Jennifer Laura Thompson, Broadway Trivia Night & More Set for 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:

Ann Morrison, January 6 at 7PM:
Back after her hit sell-out show at 54 Below in September! With backstage stories woven in and around songs from two of her musical mentors - Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim, Broadway vet Ann Morrison tells it... Like It Was. Join us for an evening of classic show stoppers when Ann (Merrily We Roll Along, Lovemusik, Goblin Market) shares her intriguing and unusual life journey. After being embraced with a thunderous ovation this past May when she made a special guest appearance in 54 Below's Sondheim Unplugged series, it became clear that Annie needed to come back to New York City and her musical roots. This evening of classic Broadway songs will be under the music direction of Michael Sebastian. With guests Huck Walton and Liz Callaway! $40-50 cover charge. $25 food & beverage minimum.

BROADWAY TRIVIA NIGHT, January 6 at 11:30PM:
On January 6th, join us for BROADWAY TRIVIA NIGHT: UNTOLD STORIES OF BROADWAY EDITION. The shows, actors, theaters, songs, and wild stories from Tepper's recently published book are all fair game for this Trivia Night, so get studying! If you know the difference between McHale's and Dinty Moore's, or remember which now-famous director once took a swig of Liza Minnelli's drink as a kid, you may just have The Edge in this month's competition. Have you often found yourself at pub quizzes or trivia nights struggling to answer questions over sports and science but dominating the Broadway/TV/Film round? Are you the token-musical theatre nerd in your group of friends who can spout off the lyricist, librettist, director, and design team of every Pulitzer Prize winning musical? Do you like friendly competition, winning prizes, and drinking delicious cocktails with Broadways best? Then this is the night for you. We're bringing your favorite game to Broadway's supper club! Hosted by 54 Below's own Director of Programming, Jennifer Ashley Tepper! No cover charge. $20 food & beverage minimum.

Tom Wopat, January 7 at 7PM:
All it takes is a phrase or two from Tom Wopat's warm, engaging baritone to trigger the desire to hear more. And the more one listens, the better it gets - from the way he finds the heart of a song's story to his lyrical phrasing and his gently swinging, jazz-infused rhythms. Wopat's dynamic live show features songs from his critically acclaimed new album, I've Got Your Number, in which he performs new arrangements of Great American songbook classics, as well as contemporary songs of Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor and more. At first glance, that could be viewed as a surprisingly diverse program of material from a performer who may be best known for his starring role in the '80s hit television series The Dukes of Hazzard. But his versatility was there from the beginning, and on full display in a career reaching from his television work of the '70s and '80s to high visibility Broadway roles in 1999's Annie Get Your Gun and 2008's A Catered Affair (he received Tony Award nominations for both), as well as Chicago, 42nd Street, Sondheim on Sondheim, and most recently the Tony-Award winning play The Trip To Bountiful starring Cicely Tyson. But music is Wopat's main passion, and at a time when male vocal artists have been in fairly short supply, his singing is a welcome addition. "Performing these songs the way we do in I've Got Your Number is the most creative thing I do," Tom concludes. "It's extremely satisfying and fulfilling. And as long as it feels that way, I'm going to keep right on doing it."$25-35 cover charge. $25 food & beverage minimum.

Jennifer Laura Thompson, January 7 at 9PM & January 11 at 11PM:
Jennifer Laura Thompson makes her 54 Below debut. Join her in an evening of songs from her career on Broadway and off. Share in the moments that brought her from her Tony nominated role as Hope Cladwell in Urinetown: The Musical all the way to the Emerald City in Wicked and beyond. The highs, the lows, the thrills and the heartaches are all included as she sings from a collection of Broadway, Pop and Jazz songs chosen to tell her story. So far. Musical Direction by Mary-Mitchell Campbell $25-35 cover charge. $25 food & beverage minimum.

LATE NIGHT: BACKSTAGE, January 7 at 11:00PM:
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 Sarah Rice (original Johanna in Sweeney Todd), Christine Pedi (Chicago, NEWSical), Rachel Lorin Filsoof, Ernesto Villalobos, and Martina Sykes. No cover charge. $25 food & beverage minimum.

TRAVIS MOSER, January 8 at 7PM:
This Can't Be Love: The Songs of Rodgers and Hart celebrates one of the most prolific and legendary songwriting duos of all time. Travis Moser takes the audience on a journey through the Rodgers and Hart songbook, while offering backstage and personal stories about the songs and the shows from which they came. This Can't Be Love features new arrangements of some of Rodgers and Hart's most beloved songs by musical director Steven Silverstein. Travis is excited to share the stage with special guest Samantha Shafer from Broadway's West Side Story, South Pacific, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown and the upcoming Rocky. Travis and Samantha will be performing selections including "This Can't Be Love," Nobody's Heart (Belongs to Me)," "Manhattan," "My Funny Valentine" and many more. $25-35 cover charge. $25 food & beverage minimum.

