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The Laurie Beechman Theatre celebrated its reopening last night, April 14, at the Renaissance Gala. Following years of efforts by proprietors Tom and Michael D’Angora to save the historic venue from closure, the Broadway community joined together to toast its storied history and bright future. Check out video clips from the evening here!
Celebrity guests and gala performers on hand to celebrate included Academy Award winner Ariana DeBose, Andrea McArdle, Chip Zien, Tony Award winner André De Shields, Tony Award winner Lillias White, Tony Award winner Matt Doyle, Tony Award winner Lauren Patten, Tony Award winner Alex Newell, Jak Malone, Bryan Batt, Lorna Luft, Christine Pedi, Joe Iconis, Jelani Remy, Richard Jay-Alexander, Emma Pittman, and JJ Niemann.
The event commemorated the unveiling of the historic venue’s renovation, completed by Tony Award winner and renowned architect and theater designer David Rockwell, and raised funds for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS (BCEFA), one of the nation’s leading industry-based, nonprofit AIDS fundraising and grant-making organizations. BCEFA Executive Director Danny Whitman took the stage to announce the endowment of five discretionary grants to organizations working to serve the underprivileged in the immediate surrounding neighborhood.
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, 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.
