54 Below is a nonprofit cabaret and restaurant in the basement of

Studio 54 Studio 54 is a Broadway theatre, Broadway theater and former nightclub at 254 West 54th Street (Manhattan), 54th Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York, U.S. Opened as the Gallo Opera House in 1927, it served ...

Midtown Manhattan Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan, serving as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Building, the ...

, New York City. Run by

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

producers Steve Baruch, Richard Frankel, Marc Routh and Tom Viertel, 54 Below has hosted shows by such performers as

Patti LuPone Patti Ann LuPone (born April 21, 1949) is an American actress and singer. After starting her professional career with The Acting Company in 1972, she soon gained acclaim for her leading performances on the Broadway and West End stage. Known f ...

Ben Vereen Benjamin Augustus Vereen (né Middleton; October 10, 1946) is an American actor, dancer and singer. He gained prominence for his performances in the original Broadway productions of the musicals ''Jesus Christ Superstar'', for which he received ...

Sierra Boggess Sierra Marjory Boggess (; born May 20, 1982) is an American actress, singer, and figure skater. She is best known for originating the role of Ariel in ''The Little Mermaid'' on Broadway, and for her multiple appearances as Christine Daaé in ' ...

Peggy King Peggy King (born February 16, 1930) is an American jazz singer. She was a member of big bands led by Charlie Spivak, Ralph Flanagan, and Ray Anthony. Career "Pretty Perky Peggy King", as she was called, appeared on ''The George Gobel Show' ...

Lea Salonga Maria Lea Carmen Imutan Salonga, ( ; born February 22, 1971) is a Filipino singer and actress. Known primarily for her work in theatre, she has starred in musicals on Broadway and in the West End. Her accolades include a Tony Award and a L ...

Marilyn Maye Marilyn Maye McLaughlin (born April 10, 1928) is an American singer, musical theater actress and masterclass educator. With a career spanning eight decades, Maye has performed music in the styles of cabaret, Jazz music, jazz and Pop music, pop ...

Luann de Lesseps Luann de Lesseps (née Nadeau, previously D'Agostino; known as "Countess Luann" from her first marriage, although she no longer has that title; born May 17, 1965) is a Canadian-American television personality, singer, model, and author. She is b ...

and

Barbara Cook Barbara Cook (October 25, 1927 – August 8, 2017) was an American actress and singer who first came to prominence in the 1950s as the lead in the original Broadway musicals '' Plain and Fancy'' (1955), ''Candide'' (1956) and ''The Music Man'' ( ...

History

54 Below opened on June 3, 2012. Its designers include architect Richard H. Lewis, set designer

John Lee Beatty John Lee Beatty is an American scenic designer who has created set designs for more than 115 Broadway shows and has designed for other productions. He won two Tony Awards, for '' Talley's Folly'' (1980) and '' The Nance'' (2013), was nominated fo ...

, lighting designer

Ken Billington Ken Billington (born October 29, 1946) is an American lighting designer. He began his career in New York City working as an assistant to Tharon Musser. He was born in White Plains, New York, the son of Kenneth Arthur (an automobile dealer) and ...

, and sound designer Peter Hylenski.

Scott Wittman Scott Wittman is an American director, lyricist, composer and writer for Broadway, concerts, and television. Life and career Wittman was raised in Nanuet, New York, graduated from Nanuet Senior High School in 1972 and attended Emerson College ...

also serves as Creative Consultant. Jennifer Ashley Tepper serves as the Director of Programming at 54 Below. 54 Below features a variety of musical artists and styles, including musical theatre, opera, and jazz, the last of which was featured in a series co-produced with

WBGO WBGO (88.3 FM, "Jazz 88") is a public radio station licensed to Newark, New Jersey. Studios and offices are located on Park Place (AKA "Wayne Shorter Way" as of April 2022) in downtown Newark, and its transmitter is located at 4 Times Square i ...

. In September 2015, 54 Below announced a creative alliance with performer and singer, pianist, and music revivalist

Michael Feinstein Michael Jay Feinstein (born September 7, 1956) is an American singer, pianist, and music Revivalist artist, revivalist. He is an archivist and interpreter for the repertoire known as the Great American Songbook. In 1988, he won a Drama Desk Spec ...

, becoming Feinstein's/54 Below. This partnership ended in July 2022, and the club reverted to the name 54 Below. At the

75th Tony Awards The 75th Tony Awards were held on June 12, 2022, to recognize achievement in Broadway theatre, Broadway productions during the 2021–22 season. The ceremony was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, with Ariana DeBose serving as host ...

