Laurie Beechman Theatre & West Bank Cafe to close

[Kad]

Posted: 7/17/24 at 2:39pm

Details here

 

A real heartbreaker. The Beechman has certainly become less fashionable in recent years, but it’s still a great room with a good-sized stage. Losing any kind of cabaret venue in the city is terrible. 

[BroadwayNYC2]

Posted: 7/17/24 at 2:43pm

I’m not going to ever say Cabaret is an outdated style, but cabaret spaces are certainly an outdated business model. I hope somebody can make it work, but combining two fickle businesses (performing arts and dining) ain’t exactly an easy game. 

[DramaTeach]

Posted: 7/17/24 at 3:39pm

They also didn’t have any big “name” events lately that would bring in a lot of money or a lot of attention. Other venues have stolen its thunder. It’s definitely sad that it’s closing, but I’m not shocked.

[GottaGetAGimmick420]

Posted: 7/23/24 at 11:37am

GoFundMe Campaign Launches to Save The West Bank Cafe and Laurie Beechman Theatre

As BroadwayWorld previously reported, The West Bank Cafe announced that it will be closing its doors next month. According to a post on the venue's social media pages, the closure is due to "circumstances beyond our control." Now, a GoFundMe campaign has launched to help save the venue from its demise.

The cafe, which also houses the Laurie Beechman Theatre, an 80-seat dinner theater located in the cafe's basement, was set to close in August, but now there may be hope that it can be saved.

 Despite a successful crowdfunding campaign in 2020, including a star-studded Christmas Day Telethon that helped the restaurant stay afloat, the denied government support given to other restaurants has once again put the venue in turmoil, even as business thrived. 

The same dedicated team—Tom D’Angora, Michael D'Angora, Tim Guinee, and Joe Iconis—that saved the Cafe during the pandemic are rallying support once more to ensure their survival and future success.

In 2020, when the pandemic threatened to shutter the Cafe and Theatre, the community came together, raising over $350,000 through a GoFundMe campaign and a star-studded Christmas Day streaming telethon. This event featured Broadway and cabaret performers, with appearances by major celebrities such as Sean Penn, Pete Townshend, Jinx Monsoon, Debra Messing, Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick, Andre De Shields, John Gallagher Jr, Megan Hilty, Kerry Butler, Martha Plimpton, Chip Zien, Betty Buckley, Melissa Rivers, and many more. These efforts helped the West Bank Cafe survive the pandemic and the lean years that followed.

Despite these heroic efforts, and business bouncing back post-pandemic, the lack of financial support from the RRF and SVOG has made it impossible for the Cafe and Theatre to thrive. 

To ensure the future of the beloved venue, the team is launching a new GoFundMe to kick off their effort and are in the midst of planning a star-studded gala event to assist with fundraising. As the West Bank Cafe approaches its 50th anniversary, the call to action is clear: the community wants the West Bank Café and the community must come together to save this invaluable cultural institution.

The Laurie Beechman Theatre is an irreplaceable part of the New York City performing arts scene, past and present. In addition to hosting legends like Joan Rivers and Pete Townshend, the Beechman functioned as a developmental incubator for artists such as Warren Leight, Lewis Black, Rusty Magee, Karen Finley, and so many more. The original cast of Sunday in the Park With George rehearsed there and Aaron Sorkin's first plays were performed there. Many of our most beloved theater artists have interacted with the room in one way or another.

The West Bank Cafe and Laurie Beechman Theatre have been serving the community for decades, offering a welcoming atmosphere and exceptional experiences. From hosting milestone celebrations to providing a trusted space for artists to showcase their talents, these venues are irreplaceable parts of New York City's cultural landscape.

Click here to learn more and to donate.

 

 

Not to be a pessimist, but if you have to do another emergency fundraise to save your venue again... isn't it time to pack up?

[GottaGetAGimmick420]

Posted: 7/23/24 at 11:38am

Also crowdfunding $850K is crazy no matter who you are. That's like $10K in GFM feeds alone.

[Kad]

Posted: 7/23/24 at 11:50am

I’d like more details on why they didn’t or couldn’t receive those grants. 

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 7/23/24 at 2:04pm

Even if this Gofundme succeeds, what's to stop something like this from happening again?  They would need to change their business model or make some significant shifts to prove that they can actually sustain a business in the space.

I don't know how much money it brought in, but when Broadway Sessions was there I used to go every other week, but otherwise I probably wouldn't even have known about it since it's fairly out of the way and hasn't seemed to have any real high profile gigs recently.

