Laura Benanti, Annaleigh Ashford & More to Join The Skivvies at 54 Below this Week

Coming up this week, 54 BELOW, the performance venue located just below the legendary Studio 54 at 254 West 54th Street, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz and beyond:

RSO FEST: DARLING IN CONCERT, November 4 at 7PM & 9:30PM:
This new musical staging is the second in our continuing series, saluting the work of composer/lyricist Ryan Scott Oliver! Set in 1929 Boston, Darling is a coming-of-age story about Ursula Morgan, stolen away from her upper-class family by a mysterious rentboy named Peter. Soon, Ursula finds herself in the seedy underground world of sex, drugs and jazz. With a book by Brett Ryback, Darling is produced in association with Kurt Deutsch and Sh-k-boom Records. Oliver, the recipient of both the Jonathan Larson Award as well as the Richard Rodgers Award for musical theatre, is one of New York's most prolific and exciting young musical artists. Cast List: Andrea Ross (Ursula), Derek Klena (Peter), Nikki Snelson (Lilly), Leo Ash Evens, Max Chernin, Ben Garrett, Julia Mattison, Marissa O'Donnell. Cover charge $25-35 for 7PM show, cover charge $35-45 for 9:30PM show. $25 food & beverage minimum.

THE CALLBACK, November 4 at 11:30PM:
Join Emily McNamara and accompanist Benjamin Rauhala at this week's The Callback: Preliminaries! Watch eight contestants duke it out by singing their favorite tunes for the chance to progress to The Callback: Semi-Finals and eventually win their own show at 54 Below. For more information on "The Callback" rules or how to submit an audition video, please visit www.54Below.com. No cover charge. $20 food & beverage minimum.

Paulo Szot, November 5 at 7PM, November 6 at 9:30PM:
BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND! Audiences can prepare to swoon as the Tony-winning star of South Pacific headlines 54 Below for a week-long engagement. In this brand new show, the Brazilian opera star presents a program of cherished classics from the American Songbook, as well as Brazilian and jazz favorites. Paulo is one of the most versatile and extraordinary singers to be heard today. It'll be some enchanted evening, be sure! $45-55 cover charge. $30 food & beverage minimum.

Joanna Gleason, November 5 at 9PM:
HIT SHOW EXTENDED! 54 Below is delighted to welcome Tony Award winner Joanna Gleason as she makes her NYC cabaret debut! Accompanied by Well Strung, the dazzling modern-day string quartet, her fantasy and real lives intersect underscored by tunes ranging from Billy Joel to Dave Frishberg to Johnny Mathis, with maybe even a little walk through the woods. Revered by Broadway audiences for her unforgettable (& award-winning) portrayal of The Baker's Wife in the original company of Into the Woods, New York has also embraced Joanna in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Nick and Nora and Sons of The Prophet among others, racking up all of the major theatre awards along the way. This is to say nothing of her film and TV work, which includes Boogie Nights, Crimes & Misdemeanors, The Wedding Planner, the upcoming Last Vegas and a whole host of other projects. It's the cabaret event of the fall when this eloquent, witty and thoroughly delightful star graces our stage. Be there!Cover charge $35-45. $25 food & beverage minimum.

LATE NIGHT: BACKSTAGE, November 5 at 10:45PM:
Each week, Broadway cast members and audiences alike gather to mix and mingle at 54 Below, Broadway's most intimate haunt, located in the heart of the theatre district. Musical Director Brad Simmons keeps the house jumping from the piano, while host Susie Mosher (the love child of Joanne Worley & Paul Lynde) guides the crowd through an evening of music, mayhem and full throttle belting, with special guests from Broadway and beyond dropping in to perform. NPR had this to say: "The best thing happening right now might just be the weekly Backstage. Hosted by the ridiculously funny Susie Mosher and pianist Brad Simmons who clearly is the man, it's two feel-good hours among New York's theater people, who seem like they're having a really fine time. Can't recommend it highly enough!" At this week's Backstage is Alice Ripley (Tony winner, Next to Normal), Natalie Weiss (Everyday Rapture, Les Miserables), Carner and Gregor (winners of the Richard Rodgers Award for musical theater), David Perlman (Baby It's You, Anna Nicole), and Leenya Rideout (War Horse, Company, Cabaret). No cover charge. $25 food & beverage minimum.

