Jana Robbins will kick off the month Dec. 1 at 7 PM with Gypsy in My Soul, in which the actress and producer (Ragtime, Gypsy, I Love My Wife) reminisces about her childhood and career. Doyle Newmyer will provide musical direction.
The Beechman's acclaimed Sondheim Unplugged series will continue Dec. 3 at 7 PM. The ninth installment of the series will feature special guests and Sondheim stage vets Joy Franz (Into the Woods), Teri Ralston (Company, A Little Night Music) and Sarah Rice (Sweeney Todd). Also featured in the cast are Lisa Asher, Tony nominee Stephanie D'Abruzzo, David Brian Colbert, David Gurland, Rob Maitner, Kevin Michael Murphy, Mark Nadler, Marni Nixon, Leenya Rideout, Julie Reyburn, Bruce Sabath and Jessica Vosk.
Forbidden Broadway favorite Christine Pedi brings There's No Bizness Like Snow Bizness to the Beechman Dec. 5, 6, 20 and 26-30 at 7 PM, Dec. 13 at 9:30 PM and Dec. 19 at 4 PM. The act will feature Pedi performing songs "about and made famous by the great ladies of the stage, screen and beyond," according to press notes.
Tituss Burgess (Guys and Dolls, The Little Mermaid) and Nikki Renee Daniels (Promises, Promises; Aida) will present Home for the Holidays Dec. 5 at 9:30 PM, an evening of classic holiday songs.
The Dude's Cancer-Crushing Concert of Emerging Composers, Dec. 6 at 9:30 PM, will feature new work from Miller & Tysen, Keith Carney, Adam Gwon and Waldrop & Williamson. Legendary comic, Tony-nominated actress and "Celebrity Apprentice" winner Joan Rivers will return to the Beechman Dec. 8 and 14 at 8 PM. A full dinner menu and bar will be available, with pianist Lance Cruce playing from the time doors open until Rivers begins her standup act. Proceeds will benefit the charities God's Love We Deliver and Guide Dogs for the Blind.
Comedian-playwright Del Shores (Southern Baptist Sissies, Sordid Lives) will present a new standup act, Sordid Confessions, Dec. 9, 10 and 12 at 7:30 PM.
Musical theatre writers Joe Kinosian and Kellen Blair will present their work with a holiday flavor in Kellen and Joe's Christmastime Show, Dec. 12 at 9:30 PM. Broadway guest performers will be featured in the evening.
The Cabaret Cares series continues Dec. 13 at 7 PM with the Broadway cast of Mary Poppins. Proceeds will benefit Help Is On the Way Today, which helps HIV/AIDS-affected youth.
Mark Nadler, Heather MacRae, Marta Sanders, Jamison Stern and Tanya Holt will headline The Big Holiday Special, Dec. 21 at 7 PM. The singers will "spin the holiday standards in all different directions in this merriest of winter-fests," according to press notes.
Brent Barrett (Chicago, Grand Hotel) will make his Beechman debut with Christmas Mornings, an act based on his CD of the same name, Dec. 21 at 7:30 PM. Audiences can expect to hear "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" and "Winter Wonderland," as well as new arrangements of "I’ll Be Home for Christmas"/"A Place Called Home" and "Christmas Waltz"/"It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year."
The Laurie Beechman is located in The West Bank Café at 407 West 42nd Street. Cover charges vary, but there is a $15 food/drink minimum for each performance. For reservations, call (212) 695-6909.