[BroadwayNYC2]

Posted: 7/23/24 at 7:10pm

These spaces are important, but you also do know how to run a business. That isn’t the public’s responsibility, yet those financials (or any financials actually) are often lost in the theater community. 

[Broadway Flash]

Posted: 7/24/24 at 5:38am

I’m sure they do know how to run a business, they’ve been doing it for years.  Every Cabaret seems to be struggling right now for whatever reason. 

[GottaGetAGimmick420]

Posted: 7/25/24 at 7:09pm

GoFundMe effort seeks to keep beloved Broadway dining spot afloat after COVID-19 troubles

“Everyone who is anyone comes in here,” D’Angora told The Post. “It was Cheetah Rivera’s favorite restaurant . . ."

THAT made me giggle. But "I lost two Tony awards I will not lose this restaurant" wasn't as cute. I'm still confused what they think will happen after the $850K is raised and two more years go by. BFA showcases and cabarets a business do not sustain.

EDIT: Did not expect a restaurant owner looking like an infant to give us an interview lecture on "theatre history" and be complaining about losing Tonys but what do I know about running a business?

Updated On: 7/25/24 at 07:09 PM

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 7/25/24 at 7:26pm

GottaGetAGimmick420 said: "Did not expect a restaurant owner looking like an infant to give us an interview lectureon "theatre history" and be complaining about losing Tonys but what do I know about running a business?"

That's not the owner. The owner is 70. The people pictured in the Post article are Joe Iconis (Be More Chill composer) and the D'Angoras (who owned one of the street team companies that promote shows at the TKTS booth and now raise a bit of money for Broadway shows as co-producers). The D'Angoras are fans of the restaurant and started the GoFundMe.

Updated On: 7/25/24 at 07:26 PM

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 7/25/24 at 7:37pm

Maybe they should have put on better acts? That sad GFM amount isn't going to cut it. Yikes. 

[HogansHero]

Posted: 7/25/24 at 11:50pm

Kad said: "I’d like more details on why they didn’t or couldn’t receive those grants."

I have no specific knowledge but I will say what I suspect. 

They make it sound like they were "overlooked" for the RRF but as far as I know the only way you would be overlooked would be if you failed to apply or submitted a defective application. This is something that one's accountant does and in this particular case most accountants were clamoring to do it because (a) it made them look good, (b) did not require a tremendous amount of work, and (c) resulted in proceeds that would get the bill paid. Maybe the better course of action rather than a GFM would be to sue their accountant for malpractice. (Or maybe there is a backstory here.)

The SVOG was said to have been denied "on a technicality." That could be. I am just guessing here but there may well be a revenue-based requirement to qualify. For instance, because this is for performing arts entities ("stages"), there could be a provision that x percent of revenue be derived from the stage entertainment operation. As I am trying to be clear about, I don't know but if that is the case, it would not surprise me if the upstairs revenue is substantially greater that the downstairs revenue. 

I am with you on wanting more details on all of this - probably not going to happen - but maybe my guessing game provides at least a little possible enlightenment.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 7/26/24 at 9:20am

I’m not a restaurateur but it would seem to me the most logical way forward is someone going to the owner proposing additional *investment* in the restaurant/club and a financial restructuring to add investors into the mix. Whether that means the owner steps aside from active duty and a more business-savvy person takes over, or the owner remains with some input from others.

Raising a million (or however much they actually need) via actual investors would probably be easier than raising it via GoFundMe.

But sometimes these small business owners would prefer to close before giving up complete control.

[Kad]

Posted: 7/26/24 at 9:42am

They would benefit from some change in management, particularly on the Beechman side of things. While it’s natural they’d lose some ground to places like 54 Below or Green Room 42 in the last decade, they’ve lost many of the bigger names that used to perform there. They haven’t made their pricing more accessible, as the trend has been for other venues. Their website looks like it hasn’t been changed since the early 2000s. It’s not clear if they have any sort of real artistic management there. 

[Broadway Flash]

Posted: 7/26/24 at 10:57am

They just need better acts and to be more like Cafe Carlyle.  That’ll get people back in.

[itsjustmejonhotmailcom]

Posted: 7/27/24 at 12:50pm

A quick google search indicates that venues need to get a majority of their revenue from people buying tickets to see paid artists performing, and from selling concessions to audience members watching performers. It seems pretty straightforward that they were a restaurant with a small theater, probably made more money from the restaurant side of things, and, thus, not eligible for an SVOG grant. I wouldn't call that an " unfair and ridiculous technicality" that kept them from getting those funds.