Ute Lemper, January 8 at 9:30PM & January 11 at 8PM:
Back by popular demand, 54 Below presents renowned international chanteuse and star of Broadway's Chicago Ute Lemper for a return engagement. The journey starts in Berlin with Ute's repertoire of Brecht and Weill and classic cabaret songs and travels to the poetic universe of Jacques Brel & Edith Piaf. Then, join Ute's voyage as she continues to Argentina and Tango Nuevo and walks the backstreets of Paris, Berlin, Buenos Aires and New York, where she's made her home for fifteen years now. Discover musical ghosts who have their own tales of loss, love, passion, survival, rebellion & opposition to tell. $40-50 cover charge for 9:30PM show. $50-60 cover charge for 8PM show. $25 food & beverage minimum.

JOSH FREILICH, January 8 at 11:30PM:
Join composer, Josh Freilich as he makes his 54 Below debut with 12 of his closest friends, old and new, performing songs from his various bodies of work, from stand-alone to The Star Child. Josh will also be premiering new works from his upcoming musicals, Carlotta and Color War: The Summer Camp-y Musical. $20 cover charge. $25 food & beverage minimum.

Ann Hampton Callaway, January 9 at 7PM:
"Ann Hampton Callaway, like the great jazz diva Sarah Vaughan, has a voice so rich, flexible, and extravagantly gorgeous that it hardly matters what use she puts it to. The sound always comes first and is what you most remember. The show, "The Sarah Vaughan Project," was a meticulously constructed, deliberately paced program... at moments you could almost hear Vaughan coming through her." -Stephen Holden, The New York Times. Song selections will include "Like Someone In Love", "Misty", "There Will Never Be Another You", "Chelsea Bridge", "Night in Tunisia", "Send in the Clowns", and "Like A Lover". $35-45 cover charge. $25 food & beverage minimum.

WILL & Anthony Nunziata, January 9 at 9:30PM:
Hailed by The Wall Street Journal as being "blessed with strong voices and leading man looks," Will & Anthony Nunziata make their 54 Below debut with a special one-night only concert "Broadway, Our Way". The singers, actors and recording artists have won acclaim for their concert and symphony performances throughout the country and around the world putting their fresh take on pop standards, Broadway showstoppers, as well as contemporary and classic Italian music. The concert includes fresh arrangements of some of the greatest songs ever written for the stage including Once in a Lifetime, Make Someone Happy, Being Alive, Somewhere, Lily's Eyes, and their signature mash-ups of songs including Who Can I Turn To/ What Kind of Fool Am I? Expect the brothers to bring their Upright Citizen Brigade improv-comedy training in full-force. Combined with their brotherly banter and comedic flair, "Broadway, Our Way" entertains and comes straight from the heart. The brothers will be joined by their three-piece swinging band comprised of pianist Alvin Hough, Jr., drummer Jeremy Yaddaw and bassist Adam Neely. For more information, visit www.WillandAnthony.com $25-35 cover charge. $25 food & beverage minimum.

PATTY & EMILY &, January 9 at 11:30PM:
Patty & Emily are taking their special brand of fangirl enthusiasm off YouTube and bringing it on the 54 Below stage! Join in the obsessive Broadway chat with this late night talk show. Patty & Emily, along with music director Kevin David Thomas, will welcome Broadway guests for performances and interviews, all the while gushing over them embarrassingly. There will be gasping, laughing, probably a lot of tears, and a whole lot of Broadway love. Special Guests TBA! $10 cover charge. Two drink minimum or $20 food & beverage minimum.

Alix Korey, January 10 at 8PM:
After years of critics invoking comparisons to the legendary Ethel Merman, Broadway and cabaret star Alix Korey (All Shook Up, Pirates of Penzance, Triumph of Love) brings her celebration of Merman to 54 Below! Korey along with musical director Christopher Marlowe and director Scott Barnes present a tribute to the the great Merman: songs she made famous, songs you never knew she sang, and stories you've never heard before. $30-40 cover charge. $25 food & beverage minimum.

Natalie Weiss, January 10 at 11PM
Watch for brand new arrangements of pop favorites, highlights from her EP and maybe even an interactive "Breaking Down The Riffs" segment when YouTube sensation, Broadway's Natalie Weiss makes her NYC "Concert Comeback" for one night only! You've watched her dance through the Ozdust Ballroom in Wicked, she survived the French revolution in Les Miz, she's shared the stage with Sherie Rene Scott in Everyday Rapture and you tuned in to watch her on American Idol when she was a season four semifinalist. Now, the creator of the wildly popular web series, "Breaking Down the Riffs", returns to the NYC concert stage after 3 years, and does some riffing of her own at 54 Below! $25-35 cover charge. $25 food & beverage minimum.

BRIGHT STARS ON A JANUARY NIGHT, January 12 at 6:30PM:
An Evening of Short Musical Tastings starring Paul Byrom, Linda Eder, Fair Play: Original Cast Members of ONCE, Telly Leung, Mandy Gonzalez, The Skivvies, Tom Wopat and Judy Gold. rj productions and Hart Management bring you an all star evening, featuring the stars from Celtic Thunder, Jekyll & Hyde & Worldwide Concert stages, ONCE and Natasha Pierre and The Great Comet of 1812, Godspell and Glee, In The Heights and Wicked, Rocky Horror Show , Sweeney Todd and All Shook Up and Dukes of Hazzard and Annie Get Your Gun. Each artist will offer short samplings of their full solo concerts, in this one night only concert event. $50-60 cover charge. $25 food & beverage minimum.

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

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