54 Below was the recipient of a 2022 Tony Awards Honor for Excellence in the Theatre. On April 18, 2023, 54 Below announced they have transitioned to become a

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

Awards

* 2013 BroadwayWorld New York Cabaret Award **

: Show of the Year (''Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda'') ** Sondheim Unplugged: Best Variety Show/Recurring Series **

Terri White Terri White is an American actress and singer. The daughter of traveling musicians Bill White and Gertrude Hughes, White has appeared in '' Nunsense 2: The Sequel'' (1994), '' Ain't Misbehavin (1978), '' Barnum'' (1980), '' Welcome to the Clu ...

: Best One-Show Special Event (''Blues to Broadway'') ** Alex Rybeck: Best Musical Director for Sibling Revelry with the Callaway Sisters **

Jackie Hoffman Jacqueline Laura Hoffman (born November 29, 1960) is an American actress, singer, and comedian known for her one-woman shows of Jewish-themed original songs and monologues. She is a veteran of Chicago's famed The Second City comedy improv group. ...

: Best Musical Comedy Performance (''Old Woman, New Material'') **

Laura Benanti Laura Ilene Benanti (née Vidnovic; born July 15, 1979) is an American actress and singer. Benanti made her Broadway debut as an ensemble member and later as Maria von Trapp in the 1998 revival of '' The Sound of Music''. Benanti went on to ...

: Best Female Celebrity Vocalist (''In Constant Search of the Right Kind of Attention'') ** Susie Mosher: Best Host/Producer for Variety Show or Open Mic (''Backstage'') **

Ann Hampton Callaway Ann Hampton Callaway (born May 30, 1958) is an American jazz singer, songwriter, and actress. She wrote and sang the theme song for the TV series ''The Nanny''. Career Callaway is a native of Chicago. Her father, John Callaway, was a journalis ...

Liz Callaway Liz Callaway (born April 13, 1961) is an American actress, singer and recording artist, who is best known for having provided the singing voices of many female characters in animated films, such as Anya (Anastasia), Anastasia in ''Anastasia (1997 ...

: Best Duo or Group Show (''Sibling Revelry'') ** Ahrens & Flaherty: Best Revue (Nice Fighting You: A 30th Anniversary Celebration) **

Jason Robert Brown Jason Robert Brown (born June 20, 1970) is an American musical theatre composer, lyricist, and playwright. Brown's music sensibility fuses pop-rock stylings with theatrical lyrics. He is the recipient of three Tony Awards for his work on ''Parad ...

: Best Original Song for a Cabaret Show ("Twenty-Six Names") **

Jane Monheit Jane Monheit (born November 3, 1977"Jane Monheit." ''Contemporary Musicians''. Vol. 33. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 2001. Retrieved via ''Biography in Context'' database, 2017-05-07.) is an American jazz and traditional pop singer. Early life Mo ...

: Best Jazz Vocalist *2013 Bistro Awards **

Justin Vivian Bond Justin Vivian Bond (born May 9, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter and actor, who is transgender. Described as "the best cabaret artist of

heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Offi ...

generation" and a "tornado of art and activism", they first achieved prominence under the pseud ...

Jenifer Lewis Jenifer Jeanette Lewis (born January 25, 1957) is an American actress. She began her career appearing in Broadway musicals and worked as a back-up singer for Bette Midler before appearing in films ''Beaches'' (1988) and '' Sister Act'' (1992). L ...

Maurice Hines Maurice Robert Hines Jr. (December 13, 1943 – December 29, 2023) was an American actor, director, singer, and choreographer. He was the older brother of dancer Gregory Hines. Life and career Maurice Robert Hines Jr. was born on December 13, 1 ...

* 2013 June Briggs Award: Excellence in Destination Management Services * 2013 Concierge Choice Award: Nightlife *

MAC Awards The MAC Awards, established in 1986, are presented annually to honor achievements in cabaret, comedy and jazz. They are administered by the non-profit Manhattan Association of Cabarets & Clubs (MAC), founded in 1983, and voted on by the MAC member ...

: Board of Directors Award (2013) * 2013 Nightlife Award

Selected performers

Among the performers who have performed at 54 Below:

Popular culture

54 Below was used in the setting of the ''

Downton Abbey ''Downton Abbey'' is a British historical drama television series set in the early 20th century, created and co-written by Julian Fellowes. It first aired in the United Kingdom on ITV (TV network), ITV on 26 September 2010 and in the United St ...

'' parody ''Downton Abbey the Musical''. It was also featured in the third season of the webseries ''

Submissions Only ''Submissions Only'' is a comedy web series about the casting and audition process for Broadway theater. It centers around aspiring actress Penny Reilly ( Kate Wetherhead) and her friend, casting agency director Tim Trull ( Colin Hanlon), and the ...

''.

Recordings

A partnership with Broadway Records has produced live albums of selected shows performed at 54 Below.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Cabaret in New York City Restaurants in Manhattan Music venues in Manhattan Midtown Manhattan Studio 54