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THE LAURIE BEECHMAN THEATRE ANNOUNCES COMPOSER'S SERIES

THE WEST BANK CAFE/LAURIE BEECHMAN THEATER (407 West 42nd Street, NYC - 212-695-6909 - http://www.westbankcafe.com/theater/schedule ) is very pleased to announce a new concert series, featuring one night only concert events from some of our favorite composers. On Thursdays, March 8th and 15th, and Fridays, March 9th and 16th, four very unique artists will take to our stage to present some of their newest music, as well as some of their most beloved compositions. Scheduled to appear: Thursday, March 8th, Todd Almond; Friday, March 9th, Tim DiPasqua & Michael Holland; Thursday, March 15th, Brian Feinstein (with special guests Malcom Gets & Melissa Errico); Friday, March 16th, Julie Gold. All performances are at 7:00 pm.

Todd Almond recently re-orchestrated and music-directed a new production of "Hair" at the Skirball Center, a co-production with his theater company, Theater Mitu, the resident company of New York Theater Workshop. He has released two albums of original songs, and is currently recording a third (with producer John Curley), as well as a new album of songs by Ellen Mandel. Almond and Mandel's first recording, A Wind Has Blown the Rain Away, was featured on NPR's All Things Considered. As a composer/songwriter, Almond has written several musicals including People Like Us, Girlfriend and Ahraihsak. He has had residencies at Sundance, Vassar and NYTW, and has composed/music-directed for Juilliard, NYU, City at Peace and the Peterborough Players. Todd has performed at Joe's Pub, The Knitting Factory, The Bowery Ballroom and various other clubs around New York City. As a performer, Almond was the first actor after Jefferson Mayes to perform I Am My Own Wife, (he has now appeared in three different productions of this piece, including one at Actors Theatre of Louisville). Other acting roles include Hedwig in Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Bernard in A Number, and Mikey in People Are Wrong! He is currently writing libretti for two operas with composer Paul Damien Hogan, and a new, original solo piece entitled Mexico City.

Tim Di Pasqua, a native of San Francisco, is a singer/songwriter who has been awarded the 2007 Nightlife Award for Outstanding Group/Variety/Review for the acclaimed show, Southern Comfort, celebrating country music. Time has also received the Backstage Bistro Award twice, for Outstanding Singer/Instrumentalist and one for Outstanding Special Performance. As a solo artist, Tim has performed in all the major clubs and halls in New York: Joe's Pub, Birdland, The Bitter End, The Russian Tea Room, Town Hall, The Metropolitan Room, Caroline's, Carnegie Hall, Eighty-Eights, The Triad, The Village Gate, The Duplex Cabaret Theatre, Don't Tell Mama, Tavern on the Green, The Laurie Beechman Theatre and Sardi's. Tim's most recent successes include performing at Carnegie Hall with Michael Feinstein in his Now and Then series celebrating Sammy Cahn, and new composers. He also serves regularly as both guest vocalist and accompanist for Oscar and Grammy Award winner Stephen Schwartz in his recent concert appearances. Tim is also well known for his collaborations with award winning Singer/Songwriter Tom Andersen, and their hit, Every night I Sleep with an Angel. He has co-written many of the songs featured on Mr. Andersen's two CD's, as well as serving as musical director and arranger. Tim's songs Big Hairy Man and Maybe You Didn't Hear Me have achieved wide success due largely in part to the live performance and recording by Scott Coulter. Tim is the author of the musical Synchronicity (book by Michael Levesque), which is available on Easter Records. He has also recorded three solo CD's: Monster Under These Conditions, and Purpose of Love: A Tim DiPasqua Songbook Volumes I and II. Tim is one of the founding members of Third Eye Theatre Co.

BRIAN FEINSTEIN's composing credits include: Mimi Le Duck, (2006, book & lyrics by Diana Hansen-Young) an original Off-Broadway musical starring Eartha Kitt and Annie Golden. "Mimi" was also performed in 2004 at the Adirondack Theatre Festival and the NYC Fringe Festival, and was originally developed at the Goodspeed Opera House. Feinstein also penned the song No Looking Back, which debuted on New Year's Eve with the Boston Pops Orchestra (conducted by Keith Lockhart) and 14-year old singing sensation Katilyn Lusk. Other credits include the musical adaptation of Bertolt Brecht's Caucasian Chalk Circle, (lyrics Amanda Yesnowitz) the instrumental music for The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, both produced by the Hangar Theatre in Ithaca, New York, By The Numbers (book & lyrics Amanda Yesnowitz) for the TRU Producing Series and a reading for the ASCAP Musical Theatre Workshop conducted by Stephen Schwartz, the one-act musical Daphne and Appollo (book & lyrics Robin Chung) for the Mondo Publishing company, The Circus is Coming to Town, (book & lyrics Lloyd Schwartz) produced by Theatre West in Los Angeles, which was named "Best Children's Musical" in Southern California. Brian has received 2 ASCAP Plus Awards for songwriting in the popular music division and is a recipient of a Jonathan Larson Memorial Fellowship award. He earned an MFA from the NYU Tisch School of the Arts for Musical Theatre Writing and a BA from the University of Southern California's School of Cinema. Brian is a member of The Dramatists Guild, ASCAP, and the Tri-State Basset Hound Rescue League. He lives in New York City.

Julie Gold is a New York City songwriter best known for Bette Midler's version of her song From A Distance, which won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 1991. She has also written songs for Jewel, Ronan Tynan, Patti LaBelle, Patti LuPone (who used Gold's song Heaven as her grand finale in her one woman show on Broadway), Kathy Mattea, The Byrds, Judy Collins, James Galway, Lea Salonga, Cliff Richard and many others. Nanci Griffith (the first to record From A Distance) has also recorded Gold's songs Heaven, Southbound Train, Mountain of Sorrow and Good Night, New York, which Griffith performed on the first anniversary of September 11th on the David Letterman Show. Julie has appeared with Nanci on Austin City Limits and TNN's American Music Shop. Other TV credits include NBC's Emmy-nominated image spot, We're 4 New York, and two award-winning HBO Holiday Spots: Try Love and One Voice, One Heart. The motion picture Andre features Gold's song, Thanks to You. The motion picture Unfaithful, starring Richard Gere, featured Gold's song Dream Loud, which has been adopted by several divisions of the Girl Scouts of America as their theme song. Gold has served on the Board of Governors for NARAS and regularly gives motivational speeches around the country. She has also taught songwriting at Baruch College and The New School. Her most recent CD is entitled The Girl I Found, and is produced by the talented Emily Bindinger. From July through December, 2005, Julie Gold broke attendance records at The Duplex Cabaret Theatre, with her celebrated cabaret performances.

There is a $15 cover charge (* March 15th, $10), as well as a $15 food/beverage minimum.