Piano Bar Live! A Night At The Beechman – Streams Tue., September 22, With Hosts Scott Barbarino and Michael Kirk Lane

Featuring new performers with every show, the weekly, award-winning Piano Bar Live! (PBL!) streams next on Tuesday, September 22 at 7:15 pm ET, with hosts Scott Barbarino and Michael Kirk Lane with A Night at The Beechman.

PBL! is proud to continue the long-established tradition of the piano bar—that special place where we can gather, entertain, support and create, as we connect with live music. Best of all, PBL! is the the unique chance to see veteran performers pass the torch to the next generation of blossoming young talent. The line-up always features a mix of veteran and rising star performers from the world of piano bars, cabaret and Broadway.

The week’s guests are Mardie Millit and Michael Garin, Larry Darnell, Penn Whitfield, Kimberly Doreen Burns, Leslie Carrara-Rudolph, Shelly Watson and Michael Valvo, plus Mystery Guests and MORE!

Join on TUESDAY, September 22nd at 7:15 pm ET at www.facebook.com/PianoBarLive, on BroadwayOnDemand.com or on YouTube @PianoBarLive

When the West Bank Cafe opened in 1978 it was as “far-west” on 42nd Street as one would want to venture—it was a time when Hell’s Kitchen lived up to its name. The restaurant’s early clients even included members of the notorious Irish gang, the Westies.

In 1980, The New York Times awarded West Bank two stars, which increased its visibility and attracted a wider range of diners. In this era, the restaurant’s regulars included Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller and Bruce Willis, among others. West Bank Cafe’s owner, Steve Olsen soon opened the Laurie Beechman Theatre downstairs from the Café (originally The Downstairs Theatre at West Bank Café), which staged plays and hosted events nightly. A young Lewis Black was named playwright-in-residence; Howard Stern aired his third-annual live birthday broadcast from the theater.

Soon the redevelopment of 42nd Street spread further west, bringing new businesses and residents to the area. Throughout the 1980s and ’90s, the restaurant was a leader in the growing Theater District and Hell’s Kitchen dining scenes. The Laurie Beechman Theatre continued to regularly stage the work of emerging writers, actors and singers (many of whom later became stars) as well as established acts: The Who even gave four live performances at the restaurant while their musical Tommy was running on Broadway. More recent performers of note include Jinkx Monsoon, Joe Iconis, Le Scandal Burlesque and, of course, Joan Rivers, who played her final performance there.

Michael Kirk Lane is an award-winning cabaret artist, having most recently won the 2020 Manhattan Association of Cabaret Award for Male Musical Comedy Performer. Along with three previous MAC nominations, Lane has been nominated for three BroadwayWorld Cabaret Awards, winning in 2018 for Best Show. BroadwayWorld Cabaret has called Lane “one of the most popular performers and people working in cabaret today.” Cabaret Scenes Magazine has deemed Lane’s work “musical comedy heaven.” He is known to cabaret artists for his solo shows, as well as his position as House Manager at The Laurie Beechman Theatre.  He is now leading online cabaret courses for the 92Y School of Music, including the new “Cabaret Conversations” series that hosts important persons from the world of cabaret in discussion, as well as “Cabaret History and Great Performances”

From the legendary nightspot Elaine’s, to 54 Below, Birdland, the Rainbow Room and the Django, to name a few, on- and offstage partners Michael Garin (Drama Desk winner for Song of Singapore) and classically trained soprano-turned-saloon-singer Mardie Millit have brought their unique blend of musical virtuosity and goofy charm to Manhattan audiences for the last 15 years. Garin is currently the house pianist at the Roxy Hotel in Tribeca, where he plays his renowned musical mashups every Wednesday through Saturday; he is also writing music and lyrics for a musical adaptation of Mary Astor’s Purple Diary by Ed Sorel, slated for a 2021 workshop. Millit has been performing her popular online show, Live from Lockdown! regularly on Facebook Live since April. Together they’ve been entertaining outdoor diners at the West Bank Café (in person and live streaming) since July.

Larry Darnell Penn is a Southern dreamer with an intense passion for comedy, storytelling and song. He received a BFA in Musical Theatre with a Dance Minor from Catawba College and made NYC home shortly after graduation. Some favorite professional regional shows include Five Guys Name Moe, Ragtime, Dreamgirls, Jekyll and Hyde, Godspell and Fiddler on the Roof. He is an active participant in the NYC Cabaret scene, playing such venues as The Laurie Beechman Theatre, The Triad,  the West End and the Metropolitan Room with his one-man series, Confessions of a Plussizetwink. 

Kimberly Doreen Burns is a New York City-based award-winning singer, actor, performer and educator who recently originated the role of Maya in the New York City premiere of Sideways (based on the Academy Award winning film). She has performed at Lincoln Center, Town Hall, Signature Theatre, Irish Repertory Theatre and the Lucille Lortel Theatre alongside Rebecca Luker, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Michael Cerveris, Melissa Errico and many more. She has sung at the Irish Repertory Theatre’s 30th Anniversary Gala and the Sondheim at Seven Gala. Burns has also performed in regional theater and in National Tours, with Disney and  internationally with symphony orchestras. Some favorite roles include Dot in Sunday in the Park with George (Carbonell Award), Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady (Broadway World Award), Guenevere in Camelot, Millie in Thoroughly Modern Millie (S.A.L.T. Award) and Sandy in the National Tour of Grease starring Frankie Avalon. Additionally, Burns runs her own private voice, acting and musical theatre studio: KDB Studio. “New York, New York” Arrangement by David Loud: http://www.loudarrangements.com, Accompanied by Mat Eisenstein: http://www.mateisenstein.com

Leslie Carrara-Rudolph is a multi-faceted entertainer, puppeteer, voice-over artist, writer and creator. She is best known for performing Abby Cadabby on “Sesame Street,” for which she has received five Emmy nominations for Best Performer in a Children’s Series. She was recently nominated for an Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement in Voice Acting for her character Bubbles on the Jim Henson Company’s “Splash and Bubbles.”

The New York Times described Shelly Watson as “Rambunctious, over the top and of incredible charm.” She has taken every artistic opportunity offered in New York City to become her own brand of entertainment as a professional musician, comedian, emcee, producer and director, rocking the scene for the last 30 years.