Christine Ebersole, November 6 & 7 at 7PM, November 8 at 8PM:
Two-time Tony-winner Christine Ebersole (Grey Gardens, 42nd Street) makes her 54 Below debut! Joined by the Aaron Weinstein Trio, Christine celebrates the release of her brand new CD, Strings Attached. Expect classic standards from the 20's though the 40's including songs by legends like Fats Waller, Cole Porter, Johnny Mercer and George Gershwin. In addition to her weekly appearances on the hit television comedy Sullivan & Son, Christine's many Broadway credits include Blithe Spirit, The Best Man, Dinner at Eight, Steel Magnolias and Oklahoma. In concert, she's been seen everywhere from The Kennedy Center & Carnegie Hall to Lincoln Center & with leading symphonies around the world. Named a "rising star violinist" by Downbeat Magazine, Aaron Weinstein is quickly earning a reputation as one of the finest jazz violinists of his generation, having appeared as a soloist at Carnegie Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center & Wolftrap. Tony Bennett calls him "the Groucho of the violin," & jazz guitar legend Bucky Pizzarelli has dubbed him "a perfect musician." Join us at 54 Below when these two artistic powerhouses combine to make the perfect musical storm! Cover charge $60-70 for 11/6, cover charge $55-65 for 11/7, cover charge $65-75 for 11/8. $30 food & beverage minimum.

Brandon Contreras, November 6 at 11:30PM:
Brandon Contreras, of the In The Heights 1st National Tour and semi-finalist of 54 Below's "The Callback" competition, makes his first solo cabaret engagement in this late-night event! Finding a world through storytelling where both musical theatre and pop hits collide, this one of a kind experience is not to be missed. Musical Directed and featuring Brian Walters. Cover charge $10. Two drink minimum.

Charles Busch, November 7 at 9:30PM:
The acclaimed actor/ Tony-nominated playwright and drag legend returns with a brand new show, chock full of outrageous personal stories, original characters and classic songs; all perfumed with his own unique form of glamour. Charles Busch continues to delight and re-define his craft as a master humorist, illusionist and camp icon. The author of dozens of hit plays (Tale of the Allergists Wife, Red Scare on Sunset, Flipping My Wig, Times Square Angel, Our Leading Lady, The Third Story, Die! Mommie! Die!, Psycho Beach Party, The Divine Sister & Vampire Lesbians of Sodom to name but a few), Busch returns to 54 Below, joined by Musical Director Tom Judson. Expect laughter, music, tears and sequins. But no boas. Cover charge $35-45. $25 food & beverage minimum.

THE SKIVVIES, November 9 at 11PM:
BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND! This "musically thrilling" undie-rock, comedy-pop duo don't just strip down their musical arrangements, they literally strip down to their underwear to perform their distinctive mashups and eccentric originals for cello and ukulele, with touches of glockenspiel, melodica, and a surprising array of under-used instruments. Award-winning singer-actors Lauren Molina (Marry Me a Little, Sweeney Todd, Rock of Ages) and Nick Cearley (All Shook Up) became YouTube sensations as The Skivvies, with living room videos that displayed their powerful harmonies as well as their powerful abs. Those clips led to live shows that The Wall Street Journal called "smart, sophisticated...ingenious," and Out Magazine, "The Skivvies have managed to carve out a niche that we never knew needed to exist: part Weird Al- parody and part sexy burlesque...and unusual explosion of satire and sultry." They also have a single and music video directed by Augusten Burroughs, bestselling author of Running With Scissors. They will be joined by special guest stars who will strip down and rock out. Expect a hilarious evening of genre-hopping pop perfection. www.theskivviesnyc.com. With Laura Benanti, Lesli Margherita, Annaleigh Ashford and Morgan James. Cover charge $25-35. $25 food & beverage minimum.

Jarrod Spector, November 10 at 7PM:
Broadway's Jarrod Spector, who is starring in the forthcoming Broadway musical Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, premieres his brand new show at 54 Below! This new musical outing traces the legacy of the great male singers whose vocal prowess made them the rock stars of their generations, even before rock was born. After starring as Frankie Valli for six years in Broadway's smash hit musical, Jersey Boys, Jarrod wraps his critically-praised voice around the songs that have made superstars out of more than a century of tenor legends from Freddie Mercury and Michael Jackson to the great Enrico Caruso himself. Cover charge $30-40. $25 food & beverage minimum.

Lee Roy Reams, November 10 at 9:30PM:
Broadway royalty Lee Roy Reams steps onto our stage for one special performance only, in celebration of his 40th birthday! Or more to point, a re-creation of his 40th birthday, a night that will live in infamy when Lee Roy spent the evening with adoring friends, singing the songs of Cy Coleman, Jerry Herman, Charles Strouse & Jule Syne - with the legendary composers themselves at the piano! His ten Broadway credits run the gamut from Sweet Charity, Applause, Lorelei, Hello, Dolly and 42nd Street to La Cage aux Folles, Beauty and the Beast and The Producers. Come get the theatrical dish from a fellow who was there to see it all, from Dolly's lashes to Billy Lawlor's well worn tap shoes. Cover charge $35-45. $25 food & beverage minimum.

To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.54Below.com or call (866) 468-7619.