The Renaissance Gala, marking the reopening of the Manhattan cabaret The Laurie Beechman Theatre, was presented April 14 at the newly renovated venue.
Check out highlights from the evening, including chats with Ariana DeBose, Andrea McArdle, and Chip Zien, in the video above.
Named for the late, Tony-nominated star of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Annie, and Cats, the intimate performing space is located within the West Bank Café, newly owned by Broadway producers Tom D’Angora and Michael D'Angora.
The event, which raised funds for Broadway Cares, featured DeBose, McArdle, and Zien, plus André De Shields, Lillias White, Matt Doyle, Lauren Patten, Alex Newell, Jak Malone, Bryan Batt, Lorna Luft, Christine Pedi, Joe Iconis, Jelani Remy, Richard Jay-Alexander, Emma Pittman, JJ Niemann.
BC/EFA Executive Director Danny Whitman
also took the stage to announce the endowment of five discretionary grants
to organizations working to serve the underprivileged in the surrounding neighborhood.
READ: Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer Will Be 1st Artist to Go It Solo at Newly Renovated Laurie Beechman Theatre
The Renaissance Gala had music direction by Benjamin Rauhala and stage and venue lighting design Aiden Bezark with Brendan McCann as creative consultant.
Since its opening in 1983, The Laurie Beechman Theatre, previously known as the Downstairs Theatre Bar, has welcomed Joan Rivers, The Who, André De Shields, Tony Shalhoub, Aaron Sorkin, Jinkx Monsoon, and 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, the D'Angoras, Tim Guinee, and Joe Iconis joined forces to raise nearly $1 million to save the café and theatre.
Tony-winning designer and architect David Rockwell led the renovation.
