyndi Lauper, Patti LuPone, Shoshana Bean, Jonathan Groff, Andrea McArdle, Jackie Cox, Ben De La Crème, Leslie Kritzer, Alec Mappa, Isaac Mizrahi…
The list of milestones goes on and on…
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