Every day is opening night.

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Rick Miramontez / Ellie Detweiler / Evie Freeman / Sam Corbett
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, PLEASE

WEST BANK CAFÉ
ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIP WITH
THE AL HIRSCHFELD FOUNDATION
ORIGINAL AND LIMITED-EDITION HIRSCHFELDS
NOW LINE THE WALLS OF THE ICONIC 42^ND STREET RESTAURANT

New York, NY (April 14, 2025) – Ahead of their opening night Renaissance Gala this evening celebrating the reopening of The Laurie Beechman Theatre, Tom D’Angora and Michael D’Angora, are thrilled to announce a partnership with The Al Hirschfeld Foundation, lining the walls of the iconic 42^nd Street restaurant West Bank Café with both originals and limited-edition lithographs of Broadway’s biggest stars.

Included in the Foundation’s partnership are Sunday in the Park with George signed by Bernadette Peters and Mandy Patinkin, signed Chita Rivera, signed Donna McKechnie in A Chorus Line, signed Betty Buckley in Cats, Chicago, Matthew Broderick in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Passion, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum starring Nathan Lane, Chip Zien in Into the Woods, and Ellen Greene in Little Shop of Horrors.

David Leopold, Creative Director at The Al Hirschfeld Foundation said, “The Foundation is delighted to work with the West Bank Café on their re-opening. It is wonderful when two distinct theatrical institutions are able to collaborate to make our community even better. We are so excited by what Tom and Michael are doing.”

To download photos, click here.

The event this evening will raise funds for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS (BCEFA), one of the nation’s leading industry-based, nonprofit AIDS fundraising and grant-making organizations, and will reveal the historic venue’s renovation, currently being completed by Tony Award® winner and renowned architect and theater designer David Rockwell.

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, André De Shields, Tony Shalhoub, Aaron Sorkin, Jinx 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.

For more information, please visit www.wbcnyc.com.

ABOUT AL HIRSCHFELD

Al Hirschfeld’s drawings stand as one of the most innovative efforts in establishing the visual language of modern art through caricature in the 20th century. A self-described “characterist,” his signature work, defined by a linear calligraphic style, appeared in virtually every major publication over nine decades (including a 75-year relationship with The New York Times) as well as numerous book and record covers and 15 postage stamps. Hirschfeld said his contribution was to take the character, created by the playwright and portrayed by the actor, and reinvent it for the reader. His drawings were so much a part of Broadway that the Martin Beck Theater was renamed for Hirschfeld in 2003.

ABOUT THE AL HIRSCHFELD FOUNDATION

The mission of the non-profit Al Hirschfeld Foundation is to promote interest in the theater and visual arts by supporting non-profit museums, libraries, theaters and similar cultural institutions. The Foundation fulfills its mission through grants and exhibitions of Hirschfeld’s art. The Foundation maintains an extensive collection of Hirschfeld artworks and lends and/or donates pieces to institutions all over the world. www.AlHirschfeldFoundation.org

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